[rejeen]

Oct 17 2014: It was raining cats and dogs in Kerala. This is the day when he came home with a beep-beep, the all too familiar sound that my kid is a big fan of - of the Road Runner (not really! but this is the name that popped up). Here's the Night Blue Vento Diesel DSG CL 1.5L TDI.
Do I look good!

We have a Getz 1.3 GLS for the last 6 years, done 65K and I love to drive it. It's time to upgrade as the requirements to upgrade outweighs continuing with the current one for family drives. My buying decision of the cars, both the Getz and the Vento have been highly influenced by the sea of information available on our beloved T-BHP. With the Getz, we were a happy family for years.

I didn't test drive any other cars. T-BHP was my virtual test drive platform where a lot of knowledgeable people shared their views after test driving every brand and model available in India.

Here's a list of influences in making the decision to go for the Vento and the DSG.

1. Team-BHP - wonderful reviews of all cars & healthy discussions along with ownership threads.
2. DSG, for all the positives.
3. Requirement for safety kit for the family.
4. A reasonably good drivers' car
5. Knee pain
6. BMW not affordable

The T-BHP review of the Vento covers all aspects of the car in detail. This refresh is mostly about the DSG and the Double barrel headlamps and a set of security features that came as a package with DSG. This review might have some repetitions. The link to the original T-BHP review is given below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ve-review.html

New Headlamps


The Likes:

• DSG and the quick gear shifts
• Overall solid build feel
• Double barrel headlamps
• The ACC - cools the cabin quickly
• Huge boot space
• Security features -Airbags, ABS, Traction ctrl, Hill hold assist
• Height adjustable drivers seat

Not happy with:

• 1.5 TDI refinement level
• Lag of "up to" a second to get the power (Turbo lag).
• the VW safety feature - unlocks door at any speed with 2 consecutive pulls of the door open lever from inside.
• ICE - very basic
• No tweeters - 2 would have made huge difference.

Why Vento:

• Needed a Sedan.
• Requirement of a good Automatic car.
• Budget limitations - of around 10 - 12 lakhs
• TSI or TDI was fine. Waited till the color of choice became available and happened to be a TDI.

First three points would rule out almost all cars except Skoda Rapid. Here the difference was in the response and knowledge levels of the two dealerships. Skoda people had no clue about the availability of DSG Rapid while VW was on top of things. VW was more professional in their communication. Also the Skoda launch that I had watched live through the webcast left me with a feeling of disappointment. They should plan and rehearse the launch so that the features are well showcased and leaves audience with an overall positive feeling. Thinking about Steve Jobs and his presentations!



The New 1.5L TDI Engine:
The specs taken from VW brochure is here,


As already mentioned elsewhere, this is the same 1.6L VW engine downsized to 1.5L. Apart from any savings on the tax/duty, I'm not sure what would have prompted this downsizing. The engine:

• is Turbo charged Direct Injection (TDI)
• has 4 Cylinders
• 4 valves per cylinder, 16 valves in total.
• generates 103 bhp @ 4400 rpm
• Max torque of 250 Newton Metres in the rpm range of 1500 - 2500

The DSG:
Not for the looks, not for the engine and definitely not for the brand value but, it is ONLY for this technology pack that my choice has to be the Vento. Appreciate VW for giving cutting edge technology in their affordable cars (Polo TSI, Vento TSI and now TDI).

• Smooth gear shifts, mostly not noticeable.
• Efficiently gauge the user's intention and respond based on the pressure applied on the accelerator pedal.
• No ambiguity is choosing the right gear for the situation. A pleasure to be with. I think I'm showering too much praise on something that has a big history of problems.
• Haven't tried the manual upshift/downshift options. Too lazy already with the genius of DSG doing all the work.
• Haven't tried the "S" mode. Didn't find a use case yet.
• A self study about the DSG operation (too technical) is available here - http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_308.pdf.

The Gears


First impression on driving:
The suspension is really good in masking undulations of the road, though the rear suspension makes some noise at high speed. (Updated on 18th Oct - The noise seems to be due to the 44PSI all around. Reduced to 32 in front and 33 in back. The car is much smoother now. Also did the alignment)

Other impressions on first drive:

• The diesel engine is noisy at idle, not much sound comes in to cabin when the windows are up. With turbo it gets noisy. Not smooth sounding or enjoyable turbo as compared to the TSI.
• AC is efficient.
• There is a small lag when you need additional power. Very manageable.
• Steering feel is good. Not as good as the one in Getz.
• Auto door lock at 15 km/hr which I saw mentioned only with Highline is a surprise(I'm pleasant obviously) inclusion in the CL.

Steering:

• Good to hold. The flat bottom wheel looks and feels premium. Highline would have been value for money with leather wrapped steering that comes with controls for audio, among other additions.

Insulation:

• Engine is definitely noisy at higher rpms. The damping is good, therefore this is not an issue during lower rpms and when oyu're cruising at 80 - 100 KM/hr.
• There is no wind noise that I could hear.
• Tyre noise has started coming now. I was mistaken when I thought initially the stock Alnacs are good. I might still continue with the stock ones. Definitely better to change to one of the T-BHP favorites at the time of taking delivery

Handling

• The car is rock steady at all speeds that I've tried. That is not a lot of high speed drives as of now. Tried only up to 2100rpm on D7.
• The steering does not weigh up as much as I wanted to, with the speed. The Getz has a better steering at high speeds.
• Haven't experienced any body roll so far.
• Turning radius is surprisingly low and at par with that for the Getz.
• No comments on the ground clearance for now since my drives have been mostly on good roads.

Ride quality

• Good at low and high speeds. Suspension is pretty good.
• There is a "thud" noise coming from the rear suspension when I go over a hump at "not so slow" speeds. The sound gives a bad feeling.

Overall Driveability, Response and Refinement:
The brake pedal is pressed and the gear is put into "D" - there is a split second wait before the engine becomes attached and starts moving. I had test driven the TSI earlier and didn't feel any difference in response from the gearbox/engine combi when we try to build speed gradually. It is nice and smooth. Don't really notice the gear shifts too. The engine feels well refined while driving sedately.

Felt the difference while driven with a slightly heavy foot. The response from TSI was quicker and the refinement too was better with the petrol. With the 1.5L diesel, there is very good power on tap once you touch 1500pm and the torque is enjoyable. A little more refined engine would be welcome.

• Cruising at 70-80KM/hr on 7th gear while sedately up-shifting and you would be at 1300-1400rpm.
• Around 1800-1900rpm you would be at 100KM/hr and just around 2000-2100rpm, it would chug along at 120KM/hr.
• There is a lag of "up to" a second if you look for immediate acceleration, with a heavy foot. Will quickly adjust to this behavior.

Fuel Efficiency:

• The mileage shown on MID was 9km/l on delivery and it has always been climbing with every few kilometers driven. It has reached 15.3km/l over the last ~550 KMs. Not sure when will it settle down.
• Filled 48.5 liters to make tank full of diesel after taking delivery. Now it shows a bar less than 1/2 tank. Will update mileage after the next tankful.
• The advantage of German technology over some other competitors who concentrates too much on the KM/litre figure to sell their cars while compromising on the driveability and response.
• I'm happy that I got the diesel ultimately as it is well balanced for enjoyable driving and mileage compared to the TSI which would have required more visits to the fuel station.

Other niceties:

• The LED on the driver's door that blinks - indicating the safety feature is activated and is guarding the roadrunner.
• The ambient lights pointing to the front leg space area for both driver and passenger. Gets activated when the car is unlocked (to get in) and also when key is removed from ignition (while getting out). Stays ON for sufficient time.
• Individual reading lights for rear seat passengers.
• The front windscreen glass seems to be filtering some of the glare from other vehicles and makes night driving less stressful.

Experience so far:

• Received the car with 11KMs on ODO and now it is 565KM.
• The steering feel is good, may be about 80% of what you get in the Getz.
• The gears are a big advantage. Quick up-shifts saves a lot in the overall journey time and should be a boon in heavy traffic.
• In D mode, 7th gear, the car is cruising at 80KM/hr with rpm around 1400 and that is just below the Turbo range. Most people who drive sedate will love this car for its efficiency.
• Gear shifts are optimized for efficiency. eg: There is a slow moving truck in front and in a manual we might be pressing the throttle while probably in the 3rd gear. But with the auto, it just won't allow you to waste fuel and probably be at gear 5 or 6 and downshifts immediately (okay, with a 1 sec lag) when the opportunity comes giving the required power.
• IRVM is compromised due to its small size and the high head rests on the rear seats.
• Road Runner horn is loved by my better half and the in-laws. It is loud when you're outside the car and quiet enough when inside with glasses shut.
• The quality of ICE is average for the segment. A couple of tweeters would have improved the quality by a lot.
• Brakes are okay and does the job well in normal circumstances. I would've loved a little more bite that comes useful during emergency braking.
• The stock headlights, both low beam and high beam are adequate with help from fog lamps to get good spread. The front wind screen filter also helps in improving the night drives.
• If only VW had given attention to their image of being not so friendly and sometimes a bit careless, among their customers and prospective buyers! Hope they'll improve upon that because they have the potential to become a big player in this growing economy and could be one of their biggest markets in the near future.

A few Snaps:

[rejeen]

The whole buying experience from booking to delivery is detailed for anyone interested. Feel free to skip if it is boring.

The Booking:
My wife and I were coming back after a drive from Ernakulam (Cochin) on Feb 27th this year. It was a Holiday in Kerala. When I saw the VW showroom, my head was taken over by the heart who manipulated it to make a quick stop there and to take a test drive of the TSI.

10 minutes later I was driving a Polo TSI with Mr. John (more about him later) on my left and my wife at the rear. That was a short test drive and I was in love, in particular with the "S" mode.

30 minutes and we were out of the showroom with a booking for Pepper Grey/Shadow Blue Vento TSI to be delivered in 4-6 months.

The wait:
Not really bothered with the long wait as we had other priorities. Towards September (Onam), I was again thinking about the car and started following up. In between I had got calls from the showroom asking whether I'm interested in a Black (on the day of booking itself), Terra beige or White colors which were available. Wasn't interested in those colors and declined politely. Coming back - in September when I followed up, got a shock as I was told that both pepper Grey and Shadow Blue are no longer produced/available for the Vento TSI.

The Cancellation (that never happened):
I couldn't be sure if they were playing games with me, so days passed while I was gathering information about the availability of colors and almost confirmed what they told is the fact. So I called up the dealer and told I'm going ahead with the cancellation and sent them email. Also dropped a note to VW through the portal. At this point we were thinking about the XUV500 among potential choices, though my heart was reluctant to let go the DSG.

The Turn:
Out of the "blue", got a call from the dealer and was told that the diesel Vento is launching in a week and I could get one of the first and that could be in blue shade. No information about the variant was available. I was excited and put the cancellation on hold.

The Process:
Indeed the launch happened, dealer got a couple of cars and I got to see both of them in their yard. Too early for a test drive as some papers were not ready for their approvals on the new model with RTO. It was the CL variant and by then I had done my study and didn't feel I miss a lot compared to HL (considering my plans to buy alloys when available, Stanley leather pack in few months hopefully and ICE upgrade to something better than in HL - Philly 835??). Most importantly, there is no compromise on safety features .

The Delivery:
Fixed Friday the 17th after discounting a couple of days that were marked as not so good days by the calendar & elders. Initially the delivery was supposed to be at 11:30, but the time period between 10:30am to 12:00pm was associated with the evil "Rahu" (google Rahu Kalam), therefore had to reschedule to 12:45pm.

Reached around 12:45 and was met with "the guy" who had been assisting throughout. After giving a guided tour of the documents list that also includes some to be submitted at my local RTO, we were handed over to the "other guy" who explained in detail about the features of the car, showed how to remove engine cover, how not to pull up the driver side wiper during water service and why not to wash the inside of engine compartment and under body of the car.

Also to assist was "the lady" who helped in taking few snaps during delivery with my phone while the "other guy" took few shots of the same using a camera. A print-out of the picture framed nicely was given to us as a souvenir.



Gifts:

From VW:

• a pack of chocolates
• a pen & Key Chain set

From the Dealer:

• the photo with frame mentioned earlier
• a towel made with soft cloth
• a nice Coffee Mug
• a Key Chain
• a leather travel pouch
• couple of "neck pillows" (hope you got what I meant"

The Dealership: EVM VolksWagen, Maradu, Cochin
They're good, but as they say nothing less than "excellent" is acceptable. Could improve overall customer experience if they pay a little more attention and treat every visitor as a potential customer. Premium products that has premium pricing should have customers who too are premium and need to be treated so (from a VW "premium" point of view).

Mr John (the guy), the "other guy" and "the lady":
All my communication with the dealer was through the super friendly Mr. John Paul (yes, he has a famous name). He's the Sales adviser who won't get tired of my call even if he had just completed another call with the same "me", a minute back. Appreciate him for all the help.

Mr. Sharath is the "other guy" who explained all the features of the car nicely, in no hurry at all and gave a short tour of the service station along with a few cards with important contacts. He is a fan of DSG and wants to drive cars, but couldn't do so as he is a law abiding citizen yet to get a drivers license.

"the lady" Ms. Rincy gave company to my family while I was away with Mr. Sharath and also helped with the pictures.

They are all nice people and did well to instill a good overall feeling!

The Loan:
ICICI offer: approval in a day @10.45%, 0.1% processing fee with half waived off. Documents: just the salary slip. No prepayments allowed. Pre-closure anytime after 6 months with penaly of 4.2% on outstanding.
SBI offer: approval in a week @10.4%. Huge list of documents required. 0.1% fee (waived till end of the year). any number of prepayments allowed and no charges.
What would you go for ?

The Insurance:
Had to go with dealer (Tie-up with Bajaj Allianz) as outside offers were not different by a big margin. Couldn't check online as websites were not updated with new model info.

The cost:
12.49L on Road. No discounts.

This would be a family car mostly to be used on Holidays and weekends when I'm home in Kerala. Have the Getz for office commute and use in Bangalore as it is KA registered.

"One more thing" - Actually a few:

• T-BHP Stickers were flying (or so it seems) to reach me so quickly.
• Came with only 1 key (Other key should come in a month's time)
• Extended warranty not available yet. No info about when it would be available.
• Had only about 5 Ltrs of diesel, on delivery.

Something Personal:
DSG has got enough reviews, positive for its efficiency and negative for its reliability. I would say it's really good. Just because something might fail after 4 years (after warranty expires and that too a probability), why should I miss the fun and compromise for something lower.

That's the "End of the beginning" of this Initial review, from a Happy Driver. Thanks for reading. Any queries would be answered and appreciate any advise.

Very Basic!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by rejeen

That's the "End of the beginning" of this Initial review, from a Happy Driver. Thanks for reading. Any queries would be answered and appreciate any advise.

Congrats rejeen on your latest acquisition and it is sublime.

I may be wrong here, but I guess this is the first ownership thread of the Vento TDI DSG on the forum.

Coming from Getz, I know exactly how it feels since my previous car was a similar one.

Wish you many more happy mile crunching and drive safe.

[lalittalwar]

Congratulations on your new car. Please do keep updating it with your observations. your thread will be keenly watched as it is the first one with the 1.5 TDI and DSG combo.

all the best for many years of trouble free ownership.

[Rahul Rao]

If 80 kph is at just 1500 RPM then the 7th gear ratio is way taller than the 5th in an manual car, the quick down shift when you tap the accelerator for more torque must be what allows such a tall 7th gear aiding in fuel efficiency.
The 1.6 manual is known to give 22-23 km/l with single occupant on high way speeds under 80, once properly run in you may get better here.

Rahul

[srishiva]

Congrats on your acquisition. You may realize the true efficiency of AC in summer :(
For a tech laden gearbox, the gear lever and gates is not so great looking. Its been the same for more than a decade that I have been seeing them.

[narayans80]

Congratulations on taking the plunge rejeen. May you clock many more miles with your Road Runner

[Zigor]

Congratulations Rejeen !

This car seems like an ideal vehicle with a striking combo of fuel efficiency and performance. I own a Polo 1.5 TDI and can safely say that the engine response will get even better with good run in. I could identify with lots of things you mentioned. Yes, the initial clatter is there and engine could have been more refined but when it nears the turbo mark, bye-bye to most of the vehicles on road. Plus you get amazing stability at high speeds and all the safety features. Wish you million miles. This would be a keenly watched thread, eagerly waiting for updates. Congrats again

Zigor

[Raulspace999]

congratulations rejeen. Nice Write up. A rarity nowadays for a Vento. Well built European Sedan but underrated for its sheer understyling. In my honest opinion, the look is timeless and perfectly resembles the Volkswagen lineage. Hope they stick to it.

P.S: Look what they did to the new Punto. Taking a cue from the Hyundai stable and the fluidic fever. The new Punto seems to be having that korean/chinese hangover.

[harsha.muvva]

Congrats on the purchase!

Even i took the delivery of Vento 1.5 TDI DSG(highline) in the same shade couple of days back!Must say that i was totally in love with DSG

Agree with you on the sound from rear suspension,However i dint check the air pressure yet!

The dealer here told me that extended warranty is available(4 years/1,00,000 Kms) and i have purchased it at the time of delivery.I am yet to get the documents for the same!

[rpunwani]

Dear Rejeen,

Great review of the 1.5 TDi DSG. I would advise you to go for the extended warranty in the first year itself as the price goes up twice in the 2nd year.

Check with the dealer, the price for the extended warranty is on the VW India website.

[rejeen]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Congrats rejeen on your latest acquisition and it is sublime.

I may be wrong here, but I guess this is the first ownership thread of the Vento TDI DSG on the forum.

Thanks for the wishes Vik0728. Yes, I think this may be the first on Vento DSG and my first one too!

Originally Posted by lalittalwar

Congratulations on your new car. Please do keep updating it with your observations.

Thank You lalittalwar. Sure, will add to the thread when I've updates.
I'm keen to upgrade the HU and going thru the threads.

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

If 80 kph is at just 1500 RPM then the 7th gear ratio is way taller than the 5th in an manual car, the quick down shift when you tap the accelerator for more torque must be what allows such a tall 7th gear aiding in fuel efficiency.
The 1.6 manual is known to give 22-23 km/l with single occupant on high way speeds under 80, once properly run in you may get better here.
Rahul

Thanks Rahul. Will update here on the km/l numbers during and after the run in.

Originally Posted by srishiva

Congrats on your acquisition. You may realize the true efficiency of AC in summer :(
For a tech laden gearbox, the gear lever and gates is not so great looking. Its been the same for more than a decade that I have been seeing them.

Thanks srishiva. True, the AC is currently tested with the outside temp around 35 degrees only. Will see how it fares during summer.

Yes, the gear lever looks dated. Many people say the car looks dated too and they're right as the looks have remained same for long, but it still has decent and graceful looks. Personally, I was looking for DSG at an affordable price in a car that has reasonably good safety.

I wouldn't have bought this with Manual Transmission as there are other options in the sedan space to choose from!

Originally Posted by narayans80

Congratulations on taking the plunge rejeen. May you clock many more miles with your Road Runner

Thanks narayanans80

Originally Posted by Zigor

Congratulations Rejeen !

This car seems like an ideal vehicle with a striking combo of fuel efficiency and performance. I own a Polo 1.5 TDI and can safely say that the engine response will get even better with good run in. I could identify with lots of things you mentioned. Yes, the initial clatter is there and engine could have been more refined but when it nears the turbo mark, bye-bye to most of the vehicles on road. Plus you get amazing stability at high speeds and all the safety features. Wish you million miles. This would be a keenly watched thread, eagerly waiting for updates. Congrats again

Zigor

Congrats Zigor on your new Polo and wish you too a great experience with your drives. Thanks for the wishes and assuring that my observations are similar to yours.

Originally Posted by Raulspace999

congratulations rejeen. Nice Write up. A rarity nowadays for a Vento. Well built European Sedan but underrated for its sheer understyling. In my honest opinion, the look is timeless and perfectly resembles the Volkswagen lineage. Hope they stick to it.

P.S: Look what they did to the new Punto. Taking a cue from the Hyundai stable and the fluidic fever. The new Punto seems to be having that korean/chinese hangover.

Thanks Raulspace999. We both have similar thoughts on the flashy fluidic designs and the timeless VW designs!

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

Congrats on the purchase!

Even i took the delivery of Vento 1.5 TDI DSG(highline) in the same shade couple of days back!Must say that i was totally in love with DSG

Agree with you on the sound from rear suspension,However i dint check the air pressure yet!

The dealer here told me that extended warranty is available(4 years/1,00,000 Kms) and i have purchased it at the time of delivery.I am yet to get the documents for the same!

Thanks Harsha. Congrats on getting the HL in your color of choice (I wasn't that lucky). Do check the tyre pressure and alignment too, just to be sure. Waiting for your ownership thread to be up to read more about the experience.

The Cochin dealer is yet to confirm availability of Ext. Warranty for the New Vento. I think it is not updated yet on the VW site. Please confirm once you receive the documents from VW so that I could also follow up with the dealer.

[pnredkar]

Hi Rejeen,

Congratulations on your new car. A very nice choice indeed. The night blue seems slightly darker than the shadow blue. I need to see the colour in person to gauge the difference.

Few quick things:
- In the pictures I noticed that you have kept both cabin lights at off. Keep one or both to switch on and off with the door. It has a nice dimming action and also a good indicator that the doors are closed.
- All the doors can always be opened from the inside. This is supposedly a safety feature. Earlier I was paranoid about it, but with the recent news of car fires I am thankful. If you have kids at the back, please engage child locks. If not, inform your family members about this "feature".
- There is a thread about the hidden features in Vento. Please go through it and you may find something useful.

Last but not least, enjoy your car

Regards,
Prasad

[F150]

Fantastic review. So you too didnt get a test drive. Regarding the steering not weighing up to your liking, is it still the case after reducing the tyre pressure from 44psi to 32 psi ?

Can you let us know the cost of extended warranty ?