[Rajeevraj]

Did a ~400 KM drive from Calicut, Kerala to Bangalore. Although I have done this route several times, this time the car was packed to max capacity with 5 passengers and a fully packed boot. In short, you could not put anything more into the car. During the initial few KM itself, I felt a noticeable delay in D mode especially during kick down in preparation for an overtake. I was shifting to S more quite regularly as the delay was bothering me. Then I decided why not stay in S mode. So ended up doing the rest of the drive (~360 KM) completely in S mode.

Hence ended up being an enjoyable drive. Found that I while cruising at ~90 kmph, the car was in 5th gear and at ~2900 RPM. Overtaking was also a breeze since it would need to max drop 2 gears.

Overall efficiency was 12.5 kmpl.In D mode with this load I don't think I would have got more than 13 and a normal load drive on this route in D mode generally returns around 14 (completely 2 lane road with large stretches of twisty roads and ghat sections with a good amount of traffic).

[VSG12777]

Rajeevraj, nice update there! Wow a full load of passengers and luggage huh! Hmm ... good. Yes we do once in a while tend to load up the car fully don't we! Did you face any ground clearance issues with such a fully loaded car, on your long drive? I believe the GC is only 168mm isn't it ... it's not bad, but isn't the Vento's suspension/shocks also on the softer side? I saw my friend's Linea recently and there was hardly any sag even when fully loaded with 5 people and a boot filled with luggage. Wonder how the Vento would be when fully laden!

But lovely car the Vento TSI is ... the 1.2 TSI is a gem of a motor, and I keep getting a chance to drive it now and then as an office colleague and schoolmate of mine, has this car ... I floor the throttle every time I get behind the wheel! It is just so tempting. He is quite a sedate driver though. Says he gets 10.5 to 11 kmpl in Chennai city with normal driving in D mode, which is what I get from my 2010 Verna SX petrol too. So I'd say it is pretty good then.

Rajeevraj, are you happy with the AC performance in your Vento TSI? In Chennai it gets really hot in the summer. Goes to the 40s few times so was wondering whether the Vento's AC would be able to handle the heat, as VW/Skoda ACs aren't supposed to be as good as the Jap or Korean cars in general.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by VSG12777

Rajeevraj, nice update there! Wow a full load of passengers and luggage huh! Hmm ... good. Yes we do once in a while tend to load up the car fully don't we! Did you face any ground clearance issues with such a fully loaded car, on your long drive? I believe the GC is only 168mm isn't it ... it's not bad, but isn't the Vento's suspension/shocks also on the softer side? I saw my friend's Linea recently and there was hardly any sag even when fully loaded with 5 people and a boot filled with luggage. Wonder how the Vento would be when fully laden!

But lovely car the Vento TSI is ... the 1.2 TSI is a gem of a motor, and I keep getting a chance to drive it now and then as an office colleague and schoolmate of mine, has this car ... I floor the throttle every time I get behind the wheel! It is just so tempting. He is quite a sedate driver though. Says he gets 10.5 to 11 kmpl in Chennai city with normal driving in D mode, which is what I get from my 2010 Verna SX petrol too. So I'd say it is pretty good then.

Rajeevraj, are you happy with the AC performance in your Vento TSI? In Chennai it gets really hot in the summer. Goes to the 40s few times so was wondering whether the Vento's AC would be able to handle the heat, as VW/Skoda ACs aren't supposed to be as good as the Jap or Korean cars in general.

Thank you for the comments. On the ground clearance, there is a sag, but not very prominent. Big Speed breakers had to be taken carefully. And with the full load, more often than not, the towing hook at the back tends to scrape. In general till now it has not bottomed out on any of the monster speed breakers in Bangalore. I have felt the suspension is a good balance of ride and handling.

As you said, AC is not too great when it is very hot especially in the Auto mode. One needs to manually control it to ensure the best cooling. Have felt this more during my Kerala trips. In Bangalore, apart from maybe in March April, have not felt an issue with the AC. Overall it is not as good compared to my earlier SX4, but by itself, not too bad.

[VSG12777]

That's good then. As long as the underbelly doesn't scrape most of the time, it is fine I suppose. So you also had an SX4 before ... wow. My friend Balaji Shankar too has a 2010 light blue SX4 which he turbocharged at Red Rooster Performance, B'lore in 2012. He has been enjoying the car ever since. Both of us can never get enough of that turbo thrust when we floor the throttle! Except for Laura TSI and higher segment cars, we have smoked most of the other cars in lower segments!

The feedback on your Vento's AC is not very encouraging ... but I guess for now in this segment, a good automatic sedan with peppy performance to boot is only the Vento TSI. The only other car that can be considered, is the City VX automatic but that is a CVT ... nowhere near as high tech as the TSI and DSG combo of the Vento TSI.

So Balaji and I are planning to change our cars sometime later this year, possibly to a Vento TSI as we both want to switch to automatics. Being the petrolheads we are ... City VX automatic would be very bland and boring ... especially for him, after having been used to his SX4 turbo.

Thanks for your feedback Rajeevraj, and please do keep updating this thread! I have already bookmarked the thread.

Have you faced any other issues with the car? With electronics, or switches or other build quality issues, plastic parts etc? What about VW's service? Haven't been hearing good things about Skoda and VW service!

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by VSG12777

My friend Balaji Shankar too has a 2010 light blue SX4 which he turbocharged at Red Rooster Performance, B'lore in 2012. He has been enjoying the car ever since. Both of us can never get enough of that turbo thrust when we floor the throttle! Except for Laura TSI and higher segment cars, we have smoked most of the other cars in lower segments!


Thanks for your feedback Rajeevraj, and please do keep updating this thread! I have already bookmarked the thread.

Have you faced any other issues with the car? With electronics, or switches or other build quality issues, plastic parts etc? What about VW's service? Haven't been hearing good things about Skoda and VW service!

Thanks. If I am not mistaken, there is a detailed thread from Balaji on his performance mods here. Recall reading about it. In fact was planning to do something like that at some point. But that's when the upgrade bug hit me and I went for the TSI.

No issues faced till now. Have visited the Service Center on for the 6 month free check up and 1st year service. Experience was ok. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing bad either.

[H_Dogg72]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Fuel had always been regular petrol. Once tried shell premium but did not feel any difference. Wanted to try the octane 91/ 97 fuels but was not sure about availability in Bangalore and feasibility of filling on a regular basis.

Try Speed 97 on an almost empty tank. It will blow your socks off!
Since the car is now more than a year old, try an Italian tuneup with the high octane fuel along with an additive (STP/ADON P)
what you need to do is drive at greater than 3000 RPM for 15 to 20 minutes.
I do it at 3rd gear so the car is at 60-70. Keeps the injectors clean, regular fuel must've wrecked havoc with massive carbon.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

Try Speed 97 on an almost empty tank. It will blow your socks off!
Since the car is now more than a year old, try an Italian tuneup with the high octane fuel along with an additive (STP/ADON P)
what you need to do is drive at greater than 3000 RPM for 15 to 20 minutes.
I do it at 3rd gear so the car is at 60-70. Keeps the injectors clean, regular fuel must've wrecked havoc with massive carbon.

Thanks for the info. Need to figure out a nearby location where Speed 97 is available. Will try it out.

[Rajeevraj]

A quick update. Finally the ODO rolled over to 15000 KM after ~16 months. Nothing major to report out. The car continues to impress irrespective of the condition. Whether it is crawling for kilometers in Bangalore's traffic, negotiating traffic filled 2 lane ghat highways, or just relaxed cruising on 4 lane roads, the TSI+DSG has an answer to everything and continues to bring a smile to my face every time I drive.

After getting the realization that the S mode does not really impact mileage on longer highway drives, all highway driving has exclusively been in S mode. Within the city I stick to D. Not sure if it is because of this, have noticed that the D mode has become slightly more sluggish that what it used to be when I use it in Highway kind of conditions.Taking a wee bit longer to shift down.

Could it be that the DSG box has 'learnt/assumed' that the D mode is only being used in slow speed conditions and hence has become more conservative in shifts? Assuming this is the case, I am now attempting to make it 'unlearn' this by driving with a heavy foot in D mode. Any thoughts?

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

After getting the realization that the S mode does not really impact mileage on longer highway drives, all highway driving has exclusively been in S mode. Within the city I stick to D. Not sure if it is because of this, have noticed that the D mode has become slightly more sluggish that what it used to be when I use it in Highway kind of conditions.Taking a wee bit longer to shift down.

Could it be that the DSG box has 'learnt/assumed' that the D mode is only being used in slow speed conditions and hence has become more conservative in shifts? Assuming this is the case, I am now attempting to make it 'unlearn' this by driving with a heavy foot in D mode. Any thoughts?

I think more than the gear box it is you , the driver, who needs to unlearn the joys of the S mode . After driving in S mode for a while its kind of hard to go back to D. You start missing that urgency and the car starts feeling 'lazy'. At speeds around 80 kph, the D mode is agonizingly slow as it refuses to downshift from D7 for even heavy dabs at the throttle. Only if you really stomp the foot does it execute a downshift. What I do in my Polo is , I use the S mode to get up to speed quickly and then slip her into D for cruising in D7 comfortably.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I think more than the gear box it is you , the driver, who needs to unlearn the joys of the S mode . After driving in S mode for a while its kind of hard to go back to D. You start missing that urgency and the car starts feeling 'lazy'. At speeds around 80 kph, the D mode is agonizingly slow as it refuses to downshift from D7 for even heavy dabs at the throttle. Only if you really stomp the foot does it execute a downshift. What I do in my Polo is , I use the S mode to get up to speed quickly and then slip her into D for cruising in D7 comfortably.

Giving more thought on this, I guess you hit the nail on the head. I feel this most in the scenario you mentioned, cruising in D at 80 kmph and want to suddenly downshift. In S mode, this is a tap on the accel, in most cases does not even need a downshift. In D you really need to stamp down.

I also do the same as you mentioned, even if I am cruising in D, I pop in and out of S mode as needed. Although most of the 2 lane highways drives are in S mode now, I like the quietness that comes with D mode. At 80 kmph on good roads in D mode, it almost feels like an electric car (Maybe am exaggerating a little bit , but definitely true to an extent)

[Detroit-Dude]

Guys, I have recently got a vento TSI here in Mumbai. While driving and accelerating the hissing sound which I beleive is the turbo whistle can be heard quite prominently. Also there was some vibration in the acceleration pedal while crusing. I must say that the TSi is a fairly noisy motor for a petrol.
Are the above observations normal for a TSi? Any owner comments please

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Detroit-Dude

Guys, I have recently got a vento TSI here in Mumbai. While driving and accelerating the hissing sound which I beleive is the turbo whistle can be heard quite prominently. Also there was some vibration in the acceleration pedal while crusing. I must say that the TSi is a fairly noisy motor for a petrol.
Are the above observations normal for a TSi? Any owner comments please

Is this with the windows rolled down/AC off? And is this in D or S mode Surprising you find it noisy. With AC on, in D mode while cruising at 70-80, I can hardly hear the engine. I have commented about it earlier. Feels as silent as an electric car. If you have some music on, then even under decent level of acceleration the engine is pretty silent.

Have not felt any Accel pedal vibrations also.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Detroit-Dude

While driving and accelerating the hissing sound which I beleive is the turbo whistle can be heard quite prominently.

I face the same issue in my Vento TDI.

Try switching the AC mode from the default fresh-air mode to recirculate.

There is a flap in the passengers footwell that opens and closes when you change the AC mode between fresh-air and recirculate, and that's where a lot of the sound comes through on the Vento.

[Detroit-Dude]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Is this with the windows rolled down/AC off? And is this in D or S mode Surprising you find it noisy. With AC on, in D mode while cruising at 70-80, I can hardly hear the engine. I have commented about it earlier. Feels as silent as an electric car. If you have some music on, then even under decent level of acceleration the engine is pretty silent.



Have not felt any Accel pedal vibrations also.

The hissing noise is only during acceleration in D mode. Windows rolled up.AC off,music off a very prominent whistle. The engine is other wise quite silent in D mode except when i push the throttle. The S mode is a bit noisy due to high revving.

Havent noticed the hissing sound in S mode as yet.

Tyre noise though better than aceleres is still there in the apollo alnac.
Its a Dec 14 manufactured car and was in the dealers yard since Jan. The vibration worries me a bit for a brand new car which has done ~80 kms

[Detroit-Dude]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I face the same issue in my Vento TDI.



Try switching the AC mode from the default fresh-air mode to recirculate.



There is a flap in the passengers footwell that opens and closes when you change the AC mode between fresh-air and recirculate, and that's where a lot of the sound comes through on the Vento.

Will check with these AC modes. The dealer sales rep told me that the vibration will stop after some continuous driving. The hissing noise according to him is normal. If either of these continue I will have to visit the workshop for a checkup. hopefully its nothing faulty.