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Old 29th January 2012, 12:27   #286
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Congratulations on the milestone and agree with every pro/con that you have highlighted. You get used to the convenience of the euro touches you mentioned, which makes the ownership experience all the more enjoyable. My major grouse is the clutch and my left knee starts to pain after driving in B2B traffic for sometime. Even my scorpio has a lighter clutch than the vento.

For ACC, you can still manually put it in the re-circ mode and the unit will still control the blower speed automatically. Its one time thingy and it remembers your selection thereafter. Of course, what you said is true in the full auto mode though.
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Old 29th January 2012, 15:46   #287
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by neoonwheels View Post
The ACC turning to fresh air mode certainly has something since my Punto as well goes on fresh air once put on full auto.

BTW, as always, your writing style is certainly very entertaining
Thank you!

Quote:
Originally Posted by bala80 View Post
Congratulations on the milestone and agree with every pro/con that you have highlighted. You get used to the convenience of the euro touches you mentioned, which makes the ownership experience all the more enjoyable. My major grouse is the clutch and my left knee starts to pain after driving in B2B traffic for sometime. Even my scorpio has a lighter clutch than the vento.

For ACC, you can still manually put it in the re-circ mode and the unit will still control the blower speed automatically. Its one time thingy and it remembers your selection thereafter. Of course, what you said is true in the full auto mode though.
Thanks.

I wanted to add one more point that my FE seems to have gone down with the kms. Earlier highway drives would fetch me 18-20, but now I keep hovering around 16-17. But then it's too early, I'll probably wait for a month or so and then comment on it.

So how's the ICE working for you? Pity we can't sample the ICE setups through the online forums!
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Old 29th January 2012, 15:51   #288
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
10k coming up! 10k coming up!
Many Congratulations. I hit 5K on my recent road trip this weekend. Yes I am a slouch when compared to most Ventophiles

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
  • Jack of all trades aspect. The handling isn't the best, but it works. The suspension isn't the best, but it works. The brakes aren't the best, but they work. The design, isn't one of the best lookers, but it'll last. The A$$, far from being reliable, but it'll work. The features, not the complete list, but it'll suffice. The music system, far from the best setup, but it'll work. You get the idea.
I actually like the handling a lot. I only drove a Linea (which is famed to be the best) for some TDs but didnt find the handling on the Vento worse than the Linea. During my recent road trips I could take reasonably sharp turns at around 70-80 with confidence without the car getting unstable even one bit. Sure these were not hairpin bends, but when compared with the Linea, the Linea handling might be better by a wee bit.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
  • The Automatic Climate Control. Weirdly most of the time, it switches to outside air. Not the best option for our choked up city roads. Also having rear vents isn't really helping for the people in the rear seats, especially on sunny days. In addition to the existing air-flow options, I wish they had given one more where the air is circulated only to the rear vents.
I found the A/C not responding well when the Sun is beating down specially when the outside temperature approaches 30. Could be an issue with my car and have a plan to get it checked. The cooling was far from perfect in auto mode during peak daytime.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
Attachment 878956
Once I get the funds ready, my daily drive to office. Top speed on this beauty was 30kmph. As it is the Hinjewadi traffic hardly lets me go over 20!
You could actually get one and then clear the traffic with that shovel in the front as you reach office. You do that once or twice, people will move aside for you to pass ahead of them from the next day . Waiting for your travelogue.
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Old 29th January 2012, 16:05   #289
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by samarjitdhar View Post
Many Congratulations. I hit 5K on my recent road trip this weekend. Yes I am a slouch when compared to most Ventophiles

I actually like the handling a lot. I only drove a Linea (which is famed to be the best) for some TDs but didnt find the handling on the Vento worse than the Linea. During my recent road trips I could take reasonably sharp turns at around 70-80 with confidence without the car getting unstable even one bit. Sure these were not hairpin bends, but when compared with the Linea, the Linea handling might be better by a wee bit.
Thanks! And 5k in such a short time ain't bad!

As for the handling, I had no issues with the Vento till I sat on @raj_5004's Punto while traversing the ghat regions between Mumbai & Nashik. Was floored by the way the car was doing the turns at high speeds. Could compare one-on-one as @el lobo 61's Vento following us couldn't match the Punto's handling at all.

Quote:
I found the A/C not responding well when the Sun is beating down specially when the outside temperature approaches 30. Could be an issue with my car and have a plan to get it checked. The cooling was far from perfect in auto mode during peak daytime.
Quite similar thoughts here. Found the case more in Mumbai's humid climate recently, where I had to go well below 20 degrees to get the same cooling effect I used to get earlier at 24! Thought of mentioning it to VW, but I'll be first testing it properly during the summer. I think the filter is the culprit and needs to be cleaned.

Quote:
You could actually get one and then clear the traffic with that shovel in the front as you reach office. You do that once or twice, people will move aside for you to pass ahead of them from the next day .
lol - that's the idea.
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Old 29th January 2012, 16:42   #290
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
I wanted to add one more point that my FE seems to have gone down with the kms. Earlier highway drives would fetch me 18-20, but now I keep hovering around 16-17. But then it's too early, I'll probably wait for a month or so and then comment on it.
I too have the feeling that the FE has gone down to similar levels. I am nearing 13k now. So I will be going for the service soon and going to report this as an issue.

By the way, you are driving around like crazy! 10k already?!


Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
As for the handling, I had no issues with the Vento till I sat on @raj_5004's Punto while traversing the ghat regions between Mumbai & Nashik. Was floored by the way the car was doing the turns at high speeds. Could compare one-on-one as @el lobo 61's Vento following us couldn't match the Punto's handling at all.
I have driven both the Punto and Vento through the Kasara ghat. I would put both at par for handling the twisties. Vento is as good if not better than the Punto at quick turning. But then, I would hand an extra point to the Punto just because when I drove it, we were four of us. I was alone in the Vento. The Punto took the curves with aplomb!

Last edited by nileshch : 29th January 2012 at 16:48.
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Old 30th January 2012, 09:57   #291
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
Thanks! And 5k in such a short time ain't bad!
Hope 10K comes up faster. Have some good road trip plans for the end of next month. I have a different question though this is completely so sorry about that.

I too have a Jopasu duster to clean the car like the one you have but I found that the duster can collect some serious dirt pretty quickly. Getting it off the duster is a painful process. How do you clean the duster itself? Right now mine is still in a pretty dirty state even after trying to clean it thrice with soap water.
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Old 30th January 2012, 10:30   #292
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by nileshch View Post
By the way, you are driving around like crazy! 10k already?!
Not really Just that my daily office to&fro trip has become a 80km affair, and hence the increase in kms. I'd rather get back to the earlier setup of long highway trips and short office trips.


Quote:
Originally Posted by samarjitdhar View Post
Hope 10K comes up faster.
lol - we are a weird lot aren't we. I too want to reach 15k as early as possible, but just realized I'm talking about rushing myself to a point where I'll be facing a bill of nearly 10k for servicing, not to mention the money I'll be spending on the fuel to reach that point.

As of now, I'm thinking of going easy on the kms going ahead. But then I'm sure Murphy will be lurking around the corner.

Quote:
I too have a Jopasu duster to clean the car like the one you have but I found that the duster can collect some serious dirt pretty quickly. Getting it off the duster is a painful process. How do you clean the duster itself? Right now mine is still in a pretty dirty state even after trying to clean it thrice with soap water.
Till date I have washed it only once, last week. The duster is clean now, but the color has shifted to a dirty grey, I doubt any scrubbing would bring back the original white color. However, the duster still works, contradictory to most other people's experiences on the forum.

What I did was was to dip it in a bucket of (very) mildly warm water, for some 20-30 mins, with a bit of rotatary moments to shake the threads a few times. And then dry it in the shade, under the fan, which nearly took the entire day. If you want, I'll post pics of the same.

Last edited by ninjatalli : 30th January 2012 at 10:45.
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Old 30th January 2012, 11:02   #293
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
What I did was was to dip it in a bucket of (very) mildly warm water, for some 20-30 mins, with a bit of rotatary moments to shake the threads a few times. And then dry it in the shade, under the fan, which nearly took the entire day. If you want, I'll post pics of the same.
Something I have been doing the third time this weekend but still not much progress . I will get some stronger detergent and dip it one last time to see if it gets better. I should also get the car thoroughly cleaned after two road trips now. I would be visiting the service center this week to get the a/c issue fixed so hope they can clean it up then.
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Old 30th January 2012, 11:22   #294
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by samarjitdhar View Post
Something I have been doing the third time this weekend but still not much progress . I will get some stronger detergent and dip it one last time to see if it gets better. I should also get the car thoroughly cleaned after two road trips now. I would be visiting the service center this week to get the a/c issue fixed so hope they can clean it up then.
If you wash it clean, it might lose its property to attract dust. I usually just dip it in water to get rid of the dirt as much as possible. The thing is that it should not convert itself into a normal clothing thing when cleaned too much.

The A/C doesnt seem to have good brains to be automatic. Of all the cars I have, Vento has the worst ACC and even AC to some extent.
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Old 30th January 2012, 11:47   #295
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by samarjitdhar View Post
Something I have been doing the third time this weekend but still not much progress . I will get some stronger detergent and dip it one last time to see if it gets better. I should also get the car thoroughly cleaned after two road trips now.
Don't ever do that. Go through the Jopasu thread, washing with a strong detergent or drying the duster in the sun renders it useless.

Already wondering how it is working since you have washed it thrice!

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Originally Posted by srishiva View Post
If you wash it clean, it might lose its property to attract dust. I usually just dip it in water to get rid of the dirt as much as possible. The thing is that it should not convert itself into a normal clothing thing when cleaned too much.
+1 to this.

Quote:
The A/C doesnt seem to have good brains to be automatic. Of all the cars I have, Vento has the worst ACC and even AC to some extent.
Haven't tested the A.C. against many cars, but yes, it is not a great chiller.
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Old 30th January 2012, 11:58   #296
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
Don't ever do that. Go through the Jopasu thread, washing with a strong detergent or drying the duster in the sun renders it useless.
Havent put it in the sun but probably will take your advice and just let it dry in the shade under the fan for the next two days. Hope it stays intact
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Old 7th February 2012, 11:57   #297
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

The recent trend of Vento owners buying knives (to slash through seat belts) is creating a lot of Ninjas IMO - you should act fast to protect your IP

You are falling behind in the mileage sweepstakes dude , buck up ! When and where is the next trip planned ?
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Old 7th February 2012, 17:04   #298
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

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Originally Posted by nileshch View Post
The shadow blue is as tough as the black to maintain. See how scratches look on the blue

Horrific!!
You guys are scaring me I'm getting my Shadow blue Vento in a couple of days. I just hope my experience with a dark colored car goes off well.

Regards,
Anant
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Old 8th February 2012, 07:21   #299
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

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Originally Posted by souravc View Post
The recent trend of Vento owners buying knives (to slash through seat belts) is creating a lot of Ninjas IMO - you should act fast to protect your IP

You are falling behind in the mileage sweepstakes dude , buck up ! When and where is the next trip planned ?
I have decided to take it easy

No big plans in the near future. Weirdly workload plus the marriage season are making the weekends unavailable too!

Quote:
Originally Posted by anantu2001 View Post
You guys are scaring me I'm getting my Shadow blue Vento in a couple of days. I just hope my experience with a dark colored car goes off well.

Regards,
Anant
Anant,
Follow some simple guidelines and you'll have it easy. Nothing specific to Vento, but probably should apply to all dark colored cars.
  • Buy a few good microfibre cloths and preferably the Jopasu Duster. If you have a local washer, hand him one of the fibre cloth and do not allow him to use any other cloth for washing. Unless your car gets dirty daily, try to reduce the washing to twice or thrice a week, and on the other days, just use the duster to clean it yourself.
  • Get a good wax and try to give a coat once in a month (or two). More than the waxing, what will help you is to be aware of the swirls/scratches on the car and take care of it as early as possible.
  • Try not to park too much in the sun.
  • Try to stop worrying about the color. Scratches/swirls are inevitable. If it really pains you, then be the epitome of a polite driver on the road, the probability of any of the idiots bumping into you should go down drastically.

And welcome to the blue gang and especially the Vento family on Tbhp. It is quite a coveted gang to be part of! Do tell if you have any additional queries.
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Old 8th February 2012, 09:12   #300
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re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
I have decided to take it easy

No big plans in the near future. Weirdly workload plus the marriage season are making the weekends unavailable too!


Anant,
Follow some simple guidelines and you'll have it easy. Nothing specific to Vento, but probably should apply to all dark colored cars.
  • Buy a few good microfibre cloths and preferably the Jopasu Duster. If you have a local washer, hand him one of the fibre cloth and do not allow him to use any other cloth for washing. Unless your car gets dirty daily, try to reduce the washing to twice or thrice a week, and on the other days, just use the duster to clean it yourself.
  • Get a good wax and try to give a coat once in a month (or two). More than the waxing, what will help you is to be aware of the swirls/scratches on the car and take care of it as early as possible.
  • Try not to park too much in the sun.
  • Try to stop worrying about the color. Scratches/swirls are inevitable. If it really pains you, then be the epitome of a polite driver on the road, the probability of any of the idiots bumping into you should go down drastically.

And welcome to the blue gang and especially the Vento family on Tbhp. It is quite a coveted gang to be part of! Do tell if you have any additional queries.
Hey, thanks for all the information. And yes, I would like to be in the gang of Vento's in T-BHP. Thanks.

I've been wondering where I can get the Jopasu duster in Bangalore. Maybe nileshch might help me in this.

Between, I've given you and nileshch a small credit in my ownership report which i've already started writing The car will be delivered day after tomorrow and the report is already ready (except for the delivery part of course). You both have actually inspired me to go for this colour !!

Regards,
Anant
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