Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

[naveen.raju]

Got a call from VW dealer and said that the Vento has arrived just for two days. Went to showroom to find the basic petrol version.
Car is really good but the base version is really disappointing.
Test vehicle will arrive next week. They said I will get my car by mid sept (Hopefully) and the top end Diesel will come to 10.48L (On Road - Cochin).

[basilmabraham]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Got a call from VW dealer and said that the Vento has arrived just for two days. Went to showroom to find the basic petrol version.
Car is really good but the base version is really disappointing.
Test vehicle will arrive next week. They said I will get my car by mid sept (Hopefully) and the top end Diesel will come to 10.48L (On Road - Cochin).

Naveen,

Did you already book your car? How much did you pay as the booking amount? Please share your opinion about the car that you saw, I guess in Cochin. I am currently contacting VW Cochin to arrange a test drive car. Need to see it before booking it. Any info from your side would help.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by aseem

Its not like they are selling Bugati or Audi for pete's sake, its a Polo with a boot.

Absolutely! VW is hardly "premium" vis-a-vis Honda. But the point here is that given that German marques have a higher perceived value than Japanese (all other things being equal) in some consumers' minds (self included), this pricing by VW is a coup! I think a lot of us were expecting Vento to be priced slightly ABOVE the ANHC. In all honesty, I would probably have gone for it even if it was slightly higher than the ANHC but this is just the icing on the cake!

Originally Posted by aseem

(...)I would still give Honda a wee bit of thought for the following personal critierias:

1) I dont like the elevated footwell design in Vento in the rear seats. Reminds me of Indica of the old days.

2) I dont like the steering of Vento

3) Music quality of Vento is subpar. I dont want to spend another 50k upgrading the OE unit

4) I dont like the dark brown interiors. I prefer black.

5) A.S.S from VW and spare parts cost is a big question mark for anyone spending a million rupees

6) Honda City will have a higher residual value based on history

7) City has more road presence and internal/boot space

8) It has an AT

Thanks aseem for that concise set of reasons. I was waiting for someone to post so that I could play my own devil's advocate and see if I really am going for the car!
(1). Elevated footwell is a design fail for sure. But I usually carry 1 or at most 2 people in the back seat so this is not a big consideration for me.
(2). I need to TD the Vento (and the ANHC) before I can decide if I "like" the steering or not.
(3). Music is important but not THAT important. I really don't mind upgrading the unit or speakers after 6-12 months if I'm unhappy with them.
(4). Dark brown ("brey" as per GTO!) interiors. Hmmm. I love all-black actually but it may go with the beige quite well. Shouldn't be tough getting used to.
(5). A.S.S. is and will be my biggest worry. Hopefully by the time I get my baby we'll have the Polo owners' reactions out!
(6). Resale for the HC will be higher definitely. But am not really looking to sell this for a while!
(7). ANHC definitely has "road presence" but I like my cars a tad understated. And the Vento has 480 litres of boot space- even if the ANHC is bigger, I don't know what I'm going to be doing with that kinda space!
(8). Vento has an AT, and its actually priced lower than than the ANHC. So all things considered, I think am pretty sold on the Vento. Pending the TD and the service reports on the Polo!

[SPARKled]

@GTO: This is by far your best review yet. Coming back to the car, do you have night time photos of the dashboard with the back lit instrument cluster? Really appreciate if you could upload one.

[johnda]

Nice review, and quick too. but have keep my fingers crossed till the more test drives and service reports come in.. but is a welcome addition to this segment which is forever looking for the TOPPER to the competition. VW joins ROCK show.

[monkey_wrench]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

And as for Vento vs. ANHC vs. Linea., it is Linea which looks aaawesome, in my opinion. Much better than both ANHC and Vento. If only Linea had more power to complement its looks.

I think that's hitting the nail on the head! No doubt the Linea looks amazing. But i'll never forget that test drive (the day the car was launched)...when I sat in the drivers seat and was amazed at the interiors. And then I cranked the engine and the sputtered along, wheezed, gasped...and grudgingly agreed to chug along. Gasped some more, and finally reached 80 kmph.

LOL! OK, I may be exageratting a little (no offence to Linea owners)...but that's precisely it isn't selling like hotcakes. The day Fiat puts a new engine under that hood...ahh

[sureshaddagalla]

Originally Posted by adimicra

[FONT=&quot]A quick attempt:
Quality : Vento > City > Verna > SX4 > Linea
Interior space : ANHC > Vento > SX4 = Verna > Linea
Petrol engine : ANHC > Vento > SX4 > Linea = Verna
Diesel engine : Vento > Verna > Linea
Ride & handling : Linea > Vento > ANHC > SX4 > Verna[/FONT]

Can you split the petrols in terms of outright performance, in-gear acceleration and refinement? I heard lot of people not-so-happy with the low-end response of the Honda City? How does the Vento compare with the City and others in terms of driveability or low-end response? Another request is to split the ride and handling into 2 different aspects!

GTO, could you please take a moment to answer this? There have been varied remarks about the petrol such as "makes growling sound but packs no punch", "leaves a lot to be desired", "needs a downshift for overtakes", etc. I do get a rough idea, but we'll get a clearer picture if you could split the objective comparison into outright performance , in-gear acceleration, refinement, city driveability, etc. If possible, please assign a number on 1-10 scale instead of only using >. Can one go wrong by choosing the petrol? Or is it only that it gets overshadowed by the diesel counterpart? Do you expect the petrol to end up like the Jetta petrol (where civic/corolla outshine it)?

Thanks a lot!

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by monkey_wrench

I think that's hitting the nail on the head! No doubt the Linea looks amazing. But i'll never forget that test drive (the day the car was launched)...when I sat in the drivers seat and was amazed at the interiors. And then I cranked the engine and the sputtered along, wheezed, gasped...and grudgingly agreed to chug along. Gasped some more, and finally reached 80 kmph.

LOL! OK, I may be exageratting a little (no offence to Linea owners)...but that's precisely it isn't selling like hotcand interiors akes. The day Fiat puts a new engine under that hood...ahh

This was exactly the same experience when me along with the family saw the Linea, the better half almost made me cut the cheque just by the looks and off course the price and the discount that was offered, but better sense prevailed and we went for the TD, the car just would not pull (initial thought was that I was expecting a similar performance to my Scorpio MHawk), but once on the open road it just would not go, and there was too much tyre noise coming in the cabin.

Lets hope things are better with Vento Petrol, given the kind of low milage running I have it would not be worth going for a diesel.

[Sn1p3r]

@GTO: I did not know you will testing on NH8. Would have been a pleasure to meet and race. But I know for sure you would have won, for that matter when my mum is in the back street even a cyclist is pre-destined to win

Yes, the car is plain Jane but I like the profile. It will age gracefully but wont involve emotion to the scale Linea and ANHC does, they should have least introduced the style elements from EU polo for Vento.

I see that there are many posts wrt Vento Vs ANHC or others. In India (except for us enthusiasts) people buy on mileage, maintenance and resale value. No one bothers with 0-60 time, handling and tyres etc. All they want is something new and easy on pocket need be they will run it on air to save money.

VW even though German is not a well known brand, many can not even pronounce the complete name correctly. Thus VW went with the complete name for badging. Honda was very well know and the H hype their marketing team created initially backed with some amazing engines (lack of direct competition) still carries the name and adds snob value to the brand that never had any. For snobs Honda makes Acuras. No matter how great the product, marketing is essential, to me VW is not doing enough and with failure of Jetta and Passat, competition has talking points.

I had a Polo in Denmark for a while and I can tell you that even though it was amazing machine to drive, it was disaster when it came to electronics. I hope VW has done its homework right and sorted out the issues.

I trust Competition is good and will eventually drag Honda closer to VFM mark, even though I am a Honda customer.

Cheers!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by shankaranand

What is weird though is competition is moving towards same price points!.. I hate Hyundai's offering lower spec cars at a premium price compared to competition.

The Hyundai Verna now feels outdated in the C segment. It really has nothing going for itself as a product, save for Hyundai's quality, reliability & after-sales. When's the all new generation coming again? The Verna's in dire need of a replacement.

Originally Posted by balaji_n29

Are the indicators and Wiper controls in the wrong side. I see the wiper controls on the right hand side.

Yes, no difference from the Polo.

How is the view in the side mirrors. I see them to be too small given the issues in the rear view mirrors.

Internal rear view mirror is hopeless. ORVMs do the job.

Originally Posted by acidkill

Any reasons on why the comfortline model was not introduced?
Do you have any indication if the comfortline model will be introduced?

The Comfortline will, for sure, follow soon. When exactly? I don't know. Again, its the middle variants that generally offer the most value.

Dark brown ("brey" as per GTO!) interiors. Hmmm. I love all-black actually but it may go with the beige quite well. Shouldn't be tough getting used to.

I think Aseem is unnecessarily bringing the "brey" interiors into the comparison. Believe me, they nearly pass off as black.

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Coming back to the car, do you have night time photos of the dashboard with the back lit instrument cluster? Really appreciate if you could upload one.

Sorry, had the cars with me only during the day.

Originally Posted by sureshaddagalla

There have been varied remarks about the petrol such as "makes growling sound but packs no punch", "leaves a lot to be desired", "needs a downshift for overtakes", etc.

The petrol Vento is completely overshadowed by its diesel sibling. Low end response is dull. It has decent pep (comparable to the SX4) at speed, and is fun to work with between 3000 - 6000 rpm. Yet, neither is it the most powerful nor refined. The petrol engine of the ANHC remains the segment topper.

The Diesel Vento is the undoubted pick. It's the class topper in every aspect. Not surprising, this is usually the case with German cars.

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

@GTO: I did not know you will testing on NH8. Would have been a pleasure to meet and race.

BHPians don't race on public roads, remember

I had a Polo in Denmark for a while and I can tell you that even though it was amazing machine to drive, it was disaster when it came to electronics. I hope VW has done its homework right and sorted out the issues.

True. I remember sob stories about VW's reliability in the States.

[monkey_wrench]

I trust Competition is good and will eventually drag Honda closer to VFM mark, even though I am a Honda customer.

Or at LEAST make then install an ACC!! :(

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Naveen,

Did you already book your car? How much did you pay as the booking amount? Please share your opinion about the car that you saw, I guess in Cochin. I am currently contacting VW Cochin to arrange a test drive car. Need to see it before booking it. Any info from your side would help.

Yes, already booked 3 weeks back. Paid 50k in advance. This is an unofficial booking.
They had the base petrol version (white).
Base versions (Both petrol & Diesel) - Disappointing due to the lack of equipments.
Found rear space sufficient.
Driver seat a bit low. I found it OK (Being 5'11"). My dad did find it difficult to see the bonnet properly (Him being 5'8"). But in top model, heard that the driver seat height can be increased to a great height.

Couldnt judge the interiors since am going for the top model and the base model didnt have anything.
Another thing is that they dont provide leather seats even in top model. They will be providing leather seats for 25k. The seat color is too light. I will be going in for Stanley as soon as I get the car.
Exterior, everything is fine. Decent length, height and great styling.

Overall, go in for the top end model, else, stay away.
They currently dont have a car for test drive. You will have to wait a while. If you are planning for the diesel, make sure that you drive a diesel version. There is a huge difference between them. Also, if you plan in going for the top end model, try to check the top end car. Cos, if you see the base car, you will be disappointed.

Deliveries will start by mid Sept.

[nkrishnap]

OT: If the same design is launched by Hyundai, they will succeed similar to i20. This verna design is light years ahead of the current one. No offense to anybody.

I guess VW is holding back on the comfortline to see how Honda and other players react and release this middle variant. This may again take about 6-8 months depending on the market reactions to the car.

The diesel variant will make the major chunk of the Vento sales. Lets wait and watch.

[sureshaddagalla]

Originally Posted by GTO

The petrol Vento is completely overshadowed by its diesel sibling. Low end response is dull. It has decent pep (comparable to the SX4) at speed, and is fun to work with between 3000 - 6000 rpm. Yet, neither is it the most powerful nor refined. The petrol engine of the ANHC remains the segment topper.

The Diesel Vento is the undoubted pick. It's the class topper in every aspect. Not surprising, this is usually the case with German cars.

Thanks, GTO.

How do you compare the NVH levels of Vento diesel against the Fiesta? You did mention that engine is quite audible and vibrations do get transmitted to the pedals, but it would be much easier if you could compare with Fiesta since I have driven one a few times. To what extent does the cabin filter out the noise (coming from engine as well as outside)?

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by monkey_wrench

I think that's hitting the nail on the head! No doubt the Linea looks amazing. But i'll never forget that test drive (the day the car was launched)...when I sat in the drivers seat and was amazed at the interiors. And then I cranked the engine and the sputtered along, wheezed, gasped...and grudgingly agreed to chug along. Gasped some more, and finally reached 80 kmph.

LOL! OK, I may be exageratting a little (no offence to Linea owners)...but that's precisely it isn't selling like hotcakes. The day Fiat puts a new engine under that hood...ahh

Yes, Linea is indeed all looks and no go. Linea is a looker not a flier. Verna is flier but not at all a looker. And Cruze? A looker and a flier.