[tush]

Awesome Review GTO. Getting addicted to reading great reviews by you or should I say, am already

Honda wouldn't really worry much about competition from Vento petrol variant. A little discount from Honda and it will retain its market share back and we Indians know better the A.S.S given by Japanese automobile companies(specific to Honda/Suzuki/Toyota) till date and their product reliability. The real dent in Honda's sales would be from Vento Diesel. Honda too should get diesel variant soon.

SX4 Diesel with Fiat's engine would also be a game changer if at all we get one.

[fuel_addict]

Originally Posted by diptimanraje

found the dealer in Poona to be very good.

after the launch of the vento in Delhi some time last month went to the dealer in Poona t enquire about the car. they told me very frankly that they don't know any thing else other than what is stated in the press release.

they gave me an option to book the polo & convert the booking to vento after the final launch by 15 Sept. I did the same by paying rs.50000/-.

on 12/8 got an sms from the dealer informing about the launch & ex-showroom price of the vento.

later in the day they contacted me and inquired about my decision so as to change my booking from polo to vento.

they have also given me an option to cancelling my booking for the vento if I don't like the car after the t.d. with a full refund. they also informed me that the car will be available for t.d. only by 1/9.

after getting all the above information I went ahead & booked the diesel highline white by paying rs.75000/-.

have been promised a car from the first lot which they are receiving on the 6th. of September.

hence no scope of complaints against Poona vw dealer from my side.

also the dealer showed me a lot of different reading material that vw has printed for their clients which is very informative and will definetily answer many questions raised here.

eagerly waiting for the car.

Looks like the Pune VW dealer (maybe the only one in town) is more 'customer-friendly'. He was courteous enough to call you back and provide you with options. A welcome change from the feedback from other cities. Having visited Deccan Honda, DSK Toyota and the Skoda showrooms in Pune, I found the dealer attitude in Pune much better than any of the dealers here in Mumbai. Cannot say the same about the TATA dealer in Pune though. They were not even interested in offering me a TD when we went to check out the Linea.

[fuel_addict]

[quote=pgsagar;2036397]

Originally Posted by mkh

Diesel is only attractive for the person who runs the car a lot.

I think it is a misconcieved notion which most people have that diesels are only for highway stormers. In innercity crawls and stop and go traffic, we burn fuel at an alarming rate without realizing it. And, in stop and go traffic and at crawl speeds with aircon on, petrol cars guzzle fuel much more than a diesel car. Diesel consumption hardly changes under aircon load, stop and go traffic, frequent gear changes and under passenger load. But the same thing plays havoc with a petrol car. In inner city peak traffic, in traffic jams, car's forward motion is nearly zero and your cars engine keeps running like a generator, running aircon and inching forward the car. Sometimes you travel 3 kms in 20 minutes in peak traffic. Now you run a petrol car for 20 minutes idling in traffic with aircon running and do the same in a diesel car and you will see the difference.

That explanation makes a lot of sense. The general misconception is that a diesel is only for those who do lets say 2K km/month considering diesel and running costs. Does that mean someone who can afford to spend more in buying a diesel car but runs only 500 km/month should not buy a diesel car?

[aseem]

Skoda Superb UK launched with Vento's 1.6 Tdi engine. This has become to VW what 1.3 MJD has become to India

[anilkalvani]

Just got a tweet from AutocarIndia, "in-depth" drive of the VW Vento on The Autocar Show, Bloomberg UTV at 2.30pm today. Catch it if you can! GTO, we want a video review of the Vento a la Fortuner too!

[anilkalvani]

Originally Posted by anilkalvani

Just got a tweet from AutocarIndia, "in-depth" drive of the VW Vento on The Autocar Show, Bloomberg UTV at 2.30pm today. Catch it if you can! GTO, we want a video review of the Vento a la Fortuner too!

Saw the show. GTO's analysis on the Vento was way better, more detailed & a lot more expressive even though it was only "text". Kudo's for such a comprehensive report GTO.

@mkh
+1
I agree totally. Its not only the mileage that should be factored in deciding on a diesel vs a petrol. At times, it takes me 25 min to travel barely a km on my everyday drives back from Andheri E to Bandra W. My i10 AT gives me 6-6.5kmpl, my Logan gives me 13.5-15kmpl in the same traffic. So even if I average just 1000kms of city driving a month, for me, the diesel purchase is justified.

[namit]

A lot has been 'read' (courtesey GTO) and then 'said' about the Vento but one very interesting aspect of car ownership is its maintenance cost and durability of key components in the car.

Didnt like the Polo TDI for its noisy three potter engine and almost decided for Punto 75.

Although Vento was in the news but then came the price announcement which made me reconsider, even though my requirement was for a premium hatch with good road habits.

After following this forum and having seen the initial first impressions on TV - Car & bike show, Autocar and Overdrive, i am totally fallen for this German beauty.

BTW .... GTO, what kind of average you would expect realistically from Diesel in city drivings ?

Primary concern remains unanswered - A** / Maintenance costs ???

Request some Polo / Jetta owners to give feedback on there experience of VW customer care and the technical skill set of these guys at VW.

Cheers !!

[Thad E Ginathom]

[quote=fuel_addict;2036613]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

That explanation makes a lot of sense. The general misconception is that a diesel is only for those who do lets say 2K km/month considering diesel and running costs. Does that mean someone who can afford to spend more in buying a diesel car but runs only 500 km/month should not buy a diesel car?

If it a straightforward financial calculation, then yes, it does!

But if we like diesels, and you can afford them, then who's to tell us we can't buy them. Just, we cannot claim that the savings in fuel price justified our decision, because it doesn't.




--- Diesel Swift: 5,000km/year

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by namit

Request some Polo / Jetta owners to give feedback on there experience of VW customer care and the technical skill set of these guys at VW.

MY sister sold off her Jetta in US due to unbelievably high cost of maintenance and spare parts costs. Not sure if its the same for Jetta and Polo in India.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by shamanth

MY sister sold off her Jetta in US due to unbelievably high cost of maintenance and spare parts costs. Not sure if its the same for Jetta and Polo in India.

Yup Germans are pretty heavy on the pocket in US.
My erstwhile manager has a Bimmer (328i) and he too complains of the same.
But I repeat my words - it feels like you are driving a real car when you drive a VW / BMW. Everything else (Honda / Toyota / Nissan / Mazda / Hyundai etc) after that feels like toys.

[theragingbull]

Vento vs City showdown on CnB: Tubaah: Volkswagen Vento takes on mighty Honda City

Who wins? Check for yourself!

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Yup Germans are pretty heavy on the pocket in US.
My erstwhile manager has a Bimmer (328i) and he too complains of the same.
But I repeat my words - it feels like you are driving a real car when you drive a VW / BMW. Everything else (Honda / Toyota / Nissan / Mazda / Hyundai etc) after that feels like toys.

VW and BMW..hmmm. Find it very baseless to differentiate just based on companies and not cars!
VW produces car like Polo which starts from 4L+ and here we are talking about a 7-9L Vento , let's not talk about BMWs!

[guptad42]

Originally Posted by GTO

It's a wake up call for sure. The Vento, as a package, is VERY competitive.
...
The VW is also a solid European. The 5% difference is more than offset by stunning performance. Fact is, the Vento is a far more complete (read = well rounded) package than the Linea.

It also means Ford's Euro-bred Fiesta will need to fight for its space in the diesel sedan market. Will we now see even better value packaged into the 2011 Fiesta when launched in India?

[tush]

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

If it a straightforward financial calculation, then yes, it does!

But if we like diesels, and you can afford them, then who's to tell us we can't buy them. Just, we cannot claim that the savings in fuel price justified our decision, because it doesn't.




--- Diesel Swift: 5,000km/year

Thats very true. I bought the DDIS just for the pleasure of Diesel torque and fun to drive factor of Swift and also after knowing the fact that CRDI engines have become more refined and not so heavy on maintenance, almost on par in some cases in comparison to petrol variants(personal thought). The name "Diesel" sounds really good to me since then and its not denting my monthly budget either.

Add to it the Fiat engine that had won International Engine of the year 2005 Award and I had made up my mind to buy DDIS.

Between its my first car and had never thought how much would it be driven.

[gomzi]

Another great review GTO! The comparison with rival cars specs was a super addition. Another 5 star thread

On the face of it, the Vento Diesel (Highline) seems a good buy for people like me who have a running of about 25k kms/year and want a good diesel sedan. In the new car market I was beginning to think my options were quite limited in the <10L price bracket.

However the long term ownership costs of a VW are unknown in India and if one goes by its sister company Skoda, a lot of people will stay away.

Finally the Honda City has got a decent rival who hasn't shot itself in the foot as yet, but it'll take much more than just a good car itself to dislodge it from top spot, overall buying and ownership experience matter a lot in this segment onwards.