[el lobo 6061]

Got the Monsoon CheckUp Camp done today at KSM Navi Mumbai. Had my appointment scheduled at 11.30 am, was there at sharp 11.30 am. The SA Dinesh Nayar filled up the job sheet at 12.00 pm. As I wasn't having the coupons with me, he provided me with one as they were having a few with them. I asked him what all is included in the Monsoon CheckUp Camp, he pointed out the coupon which states 8 point general check up, checking up of all fluids, battery checkup, brakes, tire pressure checkup, free wash, vacuum cleaning etc. And one more thing if fluids are found to be less than they will only top of the windscreen washer fluid free and not the engine oil and coolant, which will be charged respectively.
As Souravc pointed out that he got that he even got the ECU updated, told the SA to get the same done, but he said it is not included in CheckUp Camp, I said do it anyway and charge whatever for it. Thanks Sourav for heads up.
I even got the extended warranty for my Vento TDi at Rs. 11199 at the same time. Received the certificate for the same and the booklet would come through courier within 3 days. SA told that car would be ready by 5.30 pm, so left the place as it makes no sense waiting there.
Came back around 5.00 pm the car was ready but vacuum wasn't done, pointed out the same and was done in 15 min. Got the bill ready which took staggering 30 min. Rest was all good. Oil level and coolant level were all right and they did the ecu update and didn't charge anything for it.

[P S Sudhakar]

Originally Posted by noopster

Sudhakar, congrats and welcome to the Vento AT club. My 2 cents:

- Reverse parking assistance with camera through VW dealer will probably be a very expensive proposition. Mine is just a sensor (no camera) and they charged me 4800 for it. Definitely not worth it.
- Reverse camera integrated into one of the aftermarket HUs for the Vento (Caska, Motevo etc.) is probably a very good option and inexpensive too. If you're planning to upgrade the HU, would suggest you explore this option. AFAIK, installing these doesn't involve any wire-cutting (since they are plug and play design) but do keep in mind that if your dealer needs an excuse to back off from honouring warranty, this is as good as any!
- Sun film- I have Lumar clear film on everything except the front where I have Global 70% film. No perceptible effect on night driving.
- Seat covers: please go after-market, no question. check anilkalvani's Stanleys to see how sexy your car look! I have an unbranded OEM fit leather in mine which is reasonably goodlooking at a much lower budget. For 8500 you should get excellent art leather options.

Many thanks noopster for quick response. are you living in Bangalore?
How is the AT performance ? I am little worried about the milage as confusing feed backs on net.

Regarding warranty void on after market IECs, it could poly played by the dealer. Will check on this with VW. You are right as long as no wiring is tampered, there should not be any issue with warranties.
On sun film, Lumar is pushed by dealer. Now there are very good options like V-kool etc. But cost around 14k including windshield.
Seat covers will look after some time .

[souravc]

Originally Posted by P S Sudhakar

Many thanks noopster for quick response. are you living in Bangalore?
How is the AT performance ? I am little worried about the milage as confusing feed backs on net.

Regarding warranty void on after market IECs, it could poly played by the dealer. Will check on this with VW. You are right as long as no wiring is tampered, there should not be any issue with warranties.
On sun film, Lumar is pushed by dealer. Now there are very good options like V-kool etc. But cost around 14k including windshield.
Seat covers will look after some time .

Noops is the resident Zen on Vento AT so i will leave it to him to reply to your Q on mileage .
For Bangalore's mild temp weather Lumar would work great ! I am using Lumar to great satisfaction in Mumbai . Lumar and 3M are at par , avoid garware. Make sure that the sun film installation work is done perfectly without any air bubble trapped. Ideally you should get it done in your presence.

[noopster]

^^ Haha. OK time for resident Zen to speak: if FE is your prime consideration, then the Vento AT is *not* the car for you. In 100% metrop traffic, it will return about 8 kmpl. With my mix of city+highway (about 70:30) I get about 10.5 kmpl consistently. On the highway expect about 12.

With petrol prices touching 70 these days, that's about 7 to 8/- a km, which is not cheap by any standards.

Having said that, I can now tell you why you SHOULD buy this car:
- Sheer convenience. Try driving this car in the thickest of urban crawl and the feeling is no different from cruising on a highway, in terms of effort expended.
- Zero NVH in the petrol. At cruising speeds all you hear is the hum of the tyres and the occasional yowl as you kickdown to overtake someone!
- Look and feel is from a segment above. Classic German understatement, no flashiness- works for some people.
-Ergonomics are perfect. The Linea TJet is by far a better petrol car to drive but its ergs are so bad it's not funny. In the Veedub everything is positioned just perfectly.
- Just the right feature set to make this car absolutely VFM. Height adjustable driver's seat, reach and rake adjustment for steering wheel, wonderful driver's armrest (especially in case of AT), MID that has everything and damn easy to use, brilliant climatronic AC, cavernous glovebox and boot, excellent rear seat comfort (for 2 adults) etc. etc.
- Badge value. German marques score over Jap ones in India.
- Best of all, incomparable ride quality and handling. Build quality is also a big plus.

On the flipside, the car doesn't rev happily like the ANHC and apparently has a 0-100 time of 3 seconds slower. I haven't experienced any frustration on this front myself but the engine does tend to drag and I need to put it in S mode occasionally to gets its juices flowing faster!
And the ICE sucks. The A.S.S is iffy but you should be OK in Bangalore. And you have to get used to living without your logos (they're favourite targets of petty thieves in Mumbai-Pune)!

BTW I am based in Pune but am very familiar with Bangalore having lived there for so many years

[P S Sudhakar]

Thanks guys for the quick response. On warranty void issues, i tried to send mail to VW, through their website. Not sure the massage was sent or not. Any feed back from VW on this issues?

[SR-71]

@Bala, Congratulations. After looking at your ordeal, I decided to quit Abra motors and go with Sundaram despite hearing about Sundaram's infamous history with sales and after sales service on other brands. Lets see what Sundaram motors has in store for me. The waiting period as claimed by these guys is 3 months. Unfortunately with the increased price am really wondering if the Vento is worth the money, but at this price point I think the options are limited.

[anandbangalore]

Does the Vento have a noise absorbing blanket on the underside of the Bonnet?

[P S Sudhakar]

not sure, will check up with the dealer during next visit

[windsurfer]

Bit off topic - I took my Vento for a highway drive on Sunday and I observed more wind noise than what I am used to in Palio. Is this specific to my car or others has seen it too?

I remember GTO mentioning about this in review but it was higher than my expectations.

[oxyzen]

@el lobo 6061 & Souravc

Can you comment how much improvement you observed after the ECU upgrade. Also was there any change in Performance or FE. Also to what extent the NVH of the car improved.

[TopSpeeder]

@oxygen

I went for my power window problem (4th time), they have also upgraded ECU firmware for me (Ver 23H).

With this I'm not seeing the grinding noise in the morning, Noise level also reduced bit. I can check exact db tomorrow morning cold start and update here.

I'm not sure abt FE improvement. Since I have also filled Nitrogen for tires, I'm not sure which causes the improvement. But the result is approx 1km extra per ltr I'm getting.

More detail on Nitrogen, I have filled for all 4 wheels. I have paid Rs 30 for each wheel.

[bala80]

Hello SR71 - I can bet your experience can only be better than mine! You have made the right choice going in for Sundaram and from what I heard - Sundaram is delivering vehicles much faster than Abra. I beleive this is since Abra has 2 dealerships in chennai and hence consequently more bookings, whereas allotment numbers are same to both Abra and Sundaram. If you had booked before July 1, the old price (but with increased VAT) will be applicable to you, I vaguely remember seeing 9.6 Lakhs as ex-showroom for TDI highline in chennai. OTR should be around 11 lakhs in that case.

If you need any help or information, feel free to contact me. Good luck.

Originally Posted by SR-71

@Bala, Congratulations. After looking at your ordeal, I decided to quit Abra motors and go with Sundaram despite hearing about Sundaram's infamous history with sales and after sales service on other brands. Lets see what Sundaram motors has in store for me. The waiting period as claimed by these guys is 3 months. Unfortunately with the increased price am really wondering if the Vento is worth the money, but at this price point I think the options are limited.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by TopSpeeder

With this I'm not seeing the grinding noise in the morning, Noise level also reduced bit. I can check exact db tomorrow morning cold start and update here.

I'm not sure abt FE improvement. Since I have also filled Nitrogen for tires, I'm not sure which causes the improvement. But the result is approx 1km extra per ltr I'm getting.

More detail on Nitrogen, I have filled for all 4 wheels. I have paid Rs 30 for each wheel.

I dont think Nitrogen has any significant effect in FE. In fact air contains about 78% of nitrogen.

So I guess the improvement in FE is either due to ECU upgrade or running in.

BTW good to know the reduction in noise level.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

@el lobo 6061 & Souravc

Can you comment how much improvement you observed after the ECU upgrade. Also was there any change in Performance or FE. Also to what extent the NVH of the car improved.

Oxygen, I feel there is a bit of difference after the ECU update. The noise has decreased only a bit and the engine has become more smoother that previously. I too have nitrogen in all the tires 33 front and 35 rear, respectively. Regarding FE, well I dont think I will notice any difference as the driving style varies hugely between my dads and me. The car is used very sparingly, covering 1334 Kms in 4 months.
Another thing I noticed today evening after starting the car for the first time after ECU update, the RPM constantly varied between 800 to 900 for a few seconds. it felt as if some ghost entered the car. Then it settled at 900 rpm.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

it felt as if some ghost entered the car.

It is not impossible considering the pic on your avatar.

Anyway I think it is more of an ECU learning. There should not be any problems after that.