[Bh.P]

Noop Have been keeping up with this wonderful thread since it started. Thanks for sharing all details in such detail Test drove the Vento AT today. Loved it.

Test drove the City AT last weekend. Loved that too (though the tiptronic in Vento felt more responsive to me). With the price reduction of City, they are comparable cost wise too. So am all confused now.

In Blore City AT OTR 11.38 Insurance and Cash Disc: 0.60 What I need to pay: 10.78 Vento AT OTR 11.54 (includes some accessories, extended war) Reduce accessories .21 Reduce ext war .1 Corp disc .16 Free insurance .36 What I need to pay: 10.69 So now time to go back to excel, and put down a comparo. Loved everything about the Vento except the hump at the back and the ICE. Loved everything about the City except the silver panels in the interiors, and the much heard-of GC issue.

Choosing wifey was probably easier.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please take time to post your views in an uncluttered manner so that members can read and understand it without difficulty.

[noopster]

Wow you loved it so much you posted it twice

In my case the higher price of the ANHC pretty much ruled it out. Since you are getting both these beauties pretty much on par, let me point out a few things that may turn out to be dealbreakers one way or the other:

1. After sales service: VW is pretty much an unknown quantity here. Honda's A.S.S. is proven. Reports coming in seem to indicate parts cost and overall service experience are comparable, though.
2. Engine: Honda has 10 horses or so more and is reputed to be more revv-happy. VW petrol engine is strictly average as per GTO. As a user, I find it more than adequate.
3. Autobox: 6-speed in the Vento compared to Honda's 5-speed. The Vento displays the gear you are in at all times which is a big help. But Honda has paddle shifts while in the VW you make do with the tiptronic. S-mode is more fun in the Vento.
4. Interiors: Colour me conservative but I hated the silveriness of the central dash of the Honda. And mdsaab's thread seems to indicate he is unhappy with the look and feel of some of the buttons. The Vento is simple yet classy, but that's purely an opinion.
5. ICE: Vento SQ is decent, I think a notch higher than the City. But the Honda gets USB in, while the VW has to make do with MP3 CDs with no data display (major bummer for a music freak like me!)
6. Handling: No question here. Veedub all the way.
7. Build quality: If you like your doors shutting with a thunk, get the Vento. Honda is typical Japanese- not flimsy but lacks the Teutonic solidity.
8. FE: City will give you around 10-11 kmpl in horrible city traffic, while the best you can expect from the Vento is 8-9. Cost of petrol being what it is, that's about a 2/- per km difference.
9. NVH: The Vento is silent as a ghost at start-up and not much different unless you're kicking down to overtake and the tacho crosses 4K. ANHC allows more noise into the cabin.
10. Small things: Vento lights up like a Christmas tree inside with various lighting options for passengers as well; has soft touch buttons and wiper stalks that are a joy; ANHC has no annoying hump at back; paddle shifts to play with; and some other stuff that you can find on mdsaab's thread

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by noopster

Wow you loved it so much you posted it twice

In my case the higher price of the ANHC pretty much ruled it out. Since you are getting both these beauties pretty much on par, let me point out a few things that may turn out to be dealbreakers one way or the other:

1. After sales service: VW is pretty much an unknown quantity here. Honda's A.S.S. is proven. Reports coming in seem to indicate parts cost and overall service experience are comparable, though.
2. Engine: Honda has 10 horses or so more and is reputed to be more revv-happy. VW petrol engine is strictly average as per GTO. As a user, I find it more than adequate.
3. Autobox: 6-speed in the Vento compared to Honda's 5-speed. The Vento displays the gear you are in at all times which is a big help. But Honda has paddle shifts while in the VW you make do with the tiptronic. S-mode is more fun in the Vento.
4. Interiors: Colour me conservative but I hated the silveriness of the central dash of the Honda. And mdsaab's thread seems to indicate he is unhappy with the look and feel of some of the buttons. The Vento is simple yet classy, but that's purely an opinion.
5. ICE: Vento SQ is decent, I think a notch higher than the City. But the Honda gets USB in, while the VW has to make do with MP3 CDs with no data display (major bummer for a music freak like me!)
6. Handling: No question here. Veedub all the way.
7. Build quality: If you like your doors shutting with a thunk, get the Vento. Honda is typical Japanese- not flimsy but lacks the Teutonic solidity.
8. FE: City will give you around 10-11 kmpl in horrible city traffic, while the best you can expect from the Vento is 8-9. Cost of petrol being what it is, that's about a 2/- per km difference.
9. NVH: The Vento is silent as a ghost at start-up and not much different unless you're kicking down to overtake and the tacho crosses 4K. ANHC allows more noise into the cabin.
10. Small things: Vento lights up like a Christmas tree inside with various lighting options for passengers as well; has soft touch buttons and wiper stalks that are a joy; ANHC has no annoying hump at back; paddle shifts to play with; and some other stuff that you can find on mdsaab's thread

Noops fantastic summary. Only problem is the dilemma continues. The two look quite evenly stacked up. The only difference would be personal preference, which would ultimately be the deciding factor.
I really can't wait for Fraulein and Golden Beauty to meet.
We better do it and fast, especially since i have received the dreaded Q more than once.

[Bh.P]

Thanks for the comparo noops and mdsab. Here is where I stand now (purely IMHO)

Interior Space: City (ugly hump in Vento makes 5th passenger very uncomfy)

Engine: City (cannot say by test drive, but iVTec is proven, reviewed to be better)

Gear: Both similar, though tiptronic felt slightly better and more responsive, not sure if the test vehicle was better maintained)

Interior feel: Vento (hated the chrome panels in City, others ok)

Exterior look: Vento (for me), City (for the lady, will let her win this)

Ride/Handling/Solid: Vento

ASS: City (since Vento unknown)

GC: Vento (separate category since this is a big issue for City)

So it is 4.5 for city vs 3.5 for Vento. So both mind and heart say city for now.

Have been busy with relocation over the past month, so did not check out mdsaab's thread in detail (though I book marked it). Now is the time to check it out in detail. Have been reading his tips on deals in the new car thread though. Thanks mdsaab!

Sorry if there was a duplicate post. Some issue with my network made me click submit twice.

[noopster]

You're welcome Bh.P- we aim to please!

Had a couple of surprise meetings this week with subodh, fellow BHPian with an *identical* car to mine- Jan '11 Vento AT in candy white- and right now we are almost exactly at the same clicks on the odo as well . Was chatting with him and realised that he was facing the same problem as me- tyre noise increasing by the day. Like me, he also started observing it only after 8000 km.

So much for my high praise of the Apollo Aceleres. Since I have already used them, will stick with them till the warranty expires. But new Vento owners: please seriously consider upgrade to 195/60R15 or 205/55R15 right out of the shop. A brand like Michelin or Yokohama should be a much better option than Apollo.

At first I was suprised none of the Vento owners on the forum brought this up but then realised: most of them have TDIs and probably didn't hear the tyre noise over the clatter (What I can't have some fun at your expense? I pay 60% more for fuel for God's sakes!)

[krish11]

Originally Posted by Bh.P

So it is 4.5 for city vs 3.5 for Vento. So both mind and heart say city for now.

@Bh.p : While all the factors you considered are good, you should also compare contextual ones as well. For e.g. in my case, the anti-pinch feature on all 4 windows was important as my son (naughty brat) keeps playing with them and this was a good safety feature to have. In the City, I understand, this feature is available only for the driver side. So my suggestion is - make sure you have covered off all such factors as well in the comparison.

[noopster]

@krish- at the risk of sounding like a turncoat, the lack of internal locking in the Vento is a more serious concern than anti-pinch. You can always lock all the windows from the driver's seat in the Vento that takes care of your pinching problem, but what if a naughty kid plays with the door handles and it opens? There is absolutely no way you can stop that from happening in a Vento!

[vb-saan]

Krish, Just to add on what Noops mentioned – From the feedback I got from City owners, it does have anti-pinch windows. Even if it’s not there on all windows, it’s not as much of a hazard in the City as it does not have one-touch rollup for all 4 windows. And I agree with you; if I am in the market for a sedan, these kind of features will surely impact the decision making process

[krish11]

@ Noops - The first thing I did when I took delivery of the car, was to engage the child locks on the rear doors. Don't allow my child to sit in the front seat much - allowed only in someone's lap with limbs in control.

[noopster]

That's good. But child locks on the left door is an inconvenience. Usually it's just me an my wife in the front seat, kiddo in back but when we have additional people riding with us, I can't be expected to walk out and open the door for them every time, can I?

It's a big fail from VW and I hope it gets rectified in the refresh whenever it comes. I doubt it though- have seen some people position it as a "safety feature". I guess they have a point- if you're in an accident and need to get out in a hurry, unlocking and opening the door in two motions will take more time and effort. But that's an extreme case: it's probably far more practical to just have a lock/unlock inside as well.

I checked with GTO and he swears that VW had not even enabled auto-lock on ignition on the test mules the T-BHP team drove: he surmises that they probably added the feature later. That would have taken the cake!

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by Bh.P

Thanks for the comparo noops and mdsab. Here is where I stand now (purely IMHO)

Interior Space: City (ugly hump in Vento makes 5th passenger very uncomfy)

Engine: City (cannot say by test drive, but iVTec is proven, reviewed to be better)

Gear: Both similar, though tiptronic felt slightly better and more responsive, not sure if the test vehicle was better maintained)

Interior feel: Vento (hated the chrome panels in City, others ok)

Exterior look: Vento (for me), City (for the lady, will let her win this)

Ride/Handling/Solid: Vento

ASS: City (since Vento unknown)

GC: Vento (separate category since this is a big issue for City)

So it is 4.5 for city vs 3.5 for Vento. So both mind and heart say city for now.

Have been busy with relocation over the past month, so did not check out mdsaab's thread in detail (though I book marked it). Now is the time to check it out in detail. Have been reading his tips on deals in the new car thread though. Thanks mdsaab!

Sorry if there was a duplicate post. Some issue with my network made me click submit twice.

Those are interesting points you have put up.
please have a test drive thread and share your points after TD both.
Looking forward to having you on the Hooked and Booked thread.
and as Noops says we "Live to please" err maybe that didn't come out right

Originally Posted by noopster

At first I was suprised none of the Vento owners on the forum brought this up but then realised: most of them have TDIs and probably didn't hear the tyre noise over the clatter (What I can't have some fun at your expense? I pay 60% more for fuel for God's sakes!)

LOL! Hilarious.

Originally Posted by krish11

@Bh.p : While all the factors you considered are good, you should also compare contextual ones as well. For e.g. in my case, the anti-pinch feature on all 4 windows was important as my son (naughty brat) keeps playing with them and this was a good safety feature to have. In the City, I understand, this feature is available only for the driver side. So my suggestion is - make sure you have covered off all such factors as well in the comparison.

A very valid point indeed. Are all four windows in the Vento one touch up/down?

Originally Posted by noopster

@krish- at the risk of sounding like a turncoat, the lack of internal locking in the Vento is a more serious concern than anti-pinch. You can always lock all the windows from the driver's seat in the Vento that takes care of your pinching problem, but what if a naughty kid plays with the door handles and it opens? There is absolutely no way you can stop that from happening in a Vento!

That is a major point too. and yes if you have children please use the window lock button. keep it locked at all times. and press the button before you roll any of them up/down. One good thing though is that even with the window lock engaged you can roll up and down the driver window in the ANHC.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Krish, Just to add on what Noops mentioned – From the feedback I got from City owners, it does have anti-pinch windows. Even if it’s not there on all windows, it’s not as much of a hazard in the City as it does not have one-touch rollup for all 4 windows. And I agree with you; if I am in the market for a sedan, these kind of features will surely impact the decision making process

Yes the front driver window is anti pinch. It meets the obstruction and then rolls down to exactly half way. The others are not one touch windows so i guess that's why they do not have anti pinch.

Originally Posted by krish11

@ Noops - The first thing I did when I took delivery of the car, was to engage the child locks on the rear doors. Don't allow my child to sit in the front seat much - allowed only in someone's lap with limbs in control.

You are absolutely correct in doing so.

Originally Posted by noopster

That's good. But child locks on the left door is an inconvenience. Usually it's just me an my wife in the front seat, kiddo in back but when we have additional people riding with us, I can't be expected to walk out and open the door for them every time, can I?
Has happened at times, and i did the chauffeur-ly thing and got out and opened the door. Maybe what was left was the bow and maybe to tip my hat. LOL!
It's a big fail from VW and I hope it gets rectified in the refresh whenever it comes. I doubt it though- have seen some people position it as a "safety feature". I guess they have a point- if you're in an accident and need to get out in a hurry, unlocking and opening the door in two motions will take more time and effort. But that's an extreme case: it's probably far more practical to just have a lock/unlock inside as well.
Should be rectified. Remember one can also choose not to lock the car and then it will be just a one motion exit.
I checked with GTO and he swears that VW had not even enabled auto-lock on ignition on the test mules the T-BHP team drove: he surmises that they probably added the feature later. That would have taken the cake!

A nice big chocolate one.

[noopster]

@mdsaab- just one clarification regarding "one-motion exit": the auto-lock activates at a particular speed (I think about 15 kmph) regardless of whether you have manually unlocked the doors using central locking. I know this for a fact because I have to manually unlock every day to go through the security check procedure that my company follows. Once it's done I zoom off and those locks auto-activate again! Given the number of stops and starts on my daily commute, keeping the doors unlocked is not a practical option.

I like the mechanism on some Fiat cars where you tug at the door lever once to unlock and then again to open. Though it's not as safe as the separate locking mechanism, at least it's intuitive (a typical human being, when the door won't open on one tug, will tug again-we're wired that way!)

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by noopster

@mdsaab- just one clarification regarding "one-motion exit": the auto-lock activates at a particular speed (I think about 15 kmph) regardless of whether you have manually unlocked the doors using central locking. I know this for a fact because I have to manually unlock every day to go through the security check procedure that my company follows. Once it's done I zoom off and those locks auto-activate again! Given the number of stops and starts on my daily commute, keeping the doors unlocked is not a practical option.

I like the mechanism on some Fiat cars where you tug at the door lever once to unlock and then again to open. Though it's not as safe as the separate locking mechanism, at least it's intuitive (a typical human being, when the door won't open on one tug, will tug again-we're wired that way!)

Actually was referring to the ANHC way of going about things.
And yes the fiat way is a great in between.
For me still though I prefer a dedicated lock switch

[Monaro CV8]

To quote an example of how things work in my octy - 1. The doors get auto locked over speeds of 10Kmph
2. locked doors can be opened from the inside with 2 consecutive tugs (just like the FIAT doors).
^^
Now
1. That's a good safety feature
2. That's bad. If you've got kids in the back. Gotta use the child lock then !

Window wise:
1. all the four windows have the anti-pinch feature
2. One touch roll up & roll down for the front two windows
3. One can roll up or roll down all the windows without entering the car (or opening any door!)

The manual also says that in case of an accident (like air bags getting deployed, or the crash sensor picking up an impact) all the doors of the car get auto unlocked.

I bet the German's then, were thinking a lot to include these tit-bit features in a car.
Nowadays, I reckon its all about how to economize a car to sell in the Indian Market.

Bah!

[bala80]

Hello Noopster - This caught my eye, how do I enable this in the vento? Mine doesnt have this feature activated as of now.

Checked the owner manual, but then i didnt find anything related to this, can you please let me know?

Originally Posted by noopster

the auto-lock activates at a particular speed (I think about 15 kmph)