Prologue
I was a dedicated petrol head since 2002. After owning 2 mules (actually one beast) from India's top 2 customer care/A.S.S companies, which are, Maruti and Hyundai, I was in a dileama when it came to choose a new C segment.
Cars I Owned
1. Santro LS 2002 (zip drive) Forest dew
2. Sx4 VVT 2010 Petrol - Silky Silver
Mighty Beast - Sx4 code name "Beasty Boy"
I was an above average audiophile hence my thread here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...4-zxi-vvt.html The Shortlist
Well strictly Diesel sedan as this was the sole reason to change my sx4
1. Mahindra XUV 500 - Lost out on Phase 1 , Was unlucky on Phase 2 lottery, was about to use some jack in the mahindra dealership (Friend's brother is a dealer) but got the following feedback
"i have no problem helping you get the XUV 500, but i strongly suggest to avoid the 2WD due to its current chassis, it has a inherent problem of giving away at the rear struts, if needed, book the AWD which has ladder frame"
Problem - AWD has 8 months waiting!
2. Fluence E4 Diesel - Awesome package, solid built. Issues: Puny engine for such a fab chassis, Loud turbo, spirit less drive between 1500-2500 (golden rpm range for any diesel), Thin after sales support
3. Jetta comfortline - AWESOME but awesomely beyond budget too!.
4. Cruze LTZ - Z series expected soon so didn't want to buy an obsolete engine, was beyond budget too
5. Fluidic Verna Sx(O)- Super exterior/interior, refined diesel engine
issues - looooong waiting, High speed handling, Dead steering
6. Volkswagen Vento - Had knocked it out before due to plain interiors, loud diesel, but once i saw the refreshed vento with steering control and RCD change, was interested again.
7. Rapid - Vento in disguise, though the front looks better, the interior just let down with vanilla plain styling. I absolutely hate the green (1990s) illumination, Reminds me of casio calculators. The green illumination on the backlight with green speedo lights just was not to my taste.
So, took a test drive of Vento, and was blown away . Took it on a long empty stretch , man, the in gear acceleration is just out of the world
So booked it and now am the proud owner of my Blue wind TDI HL (shadow blue)
Likes
1. Super torque
2. Fuel efficiency
3. Refresh Vento is now at least in striking distance of the competition for features
4. Interior fit/finish is absolutely great. Though beige is difficult to maintain but is definitely rich.
5. Smart locking/auto window up down on remote are really cool features
Dislikes
1. Louder diesel - needs more sound insulation
2. un nerving rear suspension thud help
3. Exterior paint is too delicate! just comes off easily (minor stones hitting during long drives)
4. AC is super chill but the cabin airflow is not well designed (if you keep your hand next to the vents, it will feel like liquid nitrogen but the over all cabin is not that chilled! (possible bad air flow design)
for me the number 1 pain point is the rear suspension thud!! (especially when i come from forget it all breaker muncher sx4)
Complete booking & delivery experience from the dealership
Booking was done at Volkswagen Chandigarh! Hats of to the dealership! it was at par as any Maruti dealership. They kept me well informed about the car progress, also advised me to wait for 5 days to get the free insurance benefit from VW. Gave me a car which was just 17km driven on the odo!
Superb is the word for them
I got my car post budget, so got hit by the tax hike.
Ex showroom - 10.23
Insurance - 0
Registration - 30k
corp discount: 24k
OTR- 10.30
no freebies
Usage pattern
Mostly Urban (40Km daily) Weekend getaways - 200KM
Gearshift / transmission quality
Gearshift is perfect with smooth slotting and accurate ratios. The clutch on the 2012s is much softer as good as a petrol
Fuel efficiency : City and Highway
city -14-15Kmpl, Highways - 19-22kmpl
Long drive feedback
The car is awesome in all respects on the highway. The torque, in gear acceleration, poise at high speed is absolutely great. The efficiency is a boon too. i completed BLR-LEPAKSHI-BLR trip (300KMs) with an average of 19kmpl (max average touched 20.5kmpl)
Overall Takeaways Handling - Having the EPS instead of HPS for the steering, the vento is quite neutral in both City and the Highways. The steering weighs up well at high speed and also is pretty light at slower speed. She takes the corners pretty well at high speed and inspires confidence ( Acceleres also add up to some grip).
Braking - Front calipers really bites well. Drums at the rear are good too but they are drums after all and the it seems that the braking handwork is done mostly at the front. The rear does not bite that hard as the front. Vento is loaded with ABS which works pretty well on wet and gravel. I am not sure if she is equipped with EBD. (isn't ABS always complimented by EBD?) I will check this more in detail but not sure as of now. Over all vento has more than sufficient braking but cannot be compared to Cruze all discs! (Though vento fares well when compared to Verna's all discs)
Ride and comfort- Vento is softly tuned, hence at slow speed it tends to bounce. But she is very comfortable and bumps don't filter harshly in. The only issue is the audio thud accompanying the shocks which spoils the refinement. At hight speeds she glides over un tarred territory. Undulating roads can surprise the Vento and it seems to react in a weird way.
Ground Clearance - is pretty ok for most of the roads we drive on. She will not bottom out unless its really a biggie. (Far better than Honda City). But she won't be comfortable on roads which chew the SX4 down! (SX4 is a true pothole muncher)
Refinement- The car is out to be refined. And it is. The most refined part is the gearbox (it is super slick). Engine is definitely a let down with the loud clatter(especially when cold) , thought there is no vibration.
Some Highlights
1. Love the parking lights (front) looks so yummy with the dim yellow light
2. The lock now engage later feature is really handy when your hands are full. quite handy to press the lock button first, then pick up the grocery and simply shut the dicky. The car auto locks remembering the last instruction
3. remote roll up/down of windows was one feature i thought would be wasted, but i know how wrong i was. Use it in sunshine to cool down your car by opening windows remotely as you move towards it
Close it remotely when it rains suddenly or some one forgot to roll up their window.
4. The mighty horn is unbeatable
5. VW has removed the hard plastic (VW branded) spare bulbs holder with a flimsy carton now.
6. Screw driver is now missing in vento 2012
7. Jack is super small and has small throw. Hopefully it works if i require it
8. Hate the single reverse light! hopefully ill change my driver side tail lamp with trend line tail light someday.- I don't need the fog light at the rear.
9. Love the polo tail light illumination pattern better than Vento's which is upside down pattern
10. The HMSL is LEDs when compared to bulb (maruti uses single watt bulb) its much upmarket and functional
11. Ingress/egress is not as easy as an Sx4 but not bad at all. Takes time to get use to.
12. No Ashtray! - thats ok, i don't smoke.
13. Love the glass holders which flip to make more space below the HU
14. Night time illumination is superb inside the cabin
15. Stock head lights/fog lights are too weak. Need immediate replacement.
16. Rough road handling is not as great
17. Brakes though super effective seems to be front heavy
18.
Cold starts are clatter full (anti - refined sound). Also, on cold start the engine lag is more (seems lazy) - is this normal for any diesel? ipod/iphone - integration
As i am an Apple buff, i was disappointed when I found out that there was no Iphone/Ipod integration. But i was determined, and the test drive on Jetta had help me spot the same HU (RCD 310) and the MDI interface. On researching, i got to know that RCD 310 supports iphone/ipod and hence what i need was an MDI cable. So i ordered
http://www.ebay.in/itm/251046626989?...#ht_5934wt_922
and it works flawlessly
Problems i fixed
1. During my forum munching on TBHP, i found many Vento owners complaining or highlighting a metal torsion sound vento makes when it goes over the uneven road (due to stretching and compression of chassis)
Well folks, there is a simple solution to this - Just install door sills,the door sills bridge the gap between the door underside and chassis and voila! no twisting sound.
2. Loud rear thud/uncomfortable suspension : Check the tyre pressure immediately! my bird came with 54!!! PSI in front and 49PSI at rear!! i have no idea how come the tyre dint blast! immediately changed to 33PSI front and 30 PSI rear. Things are well settled now but the rear thud still remains though has reduced.
Upgrades planned/Done
1. Upgrade Headlight bulbs- bought extreme visions H4, the light seems much better now. Struggled to self fit it, its too difficult, got some local installer help to undo the headlight and the wires.
You can only change headlight bulbs after removing the headlights (Rs 980)
2. Changed extra long antenna to stubby one - see pics below (Rs 400 - ebay)
3. Added the iPod MDI cable (Rs 1050 - ebay)
4. Got 4D mats. (cheaper option to 3D)
Interior Pics
The new Leatherette seats. Looks and fits really well
Exterior Pics
With stubby antenna!