[RGK]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

The Vento looks good for sure, but the only thing that is keeping me from going and booking is the VW A.S.S. Today in the morning as I type this post, the forum is again full of Skoda A.S.S horror stories and considering that VW has even fewer service centers and not mention Skoda's parent company this is going to be one huge risk. So my take would be to wait for some time and see how they are sorting this A.S.S thingy. If sales is itself is so tardy, as seen form the way they have handled the Polo, I cant imagine what the service is going to be like.

Yes. VW has to work on deliveries and after sales service, otherwise they cannot wipe out competition eventhough they have a very good quality product

[hondacity]

Thanks GTO, brilliant review.. Vento is promising a lot but like others said, the a-s-s needs to be spot on now. Ive known a few VW polo owners waiting ages for their delivery, however with a diesel engine like the one in Vento, I myself wont worry with few months waiting too..

Thanks..

[AirWind]

At this price point, highline competes with Optra Magnum LT, not sure how it stacks up otherwise (drive, comfort, others)?

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

The on Road price of Vento Diesel in B'lore
Trendline:960000/-
Highline:1140000/-

They are offering 2y unlimited mileage warranty for all the spares expect wear tear parts.

[rangaraj]

Originally Posted by noopster

EDIT: Another thing I found weird was that the Honda dude said the service window is 3 months/5,000km while seems ridiculous compared to 15,000 km of the VW. Also Honda is charging some 22K for these 8 services (in the first 2 years) which seems quite high to me.

Even if VW were to charge 4k for every service, that would translate to another 14k savings every two years..

[Blur]

Any idea about the OTR price for Mumbai? For the Vento Highline.

Also what could be the likely pricing for the Vento Comfortline (whenever it is launched)? Could VW keep it super aggressive, given that it is likely to be the ace in the pack for them...

Last but not the least, any Mumbai Tbhpians got any "experiences" to share about the Mumbai VW Dealers...?

[CANPUSH]

Looks like enhanced POLO. Many parts are surely shared. Some of these features they should have offered in Polo. In fact they should recall all POLOs and replace passenger side sun visors with these ones (with mirror) and also fit dead pedal.

Does POLO has the Gear change recommendations?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Many parts are surely shared

VW design is like that: if you are at home in one VW, you'll be at home in them all. You won't feel like a Skoda is so different, nor will you feel entirely out of place in an Audi.

In fact they should recall all POLOs and replace passenger side sun visors with these ones (with mirror) and also fit dead pedal.

Why? Anything important about either of these details? How about a decent head unit instead?

[crackingride]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

VW design is like that: if you are at home in one VW, you'll be at home in them all. You won't feel like a Skoda is so different, nor will you feel entirely out of place in an Audi.Why? Anything important about either of these details? How about a decent head unit instead?

All they really need to do is upgrade the option packs.

There are too many bits and pieces missing, and there is no way anyone can correct the deficiencies the way the Indian operation is set up.

Why is it that other places can configure a different head unit, a smoking pack, a sensor pack, etc? Yes it will cost more, but given they insist on stringent warranty terms etc, doesnt it make sense to let us upgrade to a decent company provided head unit, bluetooth kit, a cigarette lighter that wont short the electricals or your warranty? Its not like it will impact sales. Everyone who wants bog standard will get bog standard.

A dead pedal might not be too useful in city traffic, but for someone like me, with 1400 km highway round trips every two months or so, I cant do without a dead pedal the way i have it on my Palio. And i didnt have to pay extra for the cig lighter and the ashtrays, or the vanity mirror in the visor.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yes, you are right about the options, and (without looking at the site now) I seem to remember that there are plenty of options if buying these cars in Europe. The only thing I can think is that they want to keep the production line as standard as possible with no individual-car customisation. Whether this is for speed or economy, I have no idea. Speedy production, as in meeting demand, doesn't seem to be happening!

I guess we do very different things with our feet. I can see the point of this footrest thing for city driving, where the foot needs to be as handy as possible. When cruising, my left leg is as when sitting in a chair --- I don't need anything to put the foot on.

I agree again, though, about those silly extras. I was really annoyed to have to pay extra for a parcel shelf for my Swift: I don't think I ever saw a hatchback without one. If we did without one in London it would be impossible to leave stuff in the car because of thieves.

From the manufacturer's point of view, it adds up. I remember an economics lecturer, way back, telling an example that a particular car manufacturer required directorial approval of any production change costing more than a very few pennies. As expected, the students look dumbstruck, and the lecturer reminds us multiply by the total number of cars made every year.

[AvonA7]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

From the manufacturer's point of view, it adds up. I remember an economics lecturer, way back, telling an example that a particular car manufacturer required directorial approval of any production change costing more than a very few pennies. As expected, the students look dumbstruck, and the lecturer reminds us multiply by the total number of cars made every year.

Spot on! In the last few months whenever I used to wonder - why the manufacturer can't provide a 500/- ORVM in a INR 300K car or a 50/- Vanity Mirror in an INR 500K car - came to the conclusion that somebody sitting at the top might have to approve this and he/she might be calculating on the logic that 500 X 50000 (for eg., cars sold annually) = 25000000/- ==> 25 million INR thats a lot of money! Like this if they can cut costs on few more things thats a huge savings and a good point for an increased incentive for the concerned person

[ASTRIKX]

Hey GTO mate, Awesome review . Purely & blindly based on your review, I've booked a Highline Diesel Vento (White). Although, I've actually gone in for the white, what in your opinion is a swell colour for the vento?. In my humble opinion, black would have been a good choice, but then it would make the car look smaller dimensionally and then there's silver, which does tend to get dull quite quickly, giving it a worn out look. Anyway, it is purely a matter of individual choice. Guyz, any suggestions ?

[Chethan B G]

GTO - Excellent review as usual. Thanks for the details.

In a review I read in Overdrive, I saw a usb/aux extension being terminated inside the Glove-box. May-be that was a Highline Vento? Could you please comment on that?

Originally Posted by crackingride

Why is it that other places can configure a different head unit, a smoking pack, a sensor pack, etc? Yes it will cost more, but given they insist on stringent warranty terms etc, doesnt it make sense to let us upgrade to a decent company provided head unit, bluetooth kit, a cigarette lighter that wont short the electricals or your warranty? Its not like it will impact sales. Everyone who wants bog standard will get bog standard.

If it is going to add lot of cost to the manufacturer, it can be sold as an option. Like the extra kits that are available for Jazz.

In fact, these things are more important than most of the accessories listed.

I only hope that somebody in the market, do some good job and cash up on these deficiencies.

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Spot on! In the last few months whenever I used to wonder - why the manufacturer can't provide a 500/- ORVM in a INR 300K car or a 50/- Vanity Mirror in an INR 500K car - came to the conclusion that somebody sitting at the top might have to approve this and he/she might be calculating on the logic that 500 X 50000 (for eg., cars sold annually) = 25000000/- ==> 25 million INR thats a lot of money! Like this if they can cut costs on few more things thats a huge savings and a good point for an increased incentive for the concerned person

Vanity mirror is a serious miss. More often then not - Rear view mirror will be used for the job and it can be very irritating.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

From the manufacturer's point of view, it adds up. I remember an economics lecturer, way back, telling an example that a particular car manufacturer required directorial approval of any production change costing more than a very few pennies. As expected, the students look dumbstruck, and the lecturer reminds us multiply by the total number of cars made every year.

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Spot on! In the last few months whenever I used to wonder - why the manufacturer can't provide a 500/- ORVM in a INR 300K car or a 50/- Vanity Mirror in an INR 500K car - came to the conclusion that somebody sitting at the top might have to approve this and he/she might be calculating on the logic that 500 X 50000 (for eg., cars sold annually) = 25000000/- ==> 25 million INR thats a lot of money! Like this if they can cut costs on few more things thats a huge savings and a good point for an increased incentive for the concerned person

I might have got this wrong, but what exactly is the point here? Yes, parts do add up, yes, money can be saved, yes, American Airlines saved $40,000 dollars in one year by just removing one olive from the salad they served to the passengers, but that cannot be used to justify the lack of a vanity mirror. In a car, sometimes, these tiny misses can be irritants, for example, like it was said that the rear view mirror starts getting used as a vanity mirror - annoying to say the least.

While I understand that the point about a better headunit, instead of a dead pedal and the vanity mirror, was made in jest (probably), it's is quite blantanly obvious that it'll take a lot more money to upgrade the HU than putting in a Rs20 mirror.

[SPARKled]

@GTO: You said in your review that the AC had to be on full blast to cool the rear. Was this in spite of the rear cooling vents working at full blast? Do you think this is a repeat of the Laura AC cooling problem fiasco where the cooling was just not up to the mark due to a Euro spec aircon?

Also how bad is the hump on the floor at the rear with respect to a third person sitting in the middle. Is it really uncomfortable so as to mark the Vento as 4 passenger only car or is it just a minor inconvenience?

Hi all,

Just got a quote from the VW dealer in Navi Mumbai.

The highline diesel is coming to 10.17 on the road. Car is coming in second week on September in the showroom.

[johnda]

Originally Posted by Amartya

... like it was said that the rear view mirror starts getting used as a vanity mirror - annoying to say the least.

Yes, Yes, Very annoying.. so I got a small mirror and used double sided tape, on the old amby. It didnt look too bad on that. but imagine a palm sided mirror stuck on the vento shades.

forgetting small wonders that cause 'blunders'