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-   -   2015 Volkswagen Vento Facelift : A Close Look (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/164457-2015-volkswagen-vento-facelift-close-look-6.html)

I always used to think otherwise. After a ride with the Polo TSi, I am a believer. VW is definitely on my list when I upgrade, but the service aspect is the only concern.

While this is true for the Honda City, given that the overall quality and fit/finish is now strictly average by Honda and C-Segment sedan standards, I was pleasantly surprised by the Ciaz's interior and exterior quality. Sure, it's not 'built' like a VW, (flimsy AC vents notwithstanding) it's a pretty solid product and is finished well, inside-out. So I wouldn't go so far as to say that VW quality is leaps and bounds ahead of the Ciaz. I would however say that the Ciaz offers one crucial thing over the Vento and that is cheaper spares. So you can drive it like a beater-car without worrying about breaking it, and your bank. The fact that it's a Maruti-Suzuki gives it an advantage over the VW, in so far as service backup and spares (availability and affordability) are concerned.

VW's quality is nothing to write home about. It's been deterioating steadily. The new cars have bits of irritating cost cutting and they don't feel flimsy as such, but the quality has gone down (doors don't close in one go)
The service is not that bad. You can't expect zero downtime, but apart from that it's a good car.
The facelift gives the much envied auto folding mirrors.

hI

Is this new face lifted version having only AT for the TDI models ? All the pictures seems to suggest that .
Why is VW trying to push the AT version in the Indian market in spite of not giving extended warranty to the AT system as they do in some other Asian countries ? The headlamps of this version looks pathetic.

Vento face lift is available in both petrol and diesel in AT variants.

See link to VW homepage.

http://www.volkswagen.co.in/en.html

Why does VW wait for a time before they launch the MT version in India ?

Indians as a rule like MT as our roads require us to shift gears at convenience. The AT gear box of VW has a poor track record ( read various posts in here itself) does kill the thrill of a new face lifted version launch. This is one poor strategy VW used when they launched the 1.5 TDI too last year, and the pathetic sales figures justify my statement.

Without understanding the consumer psychology in India, VW cannot hope Vento or its sibling Rapid to really capture the market. The fuel injector issue of earlier models of VW has already created a negative feedback in the market; which is hard to ignore and any number of face lifts cant compensate for shoddy customer handling.

I guess you are talking here of the TSI MT ? If so many are awaiting for this configuration for a very long time!

VW has a 3 variants of the 1.6 Petrol MT, 2 variants of the 1.2 TSI Petrol DSG AT, 3 variants of the 1.5 TDI MT and 2 variants of the TDI DSG AT. The AT and MT versions were launched together.

If you consider Vento Sibling, Rapid also, you get 2 variants of the 1.6 Petrol AT also.

This is one of the most extensive combinations of engine and gearbox across segments in India (I think there is a thread specific to this huge number of variants the Vento/Rapid offers)

The 1.2 TSI MT is the only combination missing here. Would be good if that comes in.

Agree to the point on After Sales. Unless that perception changes, no amount of face lifts is going to make Vento a best seller.

I don't agree, infact one of the major reasons for me to look at the Vento is due to the DSG.

Also with the extended warranty, we can rest assured for 4 years at least. The DSG failure reports are few and far between, and whenever it has happened VW has responded well as is also the case with the injector issue.
VW is mainly focussing on the big cities and considering the traffic menace in our cities, buying an automatic should be a no brainer. Hence the Polo GT like the Vento also comes only in DSG with TSI.

Also Idon't think even they are trying for numbers like a Verna or City. They want to sell decent numbers with good margins is what I feel as they really can't afford to make too many cars for India without affecting the numbers it wants to export.

Guys

I have to disagree with Bhodrolok for the buyers of vento are increasing in 3 tier cities and hence Vento is no longer a tier 1& 2 city cars. In cities like Ernakulam you see more BMW's and Merc's than you did couple of years ago and the same trend is there in other emerging cities in the county.

Regarding the Injector issue, the VW did not voluntarily replace the injectors for faulty cars and whenever an issue has been raised, they replaced the faulty injector alone and took the attitude that the replacement is only possible for failed ones alone. If the same issue has happened in Europe, they would have been taken to consumer courts and would have been forced to recall cars with the faulty injector models and replace all the four injectors free of cost. check the following post by Tom chacko Regarding the issue of DGS: Indian roads require frequent gear shifts and MT provides the ideal driving conditions. The dual clutch AT gear box of BMW/Merc cannot be compared to this VW AT. The fact that "hard selling" of the DGS version on consumers by offering the DGS version before MT is a bit out dated marketing technique and VW is not making any market in roads based on this.

Errm! They do offer a manual box on the TDI & if you go by numbers the diesel variant is the larger volume driver not the turbo petrol. The TSI is a more fun option and hence the DSG box mated to it for the better "experience".

I have always wondered though why don't they launch a MT TSi?! :confused:

I suggest you do your research before posting incorrect stuff on the forum. Volkswagen Group was the first company to launch the DSG (not DGS) box in a commercially produced car in 2003 (source) building on technology developed by Porsche in the 80s. The DSG boxes are manufactured by BorgWarner and licensed to VW.

BMW and Mercedes double clutch transmissions came much later, developed by Getrag and based on the same BorgWarner technology. Other manufacturers like Ford, Kia and Fiat too have developed their own versions of the double-clutch transmission. Only Ford has brought this to India (in the Fiesta and EcoSport, and likely in the next generation Figo too), outside of the luxury car manufacturers.

In fact a number of luxury cars in India do not even use double-clutch boxes even now. VW has taken its fair share of flak for the infamous mechatronics failures of primarily its dry clutch DQ200 boxes but you can't fault them for bringing this technology into the sub-10L segment, which is commendable. I suggest you test drive a DSG Polo GT or Vento yourself before passing judgement.

clap: whole heartedly agree: at least we are getting the latest in tech and as in other cases not at the mercy of the manufacturer when they would get us the latest, even though they have been offering a feature in other markets like South East Asia, Russia or East European countries!

Regarding the injector issue, I think if there were extended warranty, VW would have replaced the faulty injectors as well. So the extended warranty really makes sense to opt for anyway!

I couldn't agree more.

Also when I test drove the GT for the first time, it was mind boggling and this after having owned a E90 for about 2 years which IMHO wasn't as trigger happy as the GT. If only VW had actually given the GT a better tune & ride to make the GT experience complete :(

True but isn't that the precise situation where you'd want an automatic?

AFAIK dual-clutch technology isn't a favorite with BMW, unlike Mercedes, which puts it in regular cars like the A- and B-Class. BMW uses a ZF developed, torque-converter based, planetary gear transmission for regular models like the 1-, 3- and 5-series, I believe.