[imjimmy]

Originally Posted by noopster

Tyre pressure is a big problem. I am unhappy with the rear pressures (I have them on 33F and 36R, don't ask me why). Am thinking will get it set to 33 all around. I am usually alone or with another adult in the car and that about sounds right!

36 psi is definitely on the high side for the Vento, especially on a Petrol. Having a similar load to your car, we started with 34/35 psi all around. Now vary between 32 and 34 psi. I think 33 or 34, might hit the sweet spot, for different people. Also, I don't see why the rear tyres have to be higher than the front (or vice-versa) as given in the Vento specs.

[mdsaab]

Agreed the civic has low GC. But to be honest with you have not scraped it going over a speed breaker yet. The only place where i have had the crunching sound is on the exit of ishanya. But i think they have fixed their exit ramp though as it has not happened again. The new facelifted civic has a reworked suspension, so it does not bottom out the way the pre facelift model did. But again i havent had a single issue all this while going over speed breakers.

36psi does seem way to high. As imjimmy mentioned, i would stick with 34.

[dot]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Agreed the civic has low GC. But to be honest with you have not scraped it going over a speed breaker yet. The only place where i have had the crunching sound is on the exit of ishanya. But i think they have fixed their exit ramp though as it has not happened again. The new facelifted civic has a reworked suspension, so it does not bottom out the way the pre facelift model did. But again i havent had a single issue all this while going over speed breakers.

I will second that; I am yet to scrap our 07 Civic anywhere in Pune or Bombay so far. The car is the pre-facelifted model. The tyres are filled to 33psi at cold conditions. mdsaab, have you encountered the big breakers between Yerawada and Holkar bridge, near Deccan College? Even those has not posed any issue. (The stretch after that till Sangamwadi signal is a real blast to drive)

I guess every car comes with its unique characteristics, which the driver needs to adjust and enjoy.

[mdsaab]

@dot yes we have encountered those bumps near deccan college. This is the route we use while travelling to aundh. But no issues of bottoming out there too. As i said earlier havent come across a speed breaker that has scraped our civic.

Speaking of characteristics of a car. Yep the civic is a joy on the twisties, reasonably surefooted and great feedback from the hydraulic steering.

Coming back to the vento, its a german so i am sure the handling would be great. One thing about the germans, they are very well planted and feel at ease doing triple digit speeds all day. Well i have not actually test driven the vento yet so i wont say anymore. @noopster is going to fill us in on all this. Plus heres a little question @noopster is the steering hydraulic or electric in the vento?

[noopster]

Steering is electric: if there's any car that deserved a hydraulic PS it's this one. I think the only solution is to switch to 205s instead of 185s which I will do post-warranty.

Some more updates: 500km on the odo! Did my first tank refill today. Read the manual and discovered that VW actually recommends additives in its petrol variants (not recommended in diesels) so topped up with Shell Super Unleaded at my favourite pump in Hinjewadi. 43 litres went in, so that works out to almost exactly 11kmpl. Note that I have not done a longish highway stretch yet.

Finally decided to keep all tyres at 33 psi- let's see how it goes.

[mdsaab]

@noopster it definately would have been nice if your fraulein had a hydraulic setup.
Tyre upgrade only post warranty as you rightly said.
Efficiency figures of 11 are fantastic. Isnt the anhc suppose to be the most fuel efficient in its class. Seems like fraulein is not to far behind.
33 psi sounda right to me.

[noopster]

The reverse sensor was driving me crazy. Logged a complaint with VW when I went to pick up my corporate discount cheque and they sent a guy from Nippon to my office. Told him that the damn thing starts beeping the moment I engage reverse and he romptly replaced it with a unit that only beeps when it is 3 feet from an obstacle and beeps long when it is 1 foot away (i.e. dangerously close). I am happier now!

Just realised this thread is a fantastic service history for me and whoever eventually buys the car from me!

@mdsaab- I am absolutely delighted at 11 kmpl- would be perfectly happy with 9 to be honest. The problem is nobody believes me: when I told a colleague this he said, without skipping a beat, "Agar manual hotee, toh 13 deti." I was like dude, that's what my Swift gives. But it's hard to convince a people so brainwashed into believeing that ATs don't give mileage that they actually do! So I don't bother- their loss, not mine.

[clix22]

Hi Noop, Firstly congrats on the Vento. Just a small question, does the car come with cruise control? If so have you had the opportunity to use it?
My altis has cruise contol and I used it for the first time yest on the highway, took the already low stress even lower and gave me a good 20% more mileage. FYI: distance covered 17km speed set at 70.
Was looking to get the AT vento for the wife, hence was curious about the cruise control.
Happy driving.

[noopster]

^^No cruise control @clix22. Is it a dealbreaker for you?

Since you already have an Altis AT the Vento Tdi would be a nice complement. In fact I'd say let her drive the Altis and you rip away in the diesel king!

The petrol is supposed to have poor low end torque response whatever that means. Personally I love this engine, though I realise how much time it takes to rev up compared to my Swift and now actively use S mode or tiptronic to get there faster!

At first I was bemoaning the fact that VW hasn't launched an AT diesel but having driven this baby (and also the Laura DSG recently) am thinking a petrol engine is a petrol engine! Smooth, refined and noiseless

[clix22]

The Alitis belongs to my mum, I drive ''Apna Indica" and my wife hates the ''tractor''.
Will probably do a TD in the next few days and see.
Thanks anyway.

[mdsaab]

@noopster thats some fantastic service from VW there. Good to know they are not going the skoda way. I can imagine how irritating the beeping must be, glad thats solved now.

You are absolutely right this thread is a fantastic full service history of fraulein. Treasure it.

You have the right driving style and hence you are extracting the maximum efficiency from fraulein. Driving AT's is an art. You need to drive with a light foot and apply constant pressure on the gas. The minute you hit the gas harder she will downshift and there goes efficiency out the window. Most people find this difficult and hence are fixated that AT's are guzzlers. Driven properly one can even extract higher efficiency figures on the highway than the manual variant. But there are a lot of other factors to it. It's very important how you use that right foot. You seem do be doing a fantastic job with it mate. Keep gliding!

[sith_lord]

AT is the way to go but I feel the pricing of Vento AT could have been better. ANHC's V AT is priced at < 70K more than V MT, while the corresponding difference for Vento is almost 1L. It becomes even more puzzling when you come to know that the price difference between Vento HL AT and Vento HL in Russia is about Rb 45K, equivalent to about INR 68K.

This is just my logic - I'm certainly not an expert on automobile pricing.

[mdsaab]

I agree with your logic. But i guess each manufacturer has to work out their costing. Especially if the transmission is not made locally, then it depends on the country where they import it from, the freight, duties, currency etc.

One thing here in India is that most people have it stuck in their heads with super glue that an AT variant will work out to about 1 lakh more. So some manufacturers can take advantage of this fact and charge a 1 lakh premium for the AT, even if it shouldnt cost that much.

[noopster]

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGH!

It happened last night.

As a European car owner, you expect your logo to get flicked sooner or later. but not so soon. Not within 2 weeks. No.

If you park in a dark alley or hand your car over to some random valet at a shopping mall, sure. Not when you're parked in the safety of your apartment's covered parking. No.

Well, I can keep saying No as much as I want but it won't change the fact that our rear VW logo DID get flicked, from right under our noses and it's probably an inside job by one of the drivers/cleaners/maids in our apartment complex.

There is a place reserved in hell for people who steal and deal in stolen car logos.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by noopster

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGH!

It happened last night.

As a European car owner, you expect your logo to get flicked sooner or later. but not so soon. Not within 2 weeks. No.

If you park in a dark alley or hand your car over to some random valet at a shopping mall, sure. Not when you're parked in the safety of your apartment's covered parking. No.

Well, I can keep saying No as much as I want but it won't change the fact that our rear VW logo DID get flicked, from right under our noses and it's probably an inside job by one of the drivers/cleaners/maids in our apartment complex.

There is a place reserved in hell for people who steal and deal in stolen car logos.

Oops... Sorry to hear that. So ridiculous indeed. And how much does a replacement cost?
And if its from your apartment complex itself, what is the point in getting a replacement!