[Rajeevraj]

Warning: This is a very long post

I love cars and I love driving. Although I learnt driving and got a license as soon as I turned 18. It wasn't until 2006 that I started driving on a regular basis. This was after I got my first car a pre-owned Maruti 800. In fact, I had to get a friend to drive it home from the dealer since I could not manage the car in traffic. Here is a picture of the first ride



Maybe it is the delayed start to my driving experiences, I frequently got the urge to get something new with more comforts. The first comfort that my heart said I had to have was a car with power steering. So just a year and half after I bought the 800, I landed up again in the True Value Showroom looking for an Alto (The cheapest one with PS). Instead saw a bright Red Zen and fell in love with it and bought it.



3.5 eventful years with the Zen. Got married and a baby arrived. The upgrade itch started again. This time the excuse was we needed a bigger car with a big boot because the baby would need a lot of space for her luggage. In addition, I wanted a ‘fully loaded’ car. Budget did not allow for a new car satisfying all these needs. So again landed up at the True Value dealer- Same sales man and got home the SX4. Here is a picture of the SX4 (Taken after it was serviced and polished in preparation for the sale).



After 2 productive years with the SX4, after accompanying my co-brother for a bunch of test drives for his car purchase, I proclaimed-‘Do not see anything out there that will give me a reason to sell the SX4 in the near future’. 3 months later I was eating my own words. My heart had found a reason. The SX4 with its heavy steering and bulky nature was becoming less enjoyable to drive in the increasing traffic for both me as well as for my wife who had the need to drive to office more frequently.

Hence the thought process started building up. First thought was: We don’t need a sedan, a big hatchback would do. Then we did a week-long trip to my home town in Kerala. 1500km of driving on 2 lane roads, in heavy traffic, in and through congested towns resulted in a heavy work out and soreness in my left leg. So I started thinking: Why not an automatic? Listed down the common assumptions (or misconceptions) with automatic cars in India and my findings after researching each one of them

• Availability: Automatics are not easily available
• Fact: Compared to the scene 2-3 years ago, there is much more choice. Most manufacturers have an AT option on many of their models.
  
• Efficiency: Automatics have terrible fuel efficiency
• Fact: With modern AT technology making its presence in India, this is slowing becoming less of a concern. The CVT boxes have equal or > ratings than the equivalent manual. DSG’s are also very efficient, and even the Torque converter boxes are more efficient. Bottomline: If your usage is moderate then the cost difference between an AT and manual from efficiency perspective will be minimal.
• Performance: AT’s do not perform well. Not suitable for Indian Driving conditions. Especially on highways.
• Fact: Maybe partially true. But today we do have 5, 6 and 7 speed AT boxes with multiple modes and paddle/tiptronic options. So for most use cases, I do not think this is a concern anymore.
• Cost: AT’s are expensive
• Fact: This is true. AT’s still make up a small volume of total sales. Typically AT’s cost at least a lakh more than the equivalent manual version

So with the automatic debate settled, in summary what did I want from a new car?

• Automatic with excellent performance. Normally I am a light footed driver, but when there is a need, there should be enough power and responsiveness. I felt that was important for 2 lane traffic filled highway driving as well as in the city where if you are a couple of seconds slow, your space in front is either taken by another car or 10 bikes.
• Tiptronic/Paddle Shift: Maybe 90% of driving conditions are taken care of by the regular and sport AT modes, but I felt there will be that 10% time where a manual control would be best suited.
• Efficiency: My usage would not be very high. So a reasonable mileage (say 10-12 in city) would be ok for me.
• Safety features were a must: ABS, Min 2 Airbags etc…
• Light steering especially at parking speeds
• Spacious interiors.
• Reasonably big boot. I was coming from an SX4, so felt I should not feel constrained by the boot space.
• Initial Budget: < 10L

I am the kind of person who does a lot of paper study before venturing out. So I spend a lot of team online (especially on team-bhp) reading official reviews, ownership reviews and comments on various AT cars under 10L. Based on that came up with the list of AT cars and made an initial shortlist

• A-Star: Great 2nd car/only city use car. Poor rear seat space and boot space for my requirements. If I was buying a 2nd car, I think I would have bought this. -Rejected
• Ritz/Dzire: Never really considered due many reasons. But my deal-breaker reason was that AT comes only in the VXi trim which means no ABS and Airbags. –Rejected
• i10/i20: Did not consider the i10 since the bigger i20 was in my budget. Again, no AT in the top end variant, No passenger Airbag in the Sportz Variant. But felt it was worth a 2nd look-Shortlisted
  
• Brio/Amaze: Brio was rejected due to the boot space and the fact that there are already 2 MT Brio’s in the family. Amaze seemed to tick most of my boxes- Shortlisted
• Micra CVT: The refreshed Micra looked decent enough. General feedback on the CVT was-Great in the city, dull on the highway. Scores low on performance. But in general worth a 2nd look -Shortlisted.
• Polo GT TSI: Was shortlisted by just reading the official review thread. Seemed to meet most of my criteria- Shortlisted

So the first list was i20, Micra, Amaze and the Polo GT TSI.
After some more analysis dropped the Micra as I felt that it would not give me the peppy performance I was looking for. In addition, the boot was smaller as compared to the others.

Dropped the i20 because of a few reasons

• Older 4 Speed AT box when compared to the others
• No Proper Tiptronic or Paddle shift
• Reports of single digit fuel efficiency.(Was the biggest concern)
• No passenger airbag
• My Co-Brother had just bought an i20 MT Asta. So there was no newness factor

So it was between the Amaze and the polo TSI. Now the mistake I did here was that I test drove the GT TSI first. I think everything that has to be said, has been said about this car. I stepped out after the test drive with a big smile on my face. No other car that I had driven gave me that feeling. Followed this with the Amaze TD and compared to the Polo the Amaze AT felt loud and the performance seemed average. (That’s why I said earlier that I should not have driven the GT TSI first. It biased me against the Amaze).

After thinking more objectively, if this was a purchase with the mind and based on practicality, the Amaze was the way to go. Very spacious, had all safety features, good boot space, big but not too big, a good 5 speed gearbox. On the downside, it did not have Paddle/Tiptronic and with medium throttle input, it seemed to be in a lower gear than what I would expect at that speed leading to higher NVH levels inside the car.

The downside of the Polo was that interiors (especially back seat) was cramped and the boot was just about acceptable. The DSG Issues reported also played around in my head. But after 3 test drives from me and similar smile inducing drives by my co-brothers and a diesel loving colleague, my heart overcame the mind and I booked the Polo GT TSI on 7th October with an estimated wait time of 3 months.

The problem with a heart over mind decision is that everything related to the decision should finish quickly. If it takes time, then the mind will start to take over the heart as you get more time to think and introspect. The main point thought that came up was the rear seat space and the boot space. Since I was driving an SX4, we were used to the bigger boot and good rear space. The more we thought about it, the more we felt that we may regret not getting a sedan. So I decided to see what options we have in the C segment sedan space. Again did the detailed study and analysis.

• Ford Ecosport: Was actually considered in my earlier shortlist also. Had to be dropped because of the long waiting period. Would have been my choice if it was available within a reasonable time
• Ford Fiesta: Ford were no longer supplying AT’s when I started looking out. Would not have been considered due to a lack of Paddle/TipTronic option
• Honda City: Unfortunately I started looking out about the time that Honda stopped AT production and all AT stocks were cleared. So no dealer had an AT for test drive nor to buy. Briefly toyed with the idea of a pre-owned City AT. Found quite a few options. But the <2 year old models I was looking for were all priced in such a way that it was not affordable without a loan. And it did not make sense to take a loan for a pre-owned car for a model that was being phased out.
• Scala/Sunny Twins: Never seriously considered. I did not like the looks of these cars and the fact that they were not great highway performers and did not have a manual option made me decide against these.
• Verna: Not considered because of the older tech gear box coupled with the fact that it was quite expensive. Briefly considered the diesel AT. But the scary price of 14.5Lakhs On Road Bangalore (prior to any discounts) made the rejection an easy decision.
• Rapid AT: This was a competent option, dealers were sitting on stock and hence there was a good opportunity to get some major discounts. The reviews of the 6 speed AT were also pretty good. Rejected because of 2 reasons

• The face lifted Rapid had just been announced. So felt it made no sense to buy the pre-facelift which also did not have couple of basic things which I was used to (Eg: Steering Audio Controls)
• With the Vento TSI launched, it seems a matter of time before the 6 Speed AT of the Rapid is also replaced with the TSI+DSG combo.
• Vento TSI: I had read about the Vento TSI launch when I booked the Polo. By the time this analysis was done, the Vento was launched. It seemed to be everything I was looking for. Everything the Polo had plus the rear space and the boot. Became a strong contender.

In summary, if you look at it, I was ready to choose between the Ecosport, Fiesta, City and the Vento TSI. But the first 2 were not available (I visited 3 ford dealers and none of them had an Ecosport/Fiesta AT test drive vehicle), there was no clear info on when the new City would be coming (This was somewhere in the 2nd half of October). Maybe the most practical thing to do would have been to wait for the Honda City and then take a call. As with the Polo/Amaze debate, I assume if I had done that, the practical all round choice may have been the City. But my heart had fallen for the TSI + DSG combo and hence it pretty much meant that either I stick with the Polo booking, or go ahead with the Vento TSI. A heart-heart decision.

I did another analysis. The Polo GT TSI was close to 2.4 lakhs more expensive than the regular Polo Highline (On Road Bangalore, not considering any discounts). On the other hand, the Vento TSI was around 1.4 Lakhs more than the regular Vento Highline and also priced almost on par with the outgoing Vento AT. So I kind of felt that the Vento TSI was more value for money.

Based on this contacted VW Whitefield and changed my booking to Shadow Blue Vento TSI on 28th October. They did have a white in stock which was a color I did not want. Was promised delivery in max 1 month.

Dealership Experiences
Before getting into the details of the experience with VW, would like to quickly summarize the experiences with other dealerships
One thing was standard: I would call the showroom, they would ask my contact details and tell an SA would call me back immediately. This happened across all dealers I contacted.
Ford

• Elite Ford Marathahalli:: Made multiple visits to check out Ecosport and also get info on Fiesta. For the Ecosport, In general no SA bothered to assist or volunteer to provide any details. I guess they were not obliged to since bookings were closed and they had more than enough bookings. But a better response would have been nice. One time I spend 20 min looking at the Ecosport and no one even came up to check what I was doing (The Display car is on the first floor). Their price list also had a serious mistake. The insurance was double counted on the AT line item which inflated the price. I pointed it out to them when I went there the next time. They first argued it was correct, but later realized the mistake.
  
• Metro Ford Palace Cross Road:Made a quick visit when I went to VW showroom next door. Spent around 10 min before someone acknowledged my presence. Quickly checked on wait periods and test drive options and left. Both showrooms did not have an Ecosport AT for Test Drive

Honda

• Dakshin Honda Hosur Road: Called in advance asking for a TD of Amaze AT. Fixed an appointment for 3pm. Reached there on the dot. Took around 10 min before an SA assisted us. Was a person with very limited knowledge. Had to go back and keep checking on answers to basic questions like wait periods, color availability, TD availability etc. First question I asked was if the TD vehicle was available, answer was yes, 15 min later I said, lets do the TD, SA comes back and says the TD car has gone to other showroom. Asked waiting time, was told 4 months for AT. SA himself said, that’s too long to wait for a car. No encouragement to book.
• Whitefield Honda: First visit was a walk in. Was assisted promptly and given all the details I asked for. Wait time quoted was 2 months for the Amaze AT. Later booked and appointment for a TD and arrived promptly. Had to wait for some time since the vehicle had gone for a TD. After the TD, the SA asked when I planned to make a decision. I said 2 weeks, and promptly 2 weeks later, he called to check on status.

Skoda

• Vinayak Skoda-Marathahalli: Was more of a casual enquiry. No cause for complaint. They did not have a TD vehicle and said they needed a days’ notice to arrange it since it was by default at their bigger showroom. Got details of the Rapid. They also gave me details on 2012 VIN cars which they were holding. They had an Ambition AT on which they gave an 85,000 discount with no bargaining. This made the On Road price around 9.4 Lakhs.

Maruti

• Pratham Motors-Bellandur: First visit was for TD of Ertiga for my co brother. Was well assisted and provided with all details. The 2nd enquiry was for the A-Star AT. Was told by the SA that the car had gone for a promo event and he would bring it home at evening 4PM. Did not turn up. Did not pursue it much as I was not serious about buying it and just wanted a TD to see how the Maruti AT box behaves.

Renault

• Trident Renault-KR Puram: Again a casual enquiry to get details on the Scala. Was received promptly and was told an SA would assist shortly. Waited 15 min, no one came to assist, so left.

Volkswagen
Volkswagen Whitefield: Initial interaction was fabulous. SA assigned was very knowledgeable and provided all details on the Polo GT TSI. Allowed for a longish test drive. I went multiple times with multiple people for test drive and each time there was no issue with getting the test drive. The downslide started after the switch to the Vento TSI. Below is a timeline

• Oct 28th: Switched booking to the Vento TSI. Was told worst case 1 month
• Nov 10th: Called to reconfirm delivery time. My SA said he is on a leave due to a small accident. But will check status and let me know. Called back and again confirmed a delivery by end of month. Had got a buyer for my SX4. Confirmed to him that I am ready to proceed. Also visited the showroom on the same day and directly checked with a person there. He also said can expect by end of month
• Nov 16th Morning: Finish formalities with my buyer, got the payment, promise him delivery as soon as the cheque clears.
• Nov 16th afternoon: Call my SA. His mobile number does not exist. Call the showroom. Promised a callback after checking. Shocking news: Am suddenly being told VW is not sending any more cars till Jan. they only have a white. Requested to visit the showroom. I go there and tell the above sequence, ask where my SA is, he is on a long leave. No proper answer to what changed in the last 4-5 days. No chance of getting a blue before Jan end. Am offered the white with some discount. I decline and walk out. No follow up call after that.
• Nov 28th: After getting the car from VW Palace Cross, go back here for getting the refund of booking amount. Ask for my SA. Truth comes out, he has left the company. Request for my refund and I get it without much hassles. Politely and firmly recite the whole experience to an Assistant Manager and walk out.

The car was finally purchased from VW Palace Cross. Below section describes the buying experience.
I first went there on Nov 4th after booking the Vento TSI in VW Whitefield. Reason I went was that only VW Palace Cross had a test drive vehicle (which was a positive point for the dealership). Although the Vento TSI was expected to be similar to the Polo I did not want to buy it without a test drive. The SA was a very pleasant person and answered all my questions and provided the test drive. I got a call back the next day from the showroom asking for feedback on the service provided and whether I had a satisfactory test drive. No other dealer had made such a call and hence was impressed with that. The SA himself followed up 2 times in the next few days to check on my decision. On]Nov 16th after the walkout from VW Whitefield, I contacted him. He had a black in stock and reiterated what I heard from VW Whitefield- No more cars till Jan. Told him to block the black and immediately went to the showroom. Took another test drive and put down the booking amount on the black TSI. While this process was happening, I noticed some talk happening regarding this Black TSI. On further questioning, my SA said that there was a confusion and both he and another SA had blocked the car around the same time. He said he will get back. On Nov 18th he called and asked if I would be interested in silver. I said no. He tried to convince me that silver is good. I politely declined. By evening he called back and confirmed the black Vento TSI to me

Rest of the process was smooth. I opted for an SBI Loan as they had the option to pre-pay and part pre-pay without any penalty. A quick word on the SBI Loan process. I submitted all documents on Nov 19th and was told it will take 4-5 working days. As promised, on 25th got a call confirming the loan. The whole process of loan formalities’ were very smooth and was carried out in the SBI Kumara Park Branch. Was taken there by the Finance guy from VW. I was immediately given the cheque book, ATM Card as well as Internet Banking package to enable accessing my SB and Loan account online. Was quite impressed with the whole process.

Prior to signing the loan document, I told my SA that I wanted to do the PDI and he obliged. Had a look at the car and was satisfied. Verified the VIN and got the report with the help of team-bhpian wildon. It was an Oct 30th 2013 manufactured car. Finished rest of the payment formalities and asked for delivery on 30th Nov-Saturday.

On delivery day, reached the showroom by 10.30AM. My SA was also thankful to me for coming early. Said it enabled him to do due diligence to the delivery process. He explained and handed over all documents, features of the car etc… I did a quick inspection once more and took delivery. Was given a coupon for 15 liters petrol to be redeemed at a particular petrol bunk. This was in addition to the 5 liters put in at the time of delivery.

Overall my experience with VW Palace Cross was the best among all the dealer-ships I visited. I had read a few negative reviews about VW Palace Cross and was apprehensive about going there. But was pleasantly surprised. It may have been due to the SA who handled my purchase. He was polite, had a pleasant personality, did the small things which I consider important right (Returning calls, being punctual, providing info that I needed, properly explaining everything during delivery, a follow up call after delivery etc…)

Finally here are some pictures of the Black Beauty. Since there are enough pictures of the Vento on this forum, restricting the number of pictures.








Head Unit Upgrade: The Blaupunkt Philedelphia 835
I wanted to get a reverse camera and GPS also. I did not like the Garmin Maps +Reverse Camera that was being offered. The price was Rs 30,000 and it seemed too much for a stand-alone device. In addition I had always wanted to have a good AVN system in my car. During my research read about the Blaupunkt Philedelphia 835 which was an AVN HU specifically made for VW cars by Blaupunkt. Fellow teambhpian prabhuferrari was kind enough to provide more details on this unit. So I changed the existing HU to this one. Since it was something made specifically for this range of VW cars, it was a perfect fit and it was plug and play with no other changes required. It also came with 3D version of MapMyIndia Navigation. Below are some snaps that shows the different screens. I especially love the way that the inbuilt reverse sensor data is handled and displayed on the screen.

The OEM Fit.



Starting Up


The Home Screen


The USB Screen


The FM Screen


A DVD Playing


The GPS-MapMyIndia Screen



The one I love most: The Reverse Sensor-Park Assist. Love the way the unit visually displays the data from the factory fitted sensors. Notice the small camera button to switch to camera view


The Camera view: The audiable beeps from sensor are still heard.



Last but not the least-The initial ownership experience
Enough has been said about this wonderful TSI+DSG combination, hence I shall not get into any general descriptions. Summary of my experience so far having driven around 400KM
Positives

• The convenience of an Automatic is already very obvious in the first week of ownership. Most of the driving has been in the traffic filled, hump filled roads of Bangalore. So it really helps that I have one thing less to do.
• The TSI Engine is super refined. At the time of starting it is a little loud but then settles down nicely and is super quiet.
• It starts of like any other automatic in D mode, but as you pick up speed, you realize that there is something special going on. The shifts are absolutely seamless and pretty much not noticeable. In D mode up shifts are super quick and by the time you cross 40 you are in 5th gear and at 7th by the time you pass 60.
• The seamless shifting makes it more comfortable for the occupants.
• For a normal driver like me, the downshifts also seem super quick. For the kick down, there seems to be a slight delay, but again easily manageable and that too in D mode.
• The flat torque curve with the peak torque available as early as 1400RPM really helps drivability and you can notice the car picking up easily for that quick overtaking without having the need to drop down too many gears. Although, if I am not mistaken, the brilliant gearbox kind of hides some of the capabilities of the engine. I think I know understand why purists are disappointed that there is no manual variant with this engine. I suspect the Tiptronic mode will come close, but have not really experimented with it to a great extent.
• In S/Tiptronic mode, the car seems to take on a different personality. I guess this is where it shines when compared to the other AT options. In S mode, the car really takes off, up-shifts are much later and you are flying in no time. The Tiptronic mode seems to be an even higher version of the S mode, but have not got a chance or an open road to try anything with it.
• The Hill-Hold is a great feature. I noticed it is active even on slight inclines. This really helps in stop-go traffic and on the innumerable ramps of the city. The best use of it is right at the exit of my apartment which is a short steep ramp directly on to the road. So more often than not, I need to stop with half the car on the slope, look out for the road traffic and then move.
  

Other small but significant things I liked (especially since they were not there on the SX4)

• Full Fledged MID
• Front Arm Rest
• Remote Boot Release
• Auto up Feature of the windows
• Light Steering
• Rear AC Vents
• Audiable Indicator if the hand brake is not released. Important because the car moves even if the Hand brake is relatively well engaged.[/indent]

Negatives/Points of concern at this time

• Lack of any unique identity apart from the TSI Badge.
• The heavy premium for the AT over a manual. Additional premium for the DSG.
• The general negative vibe regarding Volkswagen-Dealers/Service etc... when compared to the other Asian brands.
• The DSG Reliability Issue is always there at the back of my mind. I hope it has been completely taken care of.

The Mileage Question

• It is probably too soon to derive any proper conclusion. During my office commute, the MID shows between 9-11. This is on a heavy traffic 12km route with maybe 1KM of crawling. The good thing is, if you are able to consistently drive at even 40kmph, the DSG puts you in 4/5 th gear and the MID reacts well.
• I did a 100KM Airport Round trip which was in moderate traffic with some crawling sections and some smooth sections. At the end of it the MID showed 13.1 which I felt was pretty good.

I assume this will improve as I drive more.

Comparison between my Pulsar 200NS and the Vento TSI
I know this is a weird comparison, but I kind of noticed some very similar things

• The NS also can shift up very early, you can comfortably cruise at 50 in 6th gear
• The pick-up of the NS is great, in no time you hit 60. It’s like the TSI in S mode
• The NS can easily pull away cleanly from as low as 40kmph in 6th gear
• Both the NS and the TSI to me are vehicles with a dual personality, they can happily play the role of a commuter bike/car and provide a relaxed point A to B drive. On the other hand for the enthusiast drive they easily change character and seem like a completely different machine.

Before signing off- Some reactions from many people around me regarding this purchase

• Vento? Which company makes it? (One person asked: Is it from Maruti? -This was surprising to me. Should go in the ‘Volkswagen-way forward’ thread)
• Automatic? Why an automatic?
• You paid so much for a Petrol car? (I see a “you are crazy” look in their eyes)
• 1.2 Engine. Only 1.2? That’s too less, My XXX car is also 1.2 or My XXX car is 1.6 and it is cheaper (Now it is “you are foolish/have been cheated” look)
• TSI? DSG? What is all that? I try to explain (Again a “you are crazy. You paid so much” look in their eyes)

Foot Note: Just read today that all manufacturers including VW are increasing prices by Jan. I felt this may happen and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to buy this year itself. Looks like my guess was right.
That’s pretty much it. If you have reached this far, thank you for your patience

[IshaanIan]

Let me be the first to congratulate you on, what is quite honestly, a sensible purchase .

Good to read the detailed write up and love how you kept the exterior pics to a minimum (yes we've all seen a vento) and took a few more shots of the Blaupunkt HU (another brilliant purchase I must say) Also liked how you wrote about your experience with every dealer involved.

The mileage ought to pick up once you are used to the car and it has been run in well. Do remember to do all the regular oil and oil filter changes at regular intervals 1000, 5000, 10000 and then 20000 if I am not mistaken. Also if you want to use Synthetic, might I suggest using it only after 10000 kms, mineral oil helps with the engine break in.

Cheers!

[coolboy007]

Congrats on your Vento TSi, its looking lovely in the black shade. I own a Vento diesel and recently had a chance to drive the TSi Polo and what a machine it is. The sports and tiptronic mode was super fun and the car went ballistic every time i pushed the throttle.

Any plans on upgrading the tyres? Also why is the lighting of your Philadelphia HU green like in Skoda cars? Can you change it or is it fixed?

Also i noticed a huge gap in the panel below your steering wheel? Get it rectified at first service.
Drive safe.

[vb-saan]

Congratulations Rajeev. I believe this is the first review of Vento TSI on our forum.
The Vento looks awesome in black. The TSI DSG is an awesome choice, and it’s another plus that unlike the Polo GT, VW is not limiting the colour choices for the Vento.
Do keep updating the thread regularly. Did your dealer mention anything about the extended warranty?

[Santoshbhat]

Congratulations on the Vento 1.2 TSI DSG. For me this is the pick of the mid size AT sedans. Make sure you shift the DSG into N if you expect to be stationary for more than 15 secs. This will go a long way in preserving the DSG box.

The Blaupunkt unit looks nice. Where did you buy it from? And did you get it installed at the VW dealership or was it outside? If you don't mind could you share the cost? Companies like VW and SKoda are very fussy about their warranty policy. Did you check with VW whether installing the aftermarket (though specifically made for VAG) unit affected the warranty?

Petrol cars care making a comeback with the help of small turbo charged engines like the TSI and Ecoboost. Enjoy the car and drive safe!

[BackInTheFold]

Congratulations on the new car! You'll love the DSG. Get an extended warranty and enjoy the car.

+1 to Santosh's queries about the cost of the Blaupunkt head unit and where you got it installed. Please do let us know

[Vid6639]

Congrats on the TSI Rajeev. It really does look stunning in black. You will have to work very hard in maintaining this shine. The detailing section may become your favourite part of the forum

I just noticed that there is a small plastic panel below the steering wheel that is a little loose. You may want to take it out, see whats underenath and then fix it back properly.

[Gannu_1]

Many congrats Rajeev! Wishing you many happy miles with the new ride.

The Blaupunkt HU looks kickass with the large touchscreen display and looks like a factory fitment. Kudos to these guys for bringing out an HU designed for the VAG cars. This must be an easy swap job for the Skoda and VW cars.

Do keep us posted on the mileage figures.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I just noticed that there is a small plastic panel below the steering wheel that is a little loose. You may want to take it out, see whats underenath and then fix it back properly.

That plastic panel covers all the fuses.

[risga]

Hey Rajeev. Loved your detailed post and purchase experience. Many happy miles.

I was in a similar dilemma as you, as I too was looking for an Automatic. Almost succumbed to the City AT. But, thankfully booked the Ecosport AT in June 2013. Just received the vehicle few days back and its fabulous. Due to the long wait, I was also tempted to book the Vento TSI+DSG.

Had to book the Ecosport AT without a test drive, but still went ahead as I had test driven the Fiesta AT a year ago.

[bIte tHe bulLet]

Excellent post!

The Vento is typically German in it's approach to life - no nonsense, value for money and good at what it's supposed to do!

Congrats on the new car and I love the way the slow but steady upgrade chain has been inked. This is a darned sight better than the old 800 eh??? (Although in all fairness, your first car will always hold a special place in your heart! - I know mine does...)

Drive safe, drive sane and enjoy the first flush of a new car!
Cheers

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Let me be the first to congratulate you on, what is quite honestly, a sensible purchase .

Thank you very much.

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Any plans on upgrading the tyres? Also why is the lighting of your Philadelphia HU green like in Skoda cars? Can you change it or is it fixed?

Also i noticed a huge gap in the panel below your steering wheel? Get it rectified at first service.
Drive safe.

Thank you. At this time no plans of upgrading tyres. The light can be changed to pretty much any color. It also has a vario color mode where the colors keep changing (Yet to research on what triggers the changes). Will do that and update.
The gap was due to the cover of the fuse box. This has been fixed

Originally Posted by vb-san

Congratulations Rajeev. I believe this is the first review of Vento TSI on our forum. Did your dealer mention anything about the extended warranty?

Thank you. I think there is one more review of a pepper gray TSI. On the extended warranty he did say it would become available 'very soon' and can be purchased separately. No details on what 'very soon' means. When I questioned him on it, he was not sure about then when part, but said 'definitely much before the regular 2 yr warranty expires'. . Have to wait and see.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Congratulations on the Vento 1.2 TSI DSG. For me this is the pick of the mid size AT sedans. Make sure you shift the DSG into N if you expect to be stationary for more than 15 secs. This will go a long way in preserving the DSG box.

The Blaupunkt unit looks nice. Where did you buy it from? And did you get it installed at the VW dealership or was it outside? If you don't mind could you share the cost? Companies like VW and SKoda are very fussy about their warranty policy. Did you check with VW whether installing the aftermarket (though specifically made for VAG) unit affected the warranty?

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

+1 to Santosh's queries about the cost of the Blaupunkt head unit and where you got it installed. Please do let us know

Thank you. For the Blaupunkt unit, I first approached the dealer, they were only providing a Caska Unit and the quoted price was around Rs58,000 with Reverse Camera. I felt that was too much. The sticker price for the Philadelphia HU is Rs 50K. I got at a lower price and inclusive of MMI Maps (which costs around Rs 5000), Reverse camera and installation.

I contacted Blaupunkt India directly via their FB page (as recommended by a fellow bhpian who had done this). They gave the contact of the Blaupunkt India South Relationship Manager, who in turn directed me to the Karnataka Distributers. I got the install done from them. I can PM further details if needed.
From what I have read, as long as there is not cutting/splicing etc involved, warranty should not be impacted. This was a simple plug and play. In addition the distributer said that he is in talks with the dealers to get them to offer this as an accessory from the dealer side itself. Hence overall I am hoping that there will not be any warranty issues.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Congrats on the TSI Rajeev. It really does look stunning in black. You will have to work very hard in maintaining this shine. The detailing section may become your favourite part of the forum

I just noticed that there is a small plastic panel below the steering wheel that is a little loose. You may want to take it out, see whats underenath and then fix it back properly.

Thanks. Yes, I am already on the detailing thread. The panel below the steering was fixed. Thanks for pointing it out.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Many congrats Rajeev! Wishing you many happy miles with the new ride.

The Blaupunkt HU looks kickass with the large touchscreen display and looks like a factory fitment. Kudos to these guys for bringing out an HU designed for the VAG cars. This must be an easy swap job for the Skoda and VW cars.
Do keep us posted on the mileage figures.

Thank you. Am keeping a close watch on the mileage figures.

Originally Posted by risga

Hey Rajeev. Loved your detailed post and purchase experience. Many happy miles.
Had to book the Ecosport AT without a test drive, but still went ahead as I had test driven the Fiesta AT a year ago.

Thank you. Ecosport AT is a good choice. The Fiesta AT not have a Tiptronic option. Good that ford took care of that with the Ecosport.

Originally Posted by bIte tHe bulLet

Excellent post!

Congrats on the new car and I love the way the slow but steady upgrade chain has been inked. This is a darned sight better than the old 800 eh??? (Although in all fairness, your first car will always hold a special place in your heart! - I know mine does...)

Drive safe, drive sane and enjoy the first flush of a new car!
Cheers

Thank you. Yes, the first car is always special.

[arup.misra]

Congrats Rajeev on the wonderful TSI machine. Its looks even better in the black shade. Do try and keep it gleaming. Nicely written review.

In one of the pics I noticed the carpet as beige, you many want to get hold of a 3D mat to avoid soiling the carpet especially in the written

Hope you have a trouble free ownership. Drive Safe..Cheers!!

[avira_tk]

Congrats on the car and the ICE, my planning for better ICE hasn't come to pass in 3 years, you got yourself the best as soon as you got the car. Try and upgrade the tyres also, it should be a good investment as you do highway trips.

The TSI is the ultimate petrol automatic choice in the segment.I have to give it to VW for giving advanced tech in a petrol for a diesel crazy market.

[Joe M]

Liked the detailing of your decision-making process. You've made a sensible decision at the end. Congrats on that!
Good that you insisted on getting the black one itself. It looks very nice in black, especially the front-view.
As you have more of city driving, and the car is shared between you and your wife, the automatic was a very good decision. And I have no good opinion about Kerala roads. Roads in Kerala are as narrow as the minds of its officials and politicians.
Enjoy the ride, and I hope to read a long term review of the TSi (not yet on TBHP I guess) after a few months.

[Tats07]

Rajeev, a very well written review and pretty much helpful in choosing the dealer in Bangalore! Is it Ok for you to quote the final OTR you paid for the car and details of the discounts/freebies if at all? Thanks.