[Rajeevraj]

After a long time, got a chance to do a long drive on a proper 4/6 Lane Highway. This was between Bangalore and Coimbatore- ~380 km. Was in S mode and at speeds between 100-120 kmph most of the time. While the fact that it was a joy to drive is a given and has been repeated multiple times, The FE I got was 16 kmpl which I felt was quite impressive considering I was in S mode with no attempt to drive with a light foot. Was thinking the mileage would drop in speeds excess of 80-90 kmph. But that was not the case here. Felt good after the drive. A good drive without compromising on efficiency.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

After a long time, got a chance to do a long drive on a proper 4/6 Lane Highway. This was between Bangalore and Coimbatore- ~380 km.

Please make a trip towards this side from Bangalore i.e. towards Pune. You'll love it even more, guaranteed!

Any leads on the cruise control retrofit Rajeev?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Please make a trip towards this side from Bangalore i.e. towards Pune. You'll love it even more, guaranteed!

Any leads on the cruise control retrofit Rajeev?

Yes, a Pune, Mumbai trip is long pending. Hopefully will get around to it soon .

On the cruise control, still in plan, but maybe not immediately. Considering my driving pattern, the usefulness of the feature will be limited. While it would have been nice to have as part of the regular feature set, not really useful enough to go for a retrofit and maybe risk warranty ( which is already maybe at risk with the installation of the 835 and reverse can).
In case you are wondering why I am thinking practically instead of with my heart, it is as a result of a reality check conversation on this with my wife.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Detroit-Dude

Are the above observations normal for a TSi?

I don't own a VW. Have driven a Vento extensively.

There should be no vibrations on the accelerator pedal and the engine is silent. Noisy does not sound right at all. It gets a little vocal when you gun it but I won't term that as "noisy". Might be a good idea to check the oil levels.

[Detroit-Dude]

Thanks for all the advice guys.
I have spoken to the dealer and they are sending a service rep to my place this weekend for the following

- Occasional vibration from the gas pedal especially while going uphill
- Engine acceleration whistle
- NVh levels, the insulation seems to be an issue. i can hear outside noise at times as if the windows are rolled down.

Otherwise I have been thoroughly enjoying the car and the way the DSG has adapted to my driving style. Brilliant piece of engineering. Managed a real time mileage of 16.4 today on a city stretch 😊 D mode all the way. effortless driving.
VW could have stiffened the suspension a bit and eliminated the rear thud though. A complete package otherwise

[Rajeevraj]

So decided to do a detailing job for the car. Almost 18 months old now and although I have been trying to take care of the exteriors, have not been very successful due to various reasons.

Based on feedback first plan was to do it at 'Head Over Wheels', Varthur Road (Near Kundanahalli Gate). They are the folks who do Petes-Smartwax which I heard from a friend was very good.

So visited them on Tuesday to get the details.The owner Shibin Kumar explained all the details. He said he had one slot on Friday and I booked it. Also said I could drop the car on Thursday evening. When I reached there Thursday evening, was in for a surprise. He was not available and hence I called him. He then surprisingly said not to drop the car and he will not be able to do it on Friday as he had a backlog. Was quite upset and disappointed to hear this as I had made some adjustments in my plans to ensure I could take the slot he gave me. His reasons were not very convincing as I had blocked the slot he had suggested just a couple of days back. So I can only assume that preference was given to some other regular customer.

Next choice was 3M Car Care. Decided to go to to the outlet on Outer Ring Road near Marathahalli. This was the outlet that was initially at Kundanahalli Gate (Reason for shifting- Planned underpass work at the junction. Bangaloreans commuting to ITPL Beware )

The owner Manoj, was a friendly chap and explained the different options. Decided to go for the '3M Paint Sealant Program' which included the following

• Exterior clay wiping for removing grease, sticky dirt, tar marks etc.
• Exterior polishing.
• 3M's paint sealant application.
• Bumper dressing.
• Engine Dressing
• Tyre cleaning.
• Glass cleaning.
• Interior Dry vacuuming.

In addition the backside of the front seats were quite dirty and I requested him to clean that also which he readily agreed to do. The total cost was Rs 5900 which I felt was quite expensive. But went ahead with it.

Some pictures of the car post treatment (not great quality pics). An not an expert on detailing, but liked the work done. I liked the way I was treated. So overall a good experience.

For more details, do see my post here

[nalinsaxena23]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Booked an appointment at VW Whitefield a couple of days in advance. Reached there on time and was attended to promptly.

Dear Rajeev,

Your thread has been an encouragement for me to buy a Vento TSI (pre facelift one) for myself.

Wanted to know that during your first service, which engine oil did VW service guys used. During delivery of my car last month, the sales advisor mentioned that VW uses Castrol Magnatec 5W40 synthetic oil for Vento TSI. I am wondering how can he not be aware about synthetic to mineral oil change for TSI models.

Cheers
Nalin

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by nalinsaxena23

Wanted to know that during your first service, which engine oil did VW service guys used. During delivery of my car last month, the sales advisor mentioned that VW uses Castrol Magnatec 5W40 synthetic oil for Vento TSI. I am wondering how can he not be aware about synthetic to mineral oil change for TSI models.

Cheers
Nalin

Hi Nalin, the synthetic to mineral change is for for gear oil and not the engine oil. The engine oil recommendation continues to be synthetic if I am not mistaken.

But in general be prepared to hear inaccurate stuff from the service advisors. When I enquired about the oil change during my 6 month check up, the SA insisted that that is for tsi which comes only in the polo. He was kind of shocked to see a vento tsi ( In his defence my vento tsi was from the first batch and it was probably the first time a vento tsi came in).


Congrats on your purchase. Hope you are enjoying the ride.

[nalinsaxena23]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Hi Nalin, the synthetic to mineral change is for for gear oil and not the engine oil. The engine oil recommendation continues to be synthetic if I am not mistaken.

But in general be prepared to hear inaccurate stuff from the service advisors. When I enquired about the oil change during my 6 month check up, the SA insisted that that is for tsi which comes only in the polo. He was kind of shocked to see a vento tsi ( In his defence my vento tsi was from the first batch and it was probably the first time a vento tsi came in).


Congrats on your purchase. Hope you are enjoying the ride.

Oh yes, thanks for clarifying.

Enjoying the car to the fullest. Its gem of a machine, love the sports mode . Driven about 600 kms so far and an initial ownership report is in the making.

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Hi Nalin, the synthetic to mineral change is for for gear oil and not the engine oil. The engine oil recommendation continues to be synthetic if I am not mistaken.

But in general be prepared to hear inaccurate stuff from the service advisors. When I enquired about the oil change during my 6 month check up, the SA insisted that that is for tsi which comes only in the polo. He was kind of shocked to see a vento tsi ( In his defence my vento tsi was from the first batch and it was probably the first time a vento tsi came in).


Congrats on your purchase. Hope you are enjoying the ride.

All VW cars sold in India have synthetic oil for the engine - Castrol Magnatec 5W40. This is one of the reasons for the long service interval of 15,000 kms or 1 year, whichever is earlier.

For the Polo/Vento cars with DSG gearbox, the oil used is now mineral oil as VW had a reasonable amount of initial problems with the DSG gearboxes, which was attributed to the synthetic oil being used in the gearbox. This synthetic oil was not suited to warm/tropical countries.

Most of the service staff are ignorant about this fact; only a handful of Service Managers are aware of this.

[Rajeevraj]

A quick update after 21 months of usage. Odo is coincidently at 21,000KM after 21 months.
No real change in opinion about the positives. Over the last few months, my 2 brothers in law have driven the car quite a bit and they were extremely happy with the quality of the car and the convenience and performance of the DSG. One of them is on the verge of changing his 80K run Etios and this is one of the contenders. Only issue is that it has to be driven by a driver and I am not very confident on entrusting a DSG to a driver. So looking at the other less risky options (like the Creta Diesel AT). So, overall, glad I went for this car and still brings a smile when ever I take it for a long drive.

Coming to the less positive items.

• AC cooling has gone down over the last month or 2. Now it is at a point that the co passengers are feeling uncomfortable unless I put it in max all the time (In this case the blower noise is an irritant). The blower speed is not as strong as it should be. Assume it is something to do with the filters.
  
• There is a vibration to the steering coming through under instances of hard braking. I read in the Vento thread that this could be a sign that the brake pads/discs needs to be replaced. Being an AT I assume wear and tear of the brake pads is higher.
  
• The horn pad on the left side seems to get a little hard to press after a period of usage. Seems ok when I start off, but after some time, feels like I need to put in additional effort to press. May be my imagination also. But something to get checked.
  
• Punctures: Not sure if it is just plain bad luck or if it is that the Apollo Alnacs are more easily punctured. Have had 4 punctures in hte last 3-4 months. 2 each on each of the Front Tyres. Couple have been very small ones.

Overall not any major issues, but looks like I need to make a trip to the service center before the 2nd year service which is still 3 months away. Looks like for some of these items related to filters and brake pads, a 1 year interval is not good enough considering our environment and traffic conditions.

The modification temptation.

• After reading about the number of mods being done by other Polo/vento TSI owners, getting really tempted. The cost and warranty worries keeping me in control, but now sure how long it will last. Anyway, have decided the first 2 things that I want based on my experience with the car
  
• Steering with paddle shifts: My highway driving is pretty much always in S mode now, but sometimes during slower phases, the box just gets stuck in S2 or S3 when I would have prefered S4. Being in D does not give the quick punch needed in several situations. paddles would be ideal to shift up and down a couple of gears for these situations.
  
• Cruise Control: Even on wide 4/6 lane highways, I prefer cruising at 100/110. But due to the power and speed masking abilities, I gradually keep going up and then suddenly realize it and need to correct. Miss the cruise control feature in such situations.

Mileage has been steady. 10-12 in City, 13-14 in heavy traffic 2 lane highways and 15-17 in 4/6 lane highways.

[just4wheels]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

AC cooling has gone down over the last month or 2.

In fact the AC cooling in general too isn't that great if you compare it with some lower segment cars. I recently happened to travel in a Ritz (from Ola Cabs to airport) and I found the AC extremely good at the rear and far less noisy too.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

There is a vibration to the steering coming through under instances of hard braking

I need to keep an eye on this.
Also, what I have noticed after my first service is that the jerks on downshift while in S mode from D3 and D2 has become more prominent and less in D mode and is spoiling some of the fun on the highways.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Punctures Not sure if it is just plain bad luck or if it is that the Apollo Alnacs are more easily punctured.

Ah. I had my first one a month back. Seems its more to do with the Alnacs than the luck factor.

[abhjain]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

A quick update after 21 months of usage. Odo is coincidently at 21,000KM after 21 months.

Mileage has been steady. 10-12 in City, 13-14 in heavy traffic 2 lane highways and 15-17 in 4/6 lane highways.

Many congrats on an excellent ride. Have you used normal petrol or the high octane one during your ownership ?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by just4wheels

In fact the AC cooling in general too isn't that great if you compare it with some lower segment cars. I recently happened to travel in a Ritz (from Ola Cabs to airport) and I found the AC extremely good at the rear and far less noisy too.

I need to keep an eye on this.
Also, what I have noticed after my first service is that the jerks on downshift while in S mode from D3 and D2 has become more prominent and less in D mode and is spoiling some of the fun on the highways.

Agree. The AC is pretty average. But I do feel pretty comfortable ever after being in the car for longer duration's. Feels fresh. In some other cars with strong AC and cooling, I start to feel uncomfortable soon and then need to fiddle around with the AC/ACC to get it into a comfort zone. Used to have to do this in my SX4 inspite of the Climate Control. In the Vento I typically need to fiddle less.

I have not noticed much jerking in S. It is prevalent in D, but mostly used to it now.

Originally Posted by abhjain

Many congrats on an excellent ride. Have you used normal petrol or the high octane one during your ownership ?

Thank you. Been using normal petrol. Tried Octane 97 once, but the lack of availability in areas close to my house meant it was not sustainable. Also tried Shell Premium a few times. No difference in performance and actually felt that the mileage dropped a bit.

As per other owner reports, Octane 97 does make a significant difference.

[antardaksh]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The modification temptation.

Hi Rajeevraj,

Have you looked at remap to increase power and torque?

Regards.