[amitg79]

Expressway update:

Traveled to Thane and back on Friday. The Vento TSI runs like a horse on the expressway. It is extremely stable at high speeds and always feels eager to accelerate. In D mode, the gearbox climbs up to 7th in no time and the Vento cruises calmly with the tacho hovering at around 2500 RPM. I have read in one of the magazines that the Polo TSI is susceptible to cross winds (Don't know if that's really the case), but in the Vento TSI, you would need something upward of a category 4 hurricane to unsettle it.
Kicking down in 7th for a burst of acceleration has a bit of delay before the box comes down a gear or two, but its not much.

More than the expressway, I am waiting to drive it on a smooth, winding and uncluttered road. That is where the Vento TSI will be in its element.

Here's some great news for mileage junkies: It did the Pune to Thane run with an average fuel consumption of 16.5 kmpl. Thane to Pune yielded 13.5 kmpl. I attribute the reduced mileage to the heavy traffic all throughout the return trip, as well as the fact that we were climbing up the ghat. All in all, great mileage.

[4nd3r50n]

Congratulations on the new Vento TSi! First the Polo and now the Vento with TSi goodness- hell, I am gonna have a tough time deciding between which would be the more fun to drive vehicle to buy! Wish you many, many happy miles ahead.

[udaji]

After lurking on the forum for years, this is my first post as a member. Congrats on your new heart-throb. Now that you have it for over six weeks, are there any new insights? I am eyeing all reports on Vento-TSI keenly. Time to move on from my Honda City 2001. What a great car that is though. Pune traffic cries out loud for an automatic, however.

How was your dealer experience? Horror stories about VW/Skoda dealerships abound, and probably deter quite a few. I presume you have your Goa trip over Christmas? Looking forward to more from you!

[rahulsharma2008]

Any updates about your Grey-Ghost? What mileage are you finally getting in Pune City?

[crazyro]

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

Any updates about your Grey-Ghost? What mileage are you finally getting in Pune City?

I have a Grey Ghost as well !!!
For my daily run of 20 kms pune city driving I am getting around 11-12 kmpl
Mine has done 3K so far and I can see the FE increasing slightly after the run in period.
Pune-Mumbai run has given me around 15 kmpl

[xtremeshock]

Congratulations on owning a fantastic ride.

Just wanted to check with you, how is the perforamance compared to the Polo Tsi, do you find any difference in in-gear acceleration, am asking this because have read in some other thread that it takes a whole 2 seconds slower than the Polo Tsi to reach the triple digit mark.

Any light on this will be grateful.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by xtremeshock

Congratulations on owning a fantastic ride.

Just wanted to check with you, how is the perforamance compared to the Polo Tsi, do you find any difference in in-gear acceleration, am asking this because have read in some other thread that it takes a whole 2 seconds slower than the Polo Tsi to reach the triple digit mark.

Any light on this will be grateful.

Taking the liberty of putting my view. In my opinion, in real world driving,there is no noticeable difference between the two.

The 2 second difference mentioned was I think from an online video where the car was driven on the Buddh Race TRack. The Polo definitely handles better than the Vento. But unless you expect to do a lot of pedal to the floor and rally driving, I don't think the perceived performance difference should be a factor in deciding between the two.

The key decision factors in my opinion are whether you need the extra rear seat space and the boot. If these two are not key factors, Polo should be the choice, else the Vento.

[4nd3r50n]

Given the 1.2L engine, does the car ever feel underpowered? Especially, if you have a fully occupied rear bench plus luggage in the boot and you have to go up a steep incline in stop-start mode, behind a lumbering trailer that you cannot overtake? Does it ever feel that the car might just roll back?

[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by 4nd3r50n

Given the 1.2L engine, does the car ever feel underpowered? Especially, if you have a fully occupied rear bench plus luggage in the boot and you have to go up a steep incline in stop-start mode, behind a lumbering trailer that you cannot overtake? Does it ever feel that the car might just roll back?

Sorry to interfere even if the question is not for me. But i do own the GT TSI and this is no ordinary 1.2 L engine. I have once traveled with 5 member on board and two bags of rice weighing 100 kgs at back and the car just effortlessly cruises at triple digit speeds. Also had to overtake a lorry on a steep flyover, the GT just effortlessly dropped couple of gears and took me to the front in no time in D mode. Never ever had the necessity to use the S mode except to just test the waters.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by 4nd3r50n

Given the 1.2L engine, does the car ever feel underpowered? Especially, if you have a fully occupied rear bench plus luggage in the boot and you have to go up a steep incline in stop-start mode, behind a lumbering trailer that you cannot overtake? Does it ever feel that the car might just roll back?

Since the Polo/Vento TSI comes with Hill-Hold feature, the car will never roll back. Once you take your leg of the brake, hill hold will hold the car from rolling back for a few seconds, more than enough time to get on the accelerator. It is an excellent under-rated feature.

For my highway trips to my home town my Vento boot is packed to it's 460 liter capacity + 4 passengers. My route involves 70-80 km of hilly regions including a 9 hair pin bend ghat sections. Have never once ever needed to drop to S mode. It pulls effortlessly in D mode. The car is also smart enough to sense the incline and hence even in D mode the car does not go beyond 4th gear even if you are at 50kmph. Typically on a normal road at 50kmph the car is in 6th gear.

[4nd3r50n]

Sorry to interfere even if the question is not for me. But i do own the GT TSI and this is no ordinary 1.2 L engine. I have once traveled with 5 member on board and two bags of rice weighing 100 kgs at back and the car just effortlessly cruises at triple digit speeds. Also had to overtake a lorry on a steep flyover, the GT just effortlessly dropped couple of gears and took me to the front in no time in D mode. Never ever had the necessity to use the S mode except to just test the waters.

Since the Polo/Vento TSI comes with Hill-Hold feature, the car will never roll back. Once you take your leg of the brake, hill hold will hold the car from rolling back for a few seconds, more than enough time to get on the accelerator. It is an excellent under-rated feature.

For my highway trips to my home town my Vento boot is packed to it's 460 liter capacity + 4 passengers. My route involves 70-80 km of hilly regions including a 9 hair pin bend ghat sections. Have never once ever needed to drop to S mode. It pulls effortlessly in D mode. The car is also smart enough to sense the incline and hence even in D mode the car does not go beyond 4th gear even if you are at 50kmph. Typically on a normal road at 50kmph the car is in 6th gear.

Thank you so much for the insights! The origin of this question was a conversation with a friend who mentioned that on a CVT, inclines can be touchy! i don't know if that is true or just a perception. I just want to make sure that I take an informed decision (when the time comes) and learn from the collective experience of the Polo/Vento TSI owners on the Forum.
So another question- does the Vento bottom out on speed breakers if the rear bench is full? I ask because it's Czech sibling, the Rapid does it 'au naturel' without any luggage in the boot. Just two people on the back and it will bottom out on the speedbreaker!

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by 4nd3r50n

Thank you so much for the insights! The origin of this question was a conversation with a friend who mentioned that on a CVT, inclines can be touchy! i don't know if that is true or just a perception. I just want to make sure that I take an informed decision (when the time comes) and learn from the collective experience of the Polo/Vento TSI owners on the Forum.
So another question- does the Vento bottom out on speed breakers if the rear bench is full? I ask because it's Czech sibling, the Rapid does it 'au naturel' without any luggage in the boot. Just two people on the back and it will bottom out on the speedbreaker!

If the car has Hill-Hold, there is nothing to worry. In the below post in my owneship thread, I have described a situation where the Hill-Hold was extremely useful.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3392879

Inclines are probably tricky in a conventional CVT. In a normal Torque Converter AT, the initial Torque is enough to function as a partial hill hold on regular inclines. If I am not wrong, the new Honda City although it is a CVT, has a slim Torque Converter (whatever that means ) to help in the initial pull away. So the Honda City CVT may not have a problem on inclines.

With 3 people in the back, the Vento can bottom out on BAngalore's monstrous speed breakers if you are not careful. But if you take the humps extra carefully it does not bottom. Also with lot of luggage, the tow hook regularly scraps the big humps.

[amitg79]

Hey guys, I'm back after a loooong absence. Will try to be more regular from now on. Sorry for the extremely late replies to some of the comments below. Some of my replies may be outdated by now.

Originally Posted by udaji

... Time to move on from my Honda City 2001 ...

How was your dealer experience? Horror stories about VW/Skoda dealerships abound, and probably deter quite a few. I presume you have your Goa trip over Christmas? Looking forward to more from you!

Now the Grey Ghost has completed 7 months. And still every time I get in the car, it is a thrilling experience. It just satisfies you regardless of the mood or occasion. It can be quiet and comfortable in the Pune city madness and it can quickly plant a smile on your face the moment you flex the right foot. Some of the best drives I have had are when I was alone, in S mode and with rock music for company.

I did a Goa trip earlier this year and boy, is this car fatigue free. It just is the ideal size, comfortable and has lots of boot space.

No horror stories on the dealership front. Yet.

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

Any updates about your Grey-Ghost? What mileage are you finally getting in Pune City?

Hi Rahul, I'm getting around 9 - 10 kmpl in Pune city. But I have a very itchy right foot. Sedate driving should see the mileage climb up to above 11. Highway mileage is awesome, somewhere in the range of 15 -17.

Originally Posted by crazyro

I have a Grey Ghost as well !!!
For my daily run of 20 kms pune city driving I am getting around 11-12 kmpl
Mine has done 3K so far and I can see the FE increasing slightly after the run in period.
Pune-Mumbai run has given me around 15 kmpl

Hello, fellow Grey Ghost. My highway mileage is similar to yours, but city mileage is a bit lower because of reasons mentioned above. But isn't it just a blast to drive every time?

Originally Posted by xtremeshock

Congratulations on owning a fantastic ride.

Just wanted to check with you, how is the perforamance compared to the Polo Tsi, do you find any difference in in-gear acceleration, am asking this because have read in some other thread that it takes a whole 2 seconds slower than the Polo Tsi to reach the triple digit mark.

Any light on this will be grateful.

In the real world, I did not find too much of a performance gap between this and the Polo TSI. Maybe there is a difference when starting off from a standstill, but next to no difference in-gear. I am stating this based on what I recollect.

Originally Posted by 4nd3r50n

Given the 1.2L engine, does the car ever feel underpowered? Especially, if you have a fully occupied rear bench plus luggage in the boot and you have to go up a steep incline in stop-start mode, behind a lumbering trailer that you cannot overtake? Does it ever feel that the car might just roll back?

I have traveled on a few occasions with full occupancy and luggage and it did not feel underpowered at all. Of course, the peppiness is blunted a bit. But with a full load, you have to be slightly more careful on sweeping corners because of the extra weight and the softer suspension.
Hill hold is awesome, as it prevents roll-backs of any sort. You do get a split-second rollback when hill-hold disengages and throttle engages, but it is negligible.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

If the car has Hill-Hold, there is nothing to worry. In the below post in my owneship thread, I have described a situation where the Hill-Hold was extremely useful.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3392879

Inclines are probably tricky in a conventional CVT. In a normal Torque Converter AT, the initial Torque is enough to function as a partial hill hold on regular inclines. If I am not wrong, the new Honda City although it is a CVT, has a slim Torque Converter (whatever that means ) to help in the initial pull away. So the Honda City CVT may not have a problem on inclines.

With 3 people in the back, the Vento can bottom out on BAngalore's monstrous speed breakers if you are not careful. But if you take the humps extra carefully it does not bottom. Also with lot of luggage, the tow hook regularly scraps the big humps.

I have fortunately not experienced it bottoming out with a full load, but I haven't driven around full-load in the city much.

Again, my apologies for being away from the forum for so long. I will post a longer ownership update soon.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by amitg79

The Fiat Palio Stile Sport 1.6. The Palio kept me entertained for 6 years, but after my wedding last year, I decided it was time to upgrade, what with frequent road-tripping on the cards.

I think you are one of the very few people who could help me understand the handling of a bento TSi. I have a Fiat Punto 90HP and I am looking to buy the bento TSi. The test drive was great except the high speed manners and light steering. I felt I could easily lose control of the car. I am sure it is a Fiat thing. The Punto has a heavy steering and is very planted at high speeds.

Did you struggle to get used to the Vento?

[amitg79]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

I think you are one of the very few people who could help me understand the handling of a bento TSi. I have a Fiat Punto 90HP and I am looking to buy the bento TSi. The test drive was great except the high speed manners and light steering. I felt I could easily lose control of the car. I am sure it is a Fiat thing. The Punto has a heavy steering and is very planted at high speeds.

Did you struggle to get used to the Vento?

The steering is a bit lighter, but still you'll find that it is accurate, so I have had no problems at highway speeds. Fiat's steering is a bit too heavy (Was so on may Palio as well), so you'll need a couple of days to get used to it.

The Vento handles very well at highway speeds. Coupled with that engine and gearbox, it is a driver's delight. It just opens up so much mind-space because you don't have to think about gear changes and stuff all the time, that its a very relaxing experience as well.