Volkswagen Vento @ 6.99 lakhs!

blackasta · 12th August 2010, 10:52

City and Fiesta might survive the vento onslaught, but SX4 and Verna... hmm. Have to wait and watch.

SPARKled · 12th August 2010, 10:58

So who is buying the Toyota Diesel now? I guess not many. I had almost decided on the ANHC but now I will seriously have to reconsider. A capable diesel with better driving dynamics at the price of a ANHC looks pretty tempting to me now.

SCH · 12th August 2010, 11:03

Vento Petrol higline is cheaper by 82 K as compared to Honda City VMT.. ANy guesses on the FE part. I guess it would be around 14/15. City figure is 16.5.

montoo · 12th August 2010, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by deky

I dont know if today it has arrived there but yesterday evening it was displayed at a hotel in Jaipur and coincidentally it was a white one too that GTO has mentioned.

which hotel dude?i am in bani park.

Sugeeta · 12th August 2010, 11:06

Good news from GTO. The pricing details confirmed by GTO are close on the earlier guidance released by the company.

Would eagerly await GTOs test drive report.

For making VW Vento a phenomenal success, 3 areas which need to be addressed on priority :

1. Good & Extensive dealership support - the ones in Delhi remain clueless wrt even basic queries like when a vehicle for test drive would be available. Their customer orientation needs to be improved dramatically

2. Reducing waiting time - Buyers might tend to change their mind. High quality delivered after long waiting periods might not be well accepted by the Indian customer when other options are available

3. Cost effective maintenance - If service and repair costs fall in the same bracket as Skoda, it may be a big deterrent for customers.

Next few weeks might indicate if personally my loyalties shift from the Ford fans club.

SM

ampere · 12th August 2010, 11:07

So how about both the engines? Have they been developed new?
Petrol? Dont tell me that the petrol is the same as Old Jetta 1.6 Petrol as to find its in Polo 1.6?

And how about diesel? Is it a new one? Or its already doing duty in some other continent?

chaotic · 12th August 2010, 11:11

This is indeed a great price, kept to expectations and will surely hurt everyone in this segment in the short term, afterall, it has novelty and vw badge going for it. But the huge waiting periods seen for polo may also manifest here and this segment is not as forgiving! I do hope that VW gets it act together quickly enough

C300 · 12th August 2010, 11:15

Killer pricing by VW...way to go...the price difference between base and top end is a bit more than what i expected but overall great addition to the entry level Sedan segment..
waiting for your detailed review GTO! that will decide whether my upgrade from a hatch will be a Vento or ANHC!

CARDEEP · 12th August 2010, 11:22

Killer pricing indeed from VW. But, I miss a Comfortline in between.

Honda executives must be very since the last evening & they ought, with VW trumping the Japs in Quality scores in US & Europe & proving equally good (if not better) in the FE department, they ought to have sleepless nights & nightmarish days.

Hope the Japs learn a lesson & eat the humble pie, i.e. reduce their price.
Also, hope that VW increase their dealer network & production as well to meet to the initial demand rush. Finally, a good sedan in the price range that is equally good to challenge the City.

How many have till now read the Aria Test-Report (by Flying Spur) since yesterday?

srishiva · 12th August 2010, 11:23

Come on, look at the 'No' against features in the Trendline. Its a lot of omissions. Higher versions are sure better than Honda City. Hoping City to get new features.

smilyinblue · 12th August 2010, 11:34

Why didn't they launch a comfortline variant?
Hope they launch it later with ABS and price well.

aseem · 12th August 2010, 11:34

My take: Well VW is aiming more at the Fiesta, Dezire, Manza, SX4 Vxi territory than a direct onslought at City. As always you would see a hype, initial sales, before the dust settles. It may also dethrone City for some time to come just like SX4 did in its hay day. But one would have to factor, how many of the numbers VW does, are from VW Trendline Petrol, and how many are from Highline to get the true picture.

As a prespective buyer in this segment, I can tell you something called as brand erosion. Why wont someone buy a Dezire Zxi with all bells and whistles and instead settle for Verna Base or Fiesta? Because they rather be assocaited with a 7-9 lakh rupee car than to be seen in 5-7 lakh rupee car. In other words given a choice between 7 lakh top end of desire and 7 lakh base of Fiesta, many folks will simply jump ship. The reason behind that is when you price something between 7-10 most ppl end up buying the car starting at 7 lakhs, therefore the one driving 10 lakh rupee car does not get the same brand value/snob value.

Now Honda can easily chop off 50k of Honda City EMT by shaving off airbags and ABS. Kudos to them they havent yet given into the temptation of making safety optional at the expense of numbers. Same is true for Jazz. Its safe to say given a choice Indians would go for a music system and make safety optional if it means saving money, but Honda has not gone that route.

So by having City start at 8.5 lakhs, Honda gives its owners some exclusivity and bragging rights over Vento P in particular. Yes we can talk about features, but I think in time we will realize that space, engineering, engine are more important than climate control and some other goodies. City's petrol package would still be unbeatable.

The diesel is a totally different value proposition though. If it had come with an Auto, it would have been a game changer for VW. I welcome competition, and wish VW best of luck. At the end of the day, cosumer wins.

phantom76 · 12th August 2010, 11:38

Excellent analysis, aseem. Completely agree with you. Its too early to write off the City.

Sugeeta · 12th August 2010, 11:39

There seem to be a lot of speculation that Vento will make a big dent in the Honda market share.

I have my reservations on this speculation. Honda is a tried, tested and trusted brand in India that has made inroads over the last many, many years.

It is not easy too shake off loyalties and trust built over the last many years.

Vento will have to prove itself to the Indian customer to carve a niche for itself.

SM

EssYouWe · 12th August 2010, 11:42

I see little logic in your argument Aseem. The Vento is a proper sedan with features, engine specs and the price point to compete with the City.

Why in the world would you pit it against the D'zire?

I also appreciate Honda's commitment to emphasize on safety, but the top end Vento is priced very close to the base ANHC. Which means you get a lot of other bells and whistles apart from the safety aspect.

So it turns out to be a fairer proposition.

The ANHC is overpriced, and that is something as clear as daylight to everyone.

12th August 2010, 10:52	#106
blackasta Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: WB 26 Posts: 3,405 Thanked: 2,916 Times View My Garage	City and Fiesta might survive the vento onslaught, but SX4 and Verna... hmm. Have to wait and watch.
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 10:58	#107
SPARKled Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 1,110 Thanked: 656 Times	So who is buying the Toyota Diesel now? I guess not many. I had almost decided on the ANHC but now I will seriously have to reconsider. A capable diesel with better driving dynamics at the price of a ANHC looks pretty tempting to me now.
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:03	#108
SCH BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Kashipur Posts: 162 Thanked: 3 Times	Vento Petrol higline is cheaper by 82 K as compared to Honda City VMT.. ANy guesses on the FE part. I guess it would be around 14/15. City figure is 16.5.
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:06	#110
Sugeeta BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 352 Thanked: 193 Times	Good news from GTO. The pricing details confirmed by GTO are close on the earlier guidance released by the company. Would eagerly await GTOs test drive report. For making VW Vento a phenomenal success, 3 areas which need to be addressed on priority : 1. Good & Extensive dealership support - the ones in Delhi remain clueless wrt even basic queries like when a vehicle for test drive would be available. Their customer orientation needs to be improved dramatically 2. Reducing waiting time - Buyers might tend to change their mind. High quality delivered after long waiting periods might not be well accepted by the Indian customer when other options are available 3. Cost effective maintenance - If service and repair costs fall in the same bracket as Skoda, it may be a big deterrent for customers. Next few weeks might indicate if personally my loyalties shift from the Ford fans club. SM
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:07	#111
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,930 Thanked: 12,901 Times View My Garage	So how about both the engines? Have they been developed new? Petrol? Dont tell me that the petrol is the same as Old Jetta 1.6 Petrol as to find its in Polo 1.6? And how about diesel? Is it a new one? Or its already doing duty in some other continent?
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:11	#112
chaotic BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 55 Thanked: 114 Times	This is indeed a great price, kept to expectations and will surely hurt everyone in this segment in the short term, afterall, it has novelty and vw badge going for it. But the huge waiting periods seen for polo may also manifest here and this segment is not as forgiving! I do hope that VW gets it act together quickly enough
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:15	#113
C300 BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Pune, Melbourne Posts: 771 Thanked: 1,027 Times	Killer pricing by VW...way to go...the price difference between base and top end is a bit more than what i expected but overall great addition to the entry level Sedan segment.. waiting for your detailed review GTO! that will decide whether my upgrade from a hatch will be a Vento or ANHC!
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:22	#114
CARDEEP Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NCR Posts: 3,247 Thanked: 2,520 Times	Killer pricing indeed from VW. But, I miss a Comfortline in between. Honda executives must be very since the last evening & they ought, with VW trumping the Japs in Quality scores in US & Europe & proving equally good (if not better) in the FE department, they ought to have sleepless nights & nightmarish days. Hope the Japs learn a lesson & eat the humble pie, i.e. reduce their price. Also, hope that VW increase their dealer network & production as well to meet to the initial demand rush. Finally, a good sedan in the price range that is equally good to challenge the City. How many have till now read the Aria Test-Report (by Flying Spur) since yesterday?
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:23	#115
srishiva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,375 Thanked: 2,256 Times	Come on, look at the 'No' against features in the Trendline. Its a lot of omissions. Higher versions are sure better than Honda City. Hoping City to get new features.
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:34	#116
smilyinblue Newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20 Thanked: 11 Times	Why didn't they launch a comfortline variant? Hope they launch it later with ABS and price well.
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:34	#117
aseem Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Delhi Posts: 1,730 Thanked: 441 Times	My take: Well VW is aiming more at the Fiesta, Dezire, Manza, SX4 Vxi territory than a direct onslought at City. As always you would see a hype, initial sales, before the dust settles. It may also dethrone City for some time to come just like SX4 did in its hay day. But one would have to factor, how many of the numbers VW does, are from VW Trendline Petrol, and how many are from Highline to get the true picture. As a prespective buyer in this segment, I can tell you something called as brand erosion. Why wont someone buy a Dezire Zxi with all bells and whistles and instead settle for Verna Base or Fiesta? Because they rather be assocaited with a 7-9 lakh rupee car than to be seen in 5-7 lakh rupee car. In other words given a choice between 7 lakh top end of desire and 7 lakh base of Fiesta, many folks will simply jump ship. The reason behind that is when you price something between 7-10 most ppl end up buying the car starting at 7 lakhs, therefore the one driving 10 lakh rupee car does not get the same brand value/snob value. Now Honda can easily chop off 50k of Honda City EMT by shaving off airbags and ABS. Kudos to them they havent yet given into the temptation of making safety optional at the expense of numbers. Same is true for Jazz. Its safe to say given a choice Indians would go for a music system and make safety optional if it means saving money, but Honda has not gone that route. So by having City start at 8.5 lakhs, Honda gives its owners some exclusivity and bragging rights over Vento P in particular. Yes we can talk about features, but I think in time we will realize that space, engineering, engine are more important than climate control and some other goodies. City's petrol package would still be unbeatable. The diesel is a totally different value proposition though. If it had come with an Auto, it would have been a game changer for VW. I welcome competition, and wish VW best of luck. At the end of the day, cosumer wins.
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:38	#118
phantom76 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 88 Thanked: 2 Times	Excellent analysis, aseem. Completely agree with you. Its too early to write off the City.
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:39	#119
Sugeeta BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 352 Thanked: 193 Times	There seem to be a lot of speculation that Vento will make a big dent in the Honda market share. I have my reservations on this speculation. Honda is a tried, tested and trusted brand in India that has made inroads over the last many, many years. It is not easy too shake off loyalties and trust built over the last many years. Vento will have to prove itself to the Indian customer to carve a niche for itself. SM
	() Thanks

12th August 2010, 11:42	#120
EssYouWe Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Lucknow Posts: 1,391 Thanked: 18 Times	I see little logic in your argument Aseem. The Vento is a proper sedan with features, engine specs and the price point to compete with the City. Why in the world would you pit it against the D'zire? I also appreciate Honda's commitment to emphasize on safety, but the top end Vento is priced very close to the base ANHC. Which means you get a lot of other bells and whistles apart from the safety aspect. So it turns out to be a fairer proposition. The ANHC is overpriced, and that is something as clear as daylight to everyone.
	() Thanks