[vcx]

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

Interesting.. You are the first person on the entire forum who is saying that. After branding the Vento plastics as 'cheap' , I'll be surprised if you like the ANHC or any of the other ones in the same segment. Theough not premium, I found the Vento plastics the best of the segment.

Maybe you need to move a segment up to CIVIC/Laura/Jetta to get good interiors then

I am as well suprised to hear plastics on Vento as cheapo, I have TD many in this segment can safely say Vento plastics quality( dashboard, gear knobs, switches, wiper inside door trim/switches are all of a segement plus.

Take a look at Cruze and come back to Vento.

Other may have good appeal , but when it comes to attention to detail for fit and finish is much better on Vento.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by vcx

I am as well suprised to hear plastics on Vento as cheapo, I have TD many in this segment can safely say Vento plastics quality( dashboard, gear knobs, switches, wiper inside door trim/switches are all of a segement plus.

Take a look at Cruze and come back to Vento.

Other may have good appeal , but when it comes to attention to detail for fit and finish is much better on Vento.

I guess its the perception created by VW itself. They came into the market with higher end models like Passat and Jetta, and that kind of plastic quality became a minimum expectation from a VW

[mdsaab]

Its very sad that most of us have had a bad experience at euro manufacturers dealers. They make such fantastic cars, but are mostly let down by the shoddy attitude of their dealers. Either people have a bad experience with the sales staff or the service staff. Its about time they get their dealers in check.

And as noopster himself said, and i agree too, the honda city AT is a nice choice too. Can you tell us your view on the leather quality of the exclusive variant?

Originally Posted by rkap01

Congrats! I had almost made up my mind about this car; but my very bad experience with the sales team as well as no AT test car availability put me off permanently. I went for time tested Honda City 1.5 V AT exclusive.
Congrats again. Car looks superb!

[mdsaab]

@noopster so you finally figured out how to get the fogs running. I too use my fogs everyday. Infact many times i use only the fogs and the parking lights within the city.

[sith_lord]

Many congratulations noopster. I have been following your thread (and the whole forum to be precise) with great interest for quite some time; finally woke up from slumber and registered - This is my post on team-bhp.

I have been on the lookout towards upgrading my 6-year old Zen Vxi with a C Sedan for sometime and got excited like many with Vento's launch. I was always thinking about buying an AT, even before Vento came up, and almost zeroed in on the AT version - I even took a test drive last week. Now, the dilemma sets in - with petrol AT and Highline TDI priced at the same level and the great reviews TDI has incurred. Each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. I'm not finding it easy on the decision here - all of my perceived conviction of being an AT-fan turned out to be a false notion after all. I'm planning on taking a test-drive of TDI today and will come up with a final decision.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by sith_lord

Many congratulations noopster. I have been following your thread (and the whole forum to be precise) with great interest for quite some time; finally woke up from slumber and registered - This is my post on team-bhp.

Hey sith_lord, welcome to TBHP and am glad your inaugaral post is on my thread!

I have been on the lookout towards upgrading my 6-year old Zen Vxi with a C Sedan for sometime and got excited like many with Vento's launch.

You'll be surprised how many Swift owners have gone for the Vento. Me and naveenraju that I can recollect. There are others!

I was always thinking about buying an AT, even before Vento came up, and almost zeroed in on the AT version - I even took a test drive last week. Now, the dilemma sets in - with petrol AT and Highline TDI priced at the same level and the great reviews TDI has incurred.

Check out this thread I had started: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sedans...us-diesel.html
It certainly helped me decide that I wanted the AT after all. BTW both are great cars, and you can't go wrong with either!

[mdsaab]

@noopster how about tints any plans? White looks great with some green tints.

[noopster]

^^ I got film put from VW themselves. It keeps the sun out and the cops off my back so am cool for now (pun intended hehe).

The leather work has got postponed thanks to viral attacks on various family members self included! Hope to get it started this weekend.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by noopster

^^ I got film put from VW themselves. It keeps the sun out and the cops off my back so am cool for now (pun intended hehe).

The leather work has got postponed thanks to viral attacks on various family members self included! Hope to get it started this weekend.

Are you going to get the seats done by Stanley leather? Do post some pictures after the seats are done

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by noopster

^^ I got film put from VW themselves. It keeps the sun out and the cops off my back so am cool for now (pun intended hehe).

The leather work has got postponed thanks to viral attacks on various family members self included! Hope to get it started this weekend.

Hehehe nice one on the sunfilm. Get well soon. Hope the leather is installed this weekend. Look forward to pics of the interiors once they are done. Have you decided what colour?

[rkap01]

Originally Posted by noopster

You guys have no idea how long I've been composing the TBHP ownership review in my head! Now that I'm finally putting it down, am torn between completing the damn thing and hitting F5 and checking how many replies I've got . Anyway let me complete this, and then take questions, like so many of my bosses love to do!

The wait...and then the wait...
It became obvious pretty quickly that VW had severaly underestimated the demand its new breed of machines would generate. Attuned to the likes of the Jetta and Passat that at most sold a handful of units a month, their sleepy dealerships overnight became a beehive of activity and the results were immediate and not very pleasant.

I have recently bought Honda City AT ie 2 weeks ago! My first choice was Vento AT. As i mentioned in my post on HOnda City AT, my experience with calling the dealers was almost like same except that I was calling the sales team before i was committed to buy. Most of the time my phone went unanswered. Sometimes when i got through I would be told that the agent is not nearby and thus would receive a call. They never called. Multiple Internet enquiry had no response. Visit to the dealer revealed they had no AT car for test drive. Waiting period was 3-6 months. So I went for Honda, who showed fantastic response.
Vento AT vs Honda City AT - interesting comparison!
The central music console def looks smarter than Honda city which is in silver colour and bound to get dirty pretty fast!
Did you test drive Honda City AT? If yes, please comment!

[rkap01]

Originally Posted by noopster

And as noopster himself said, and i agree too, the honda city AT is a nice choice too. Can you tell us your view on the leather quality of the exclusive variant?

The leather quality is pretty nice. No expert on leather, but it looks and feels very nice. The fitting is superb and the seats are very comfy. the colour is also great!

Originally Posted by noopster

Thanks RGK.

300 km done and the overall mileage is 10.4 kmpl. Can't complain!

Honda city AT (2011) after 800 KMs is giving 14.5 average in a mix of highway and city driving!
Pure highway gives over 17 and pure city gives ranging from 7 to 11, depending on traffic and time of the day!

[noopster]

rkap, please use multi-quote option. 3 posts in 8 minutes- bound to get hauled up by the mods!

I am watching your thread closely since it provides a direct comparison of the ATs. Since you asked for my opinion:

1. Engine: Honda ivTEC is more powerful, refined and revv-happy according to the experts. Frankly I couldn't see the difference . Though 11 BHP less than the City, my 105 BHP Vento 1.6 is fast, smooth and virtually noiseless.
2. Handling: No comparison, the VW wins here.
3. Interiors: this is subjective. I hate the silver finish on the console and the big red hazard switch on the ANHC. The Vento looks so classy in comparison- dual tone coco and beige combo works well.
4. Fit and finish: European attention to detail: 3-action door opening, impeccable plastics, absolutely fabulous fabric for the seat covers etc. I am quite used to Japanese thanks to the Swift but this is in another league altogether.
5. Looks: Vento is definitely not an attention grabber the way the ANHC is for sure. Some may call it plain Jane.
6. AT: ANHC is 1 cog short of the Vento's 6-speed but has cool paddleshifts to play with. Also from my TD, ANHC (automatic) shifts are much smoother and less perceptible than the Vento's. Tiptronic on the Vento is just awesome though. I would call Honda here.
7. Maintenance: ANHC has shorter service windows (5ooo km/6mo) while Vento says 15,000/1yr is enough. Cost of spares is an unknown but from reports are coming in, VW is not that expensive (which is a good sign). Reliability of Japs in general> Germans and service network of Honda is proven in India, so I would tilt in favour of the ANHC again.

Overall, the ANHC seems a better proposition when you go with head over heart. I guess that's not just me! Only time will tell...

[imjimmy]

Originally Posted by noopster

[*]AT: ANHC is 1 cog short of the Vento's 6-speed but has cool paddleshifts to play with. Also from my TD, ANHC (automatic) shifts are much smoother and less perceptible than the Vento's. Tiptronic on the Vento is just awesome though. I would call Honda here.

While the ANHC's engine is more powerful , my impression is that the Vento's gearbox is superior. It seems more in tune with the driving characteristics of the car. As with the other automatics , it was easy to control the gearshifts just using the throttle. And maybe it's just me, ANHC just felt a little different.

The other few things which made us decide against ANHC -

- Road Noise: Biggest complaint I have with Japanese cars. You hear the wind, road, tyres and everything else (like stuff moving around in the boot) in the car at high speeds. If I'm not running the stereo on a highway it gives me a headache. On a related note, I still recall, when (several yrs ago) I first took my Civic in the US. Drove off the dealership took an exit to the I-95 and the road noise..ARGHH!! Dunno why these cars lack insulation.

- Low Ground clearance: That sinking feeling when the car bottoms out.

-$$$: ANHC is 10% more expensive on average compared to Vento.
_______

BTW excellent ownership report Noopster! I just read through this entire thread today. Sorry for being late; belated congrats on your beauty. Looks awesome!

Regd the air pressure, I'm also stumped. The specs on the Tdi Highline say 32 psi front 29 psi back with minimal load. And 35 front 38 back with full load. I dunno why VW has different air pressure at the front and the back. Also why would the thinner tyres of Trendline and bigger tyres of highline have the same psi? ( VW has strange air pressure specs. My friend in the US had a '06 Passat with 17" tyres and it had 35 front and 40 back!)

Anyway, we are just experimenting with 30,32, 33 and 34 all around to see what works best.

[noopster]

Thanks imjimmy, yes the ANHC is overpriced, no doubt about that. I actually like the Civic a whole lot better than the ANHC and one reason I didn't seriously consider a used Civic AT was that awful ground clearance. Having suffered through years of owning a Hyundai Accent and having a mini heart attack every time I spotted a speed breaker, didn't want to relive all that again!
I didn't know Hondas let in road noise too. It was terrible in my Swift but after I changed tyres a lot of it has gone. The Vento is incredibly silent, though- sometimes I turn on the ignition and wonder if it's actually started!
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!