[Rajeevraj]

Interesting observation. The Blaupunkt AVN HU will not play a video unless the hand brake is engaged. It shows the below message. Even if I engage hand brake and start the video. The moment hand brake is disengaged it shows the message and disables the video.
Question:Is this a feature of the vento and hence will this be the behavior if any video Enabled HU is connected or does it depend on support from the HU too? Is this a common behavior across other cars also?

[h@r$h@l]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Interesting observation. The Blaupunkt AVN HU will not play a video unless the hand brake is engaged. It shows the below message. Even if I engage hand brake and start the video. The moment hand brake is disengaged it shows the message and disables the video.
Question:Is this a feature of the vento and hence will this be the behavior if any video Enabled HU is connected or does it depend on support from the HU too? Is this a common behavior across other cars also?

I may be wrong here.

But I observed similar setup on my friends T fort. The oem head unit has dvd playback but its active only when car is parked with hand break engaged.

[Rajeevraj]

Update: Just hit the 1000KM mark thanks to a 600KM round trip for attending a function. First highway trip. Summary and observations from the trip

• The route consisted of ~140km of 4 lane (Bangalore-Mysore. Regulars will know about the number of humps and traffic on this route). Rest was 2 lane with varying levels of traffic. Lot of straight stretches, a section through the Bandipur Forest and around 30-40KM of narrow, winding roads in the hills of Wayanad District in Kerala. In summary, a little bit of everything.
  
• In general I was pretty much always in the D mode. The shift downs were quick enough to manage most regular overtaking maneuvers with ease especially on the 4 lane stretch. For the 2 lane stretches (where overtaking needs to be planned better), there was a small lag for the kick-down once you pressed the accelerator to start the overtaking. But in general I found the response good enough. The small lag was amply made up by the sudden rush of power once the DSG dropped gears.
• Then there were the overtaking maneuvers that were sharper due to heavier traffic, although this was still easily doable in D mode with some planning, I realized the ideal way would be to quickly slot into the S mode (or manually drop gears using the Tiptronic). With this your overtaking is done in a flash. In summary, on the highway, at no point did I feel constrained because I was driving an AT car. This was one of my critical criteria.
• The quietness of the engine and the noise insulation was refreshing (compared to my SX4). In fact several times, when I was cruising at 70-80 in 7th gear, it was so quiet that I felt I was coasting with the engine off (or another analogy: that I was driving a Electric Vehicle).
• The Auto helped in completing the 11 hr round trip without too much fatigue.
• Based on the MID as well as my own calculations, the mileage for the ttip was 15.1kmpl. I was pretty happy with this number.
• Brakes felt a little spongy, not sure if it is due to the minimal engine braking in D mode.
• AC felt less effective than my SX4. Takes time to cool the cabin. May be I need to learn the settings that work best.
• Missed a mode change button on the steering controls. My SX4 had that. Helped toggle easily between USB, FM and CD. Something I do frequently.

The benefit of the Tiptronic
One of my criteria for a AT was that it should have a Tiptronic/paddle shift. I encountered a good use case that proved this point during this trip. The last leg of the trip consisted of a 30km section of narrow winding roads (in great condition with minimal traffic). The ideal speed for this section was around the 50-60Kmph. What I noticed was due to the eagerness of the DSG to shift up in D mode, I was going at 50-60 but in 6/7th gear. Maybe due to lack of engine braking, it required more effort on the brakes as I approached each curve and also I felt a little less in control. Solution: Go into S mode. While this worked well, the problem was that in S Mode at 50, you are generally in 3rd gear. This would be great if you are on an enthusiast drive, but not for a normal point A to B drive. I felt the ideal sweet spot would be gears 3 and 4 and maybe 5. So that' s where the Tiptronic came in. Was able to stick to this range and felt more in control.

Question for the experts: In a paddle shift based car, once you use the paddles, does the car remain in manual mode till you do something specific? Or will it continue in the Auto mode. To clarify further, say I paddle shift to 3rd gear, now as the speed increases will it auto shift to 4th and above or will it wait for you to make the change?

[amansanc]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Question for the experts: In a paddle shift based car, once you use the paddles, does the car remain in manual mode till you do something specific? Or will it continue in the Auto mode. To clarify further, say I paddle shift to 3rd gear, now as the speed increases will it auto shift to 4th and above or will it wait for you to make the change?

Hey Rajeev,

The car will upshift as soon as you hit the redline in order to protect the engine. It wouldn't shift until you hit the redline. All the upshifts will be at redline in case you dont upshift. Also it will downshift in case engine rpm is too low.

Regards,
amansanc

[rohittunga]

Hey Rajeev,

Congragulations on buying the car and completing 1000 kms. Your review has pretty much been perfect and timely updates make it even better. I am thinking of buying an automatic car and the list includes Vento Tsi. This ownership log is of great help

Just a couple of questions. The mileage you received is great considering that Mysore road is filled with humps every odd km or so. How many people were travelling in the car and did you scrap the underside on any of those speedbreakers? I'm sure you had to drive the Vento a bit more gingerly than your old SX4.

Regarding the ineffectiveness of the AC, car manufacturers like Toyota, Suzuki and Ford are generally known for their superior AC performance. While those in VW, Skoda and Fiat (pre 2012 models) though good, still lack the effectiveness. You have an option of installing 3M CR 70 sunfilm on your front winshield which greatly reduces the heat, especially when parked under the midday sun for a long time.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by amansanc

Hey Rajeev,

The car will upshift as soon as you hit the redline in order to protect the engine. It wouldn't shift until you hit the redline. All the upshifts will be at redline in case you dont upshift. Also it will downshift in case engine rpm is too low.

Regards,
amansanc

Thanks. I understand it will up-shift at the red line. IN a tiptronic, one needs to move the level left to get into tiptronic mode and then manually shift up and down. While in this mode, it will auto shift only at the red-line or if the rpm falls too low. Once we are done with the manual mode, moving the level back left will bring it back into the full auto D mode. In a paddle shift car, how do I indicate to the car to go back into the full auto mode and that I am no longer going to use the paddles?

Originally Posted by rohittunga

Hey Rajeev,

Congragulations on buying the car and completing 1000 kms. Your review has pretty much been perfect and timely updates make it even better. I am thinking of buying an automatic car and the list includes Vento Tsi. This ownership log is of great help

Just a couple of questions. The mileage you received is great considering that Mysore road is filled with humps every odd km or so. How many people were travelling in the car and did you scrap the underside on any of those speedbreakers? I'm sure you had to drive the Vento a bit more gingerly than your old SX4.

You have an option of installing 3M CR 70 sunfilm on your front winshield which greatly reduces the heat, especially when parked under the midday sun for a long time.

Thank you Rohit. To answer your questions, apart from me, my wife and my daughter in her car seat were the other passengers. There was minimal amount of luggage. I did not scrape any of the speed breakers. In general, until now I have not scraped any speed breaker even with a full passenger load. But as you said, I drive it over the humps much more gingerly than the SX4. With the SX4, I did not have to bother at all. Even the biggest Bangalore humps are no match for the SX4. .

The Bangalore-Mysore stretch was done between 5.30 and 7.30 am. So I had the advantage of lesser traffic (although it was still pretty high for this time- No chance of continuing for even a short distance without downshifting). While returning I returned via Kanakpura and hence avoided Mysore Road which is not a good place to be on a weekend evening

Thanks for the tip on the Sun Film. I guess I'll need to do it before summer.

[Safari_Beast]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

I may be wrong here.

But I observed similar setup on my friends T fort. The oem head unit has dvd playback but its active only when car is parked with hand break engaged.

There is wire that attached to handbrake which when engaged enabled the video option . So when aftermarket player is installed , one can attach that wire to the ground wire so video option will be enabled for all the time. So you can ask the person who has installed this player to figure out the wire coming out of the HU to connect it to ground , this is done by all installer who install these touchscreen HU since years . Hope you must have got the clue .

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

In a paddle shift car, how do I indicate to the car to go back into the full auto mode and that I am no longer going to use the paddles?

If you keep the "+" paddle (up shift) pressed for 2 seconds the car goes back to D or S, whichever mode it was in previously. Other things are the same as in tiptronic mode.

Check the picture of my Polo Tsi, there is an off mentioned below the the "+" sign.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Interesting observation. The Blaupunkt AVN HU will not play a video unless the hand brake is engaged. It shows the below message. Even if I engage hand brake and start the video. The moment hand brake is disengaged it shows the message and disables the video.
Question:Is this a feature of the vento and hence will this be the behavior if any video Enabled HU is connected or does it depend on support from the HU too? Is this a common behavior across other cars also?

Attachment 1181138

Rajeev, I have been going through the online manual of the Philadelphia 835 since yesterday (obviously I am smitten by this HU!) and the manual states this:



Looks like it is a safety feature built into the HU and a good one at that. You definitely don't want to be distracted with the video when someone sitting at the rear enables it using the remote!

Here are two manuals I sourced from the website which may come in handy:

BP835_Navigation Manual.pdf

BP835_Operating Instructions.pdf

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

If you keep the "+" paddle (up shift) pressed for 2 seconds the car goes back to D or S, whichever mode it was in previously. Other things are the same as in tiptronic mode.

Check the picture of my Polo Tsi, there is an off mentioned below the the "+" sign.

Thanks Robin for the info. Have been following your polo tsi thread closely. Hoping to do some of the mods in the future

Originally Posted by Safari_Beast

There is wire that attached to handbrake which when engaged enabled the video option . So when aftermarket player is installed , one can attach that wire to the ground wire so video option will be enabled for all the time. So you can ask the person who has installed this player to figure out the wire coming out of the HU to connect it to ground , this is done by all installer who install these touchscreen HU since years . Hope you must have got the clue .

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Rajeev, I have been going through the online manual of the Philadelphia 835 since yesterday (obviously I am smitten by this HU!) and the manual states this:

Looks like it is a safety feature built into the HU and a good one at that. You definitely don't want to be distracted with the video when someone sitting at the rear enables it using the remote!

Thank you for the info. I actually found that there is an option in the video settings which disables this. It is called 'Parking'. if this is set to 'Off' video will play when the car is in motion also. So guess that means we have the control to manage it the way we want. My intention of video when driving was only maybe for some cartoon viewing for my daughter on long drives. Something that I as a driver would have no interest in viewing

Gannu, thank you for the manuals. I had found a couple of them online, but looks like these are more advanced ones.

[kiranmohandas]

Hi Rajeev,

Congrats on your new car. Your review was very well written and hugely helpful. I got my Vento TSI from VW Whitefield in the 1st week of December. White one. I am guessing its the same that you refused to take!! Am not known for my patience so pretty much took what i got. This is the pic of my beauty.



Badge of Honor as my friends call it.



Vitamin M Blown up so far.

• Changed speakers on all 4 doors. Had a set of Polk Audio dB series coaxial speakers, Polk Momo sub-woofers and Hertz Amp in my old Santro. Moved that here. Added a new set of Focal Coaxial speakers at the front. Didnt like to keep the tweeter on the dash. So settled for nice set of speakers instead. It was while installing that, the technician said, he would have to strip the wire to get power to the amp. Stopped work right then. Asked them to wire it up and leave it there without connecting. That is when ranjithrnair pointed me to your post. Called up the Blaupunkt RM at 8:00 in the morning!! and had it fixed the same day. Thank you so much for sparing me the heartache of getting the wires cut. And the Philadelphia 835 is truly awesome. Needn't say more on that.

• Kagu 3D Mats - in Beige. Looks very nice with the interiors.

• Car Detailing from Ulimate Detailerz. Thank you Ranjith again for that. Did the Car Pro Cquartz coating on it. Now i have a new mirror. See it for your self.

Thinking of putting the 3M Scotprint Wrap in Glossy Black on the roof.


Thank you Rajeev and Ranjith again. And enjoy your new rides.


Drive safe.


Kiran

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by kiranmohandas

Hi Rajeev,

Congrats on your new car. Your review was very well written and hugely helpful. I got my Vento TSI from VW Whitefield in the 1st week of December. White one. I am guessing its the same that you refused to take!! Am not known for my patience so pretty much took what i got. This is the pic of my beauty.
Called up the Blaupunkt RM at 8:00 in the morning!! and had it fixed the same day. Thank you so much for sparing me the heartache of getting the wires cut. And the Philadelphia 835 is truly awesome. Needn't say more on that.


Thank you Rajeev and Ranjith again. And enjoy your new rides.


Drive safe.


Kiran

Hi Kiran,
Hearty congratulations on your TSI. Good to see a bunch of Vento TSI owners on Team Bhp. I had been to VW Whitefield around December mid and came to know the white TSI had been sold. The only reason I did not take it when offered was because white was one color I did not want.

Glad that the info I posted on the HU was useful to you.

Enjoy your ride. Hope to see you on the road sometime.

[shetty_rohan]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Question for the experts: In a paddle shift based car, once you use the paddles, does the car remain in manual mode till you do something specific? Or will it continue in the Auto mode. To clarify further, say I paddle shift to 3rd gear, now as the speed increases will it auto shift to 4th and above or will it wait for you to make the change?

If the paddle-shift activated manual override of one of the automatic modes (D or S) is used intermittently the DSG transmission will default back to the previously selected automatic mode after a predetermined duration of inactivity of the paddles, or when the vehicle becomes stationary. Alternatively, should the driver wish to immediately revert to fully automatic control, this can be done by activating and holding the "+" paddle for at least two seconds.
Above is taken from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox. Even the owner's manual mentions the same.

[Rajeevraj]

One key reason I wanted to get my car before December was that I knew that I would have to potentially do a lot of running in December. That turned out to be true. 1 month since I got the car, the ODO is at 2400. Summary of observations so far:

• The Highway : City Split has been around 65:35. Highway driving has been 90% undivided 2 lane roads with varying degrees of traffic.
• As already described earlier, the car is a breeze to drive in the city.
• The car has been brilliant on the highway. Very stable. Overtaking is a breeze even in D mode. I very rarely had to switch to S mode for an overtaking maneuver. There is a short delay before the kick-down happens, but this is well compensated by the torque once the kick down happens.
• In most cases noticed that the gear dropped from 7 to 5 or worst case 4 for most scenarios when the sudden burst of speed was needed. Pretty sure this helps a lot in maintaining the fuel efficiency (Details below). A lot of the driving last week was on congested highways of Kerala, at no point did I miss a manual. The car always seemed to be in the right gear at the right time.
• Even with a very light foot, it is very difficult to hold the car in the 60-70kmph range in D mode when on relatively open roads. This was needed because there are several stretches in Kerala where Mobile Police Interceptors lie in wait to catch you speeding. And the limit is 70. Never thought I would say this, I think this car really needs cruise control.
• Handling is pretty good. But on twisty, hilly roads, still not yet got into a comfortable mode. Manual mode is the best option, but still getting used to it. D mode seems to be a little out of control and S mode seems to be an overkill.
• As already mentioned by several others, headlights are pathetic. Seems to be equally bad as the SX4 (which also had a reputation for poor headlamps). This was very obvious during the dusk/night drives on the undivided, heavy traffic highways. the fact that 90% of drivers don’t bother to switch to low beam made matters worse.
• One time, I was attempting to reverse back up a short steep slope. I think I did not give enough acceleration to overcome the hill hold, the engine actually switched off. That was surprising for me. I did not expect to stall and AT car.
• Had to try different combinations before I got a comfortable seating position for long drives
• Although the boot space is numerically less than the SX4, I feel the Vento has more usable space.
• AC felt quite average in Auto Mode when starting up. Need to manually adjust for quicker cooling and then switch to Auto Mode. Never had to do that in my SX4.
  
  
• Mileage Indicators: Probably too early to reach any concrete conclusion. But until now, very happy with the numbers seen. (Note: 80-90% driven in D mode.)
  • Lifetime Mileage over 2400km: ~12.5kmpl
  • Avg Mileage over the last 1200km trip: ~15.5kmpl
  • Best Mileage (As indicated by MID): 17.4kmpl- ~150km stretch between NICE-Hosur Road and Mysore. Time was during early morning 4am-6.30am. Started dropping as I got closer to Mysore as the frequency of road humps started increasing.
  • Worst Mileage (As indicated by the MID-For a Minimum 15km journey): ~9-10kmpl
  • As already pointed out by experts, the efficiency is best when the DSG is able to stay between gears 4-7. In very bad stop-go traffic, when the DSG is in gears 2/3, the efficiency starts dropping. In summary, even in the city, if the route ensures that there are stretches where one can drive 40kmph and above, the MID will react positively.
• Modifications so far: Just the BP Philadelphia HU.
  • Planned: Better bulbs and mats.
  • Complaints/Issues: None at this point.

[Gannu_1]

Rajeev, first off I cannot thank you enough for all the prompt responses over the countless PMs that I had sent you for the Blaupunkt HU concerns! Thank you very much!

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Planned: Better bulbs and mats.

As for bulbs, robi had mentioned in one of the threads (auto. lighting thread IIRC) that the Osram Night Breaker Unlimited has replaced the Night Breaker Plus. But they haven't launched in India yet - I tried asking around and most retailers are still stocking the Plus here and have no clue of the Unlimited. Robi had sourced a pair along with few others from powerbulbs.com, a UK based site. I might get 2 pairs from this site soon. Waiting for my other shipments to arrive as of now. They offer free shipping as well.

Link

Those are for Polo Mk 5, should be a direct fit into the Vento as well since they have the same headlamps.