[R.P.M]

The mumbai dealership finally got the TD cars yesterday. I drove the P auto box first, its a very comfortable car to drive, decent amount of power for the city, takes a little time in kickdown. Then came the diesel, after the brief turbo lag it is a hoot to drive, the surge of power can be felt thru the rev range.

VW need to introduce a model in between the trend and highline with atleast abs/airbags. Also the auto box shouldnt cost more than 50k over the manual since its not a DSG. More importantly we need a diesel auto model.

I booked the polo 1.6 sometime ago and was hoping to get a TD. Apparently there are going to be no TD cars for this variant. The sales rep just said "sir you have to trust vw, press the pedal and go".

Can anyone confirm this. I have decided to wait until i get a TD before taking delivery.

[naveen.raju]

Got a call from VW dealer. In Kerala, they will start delivering Vento from 15th Sept. My slot is during the last week of Sept. No TD car yet. Only next week.
Confirmed the color yesterday.

[gadget.fr]

Others who test drove, could you share impressions on ride & handling? GTO's review was very confidence inspiring in these aspects, but ACI isn't super-excited and they say ride & handling of vento are good & decent, respectively. Did you observe any bumpiness anytime? How did it feel in fast cornering? Thanks.

[RemingtonSteele]

Originally Posted by diptimanraje

hi everyone,
got a call from the dealer in Poona yesterday to do the balance payment.
am doing the payment today. they will do the temp. registration on Monday & deliver the car to me on Tuesday.

@diptimanraje,
Its a D'day for you.
Let us know you experience & delivered car pics in flesh as owner.
It would be a good idea to start the first Vento ownership thread

[ventoman]

Hi all,
Having seen the vehicle only from outside on side, I visited VW palace cross this morning along with my wife to check the interiors.
Below are my observations.
1) Cabin fit and finish is easily the best in this segment. The interiors have a very pleasant feel. Beige takes care of ensuring the roomy feel.
2) Boot space is enormous
3) I am 5ft 11’’ tall and after adjusting the front seat to my liking, I sat in the back and had about couple of inches left. So very comfortable rear seats as well.
4) Wife was quite pleased with the vanity mirror, individual cabin light controls and rear ac vents.
5) Started the engine and heard it from inside the car. It sounded similar to what I felt in Dzire (which my brother in law owns)
6) Getting in and out of the vehicle was quite comfortable.
7) The glove box is very spacious.
8) The rear speakers are fitted on the doors and not behind the rear seats.
9) Driver seat height adjustment was easy to handle. So was the telescopic adjustment of the steering.
10) All the shoes including the spare are from Apollo.

Some more points mentioned by the dealer

1) 2 keys with remote would be provided. These are exclusive to the car and when lost, replacement would cost a whopping 10k!
2) Insurance in VW palace cross is being provided by Bajaj Allianz. Its not Bumper to Bumper coverage as claimed earlier. B2B would require additional premium. After lot of persuading, they seem to accommodate insurance done from outside, but discourage it saying “sir, the claim process would be easier with our insurance cover. If you are doing it outside, you will have to handle all the claim process”.
3) No freebies..not even floor mats, perfume, sunfilm etc.
4) Corporate discount would be around 14k-16k.
5) Type replacement/changes would have to be done from outside.

Btw, they don’t have a vehicle for TD yet and have no clue as to when the first lot of vehicles are expected for test drive.

Overal, came out of the showroom thoroughly pleased!

Now a days i am test driving almost all cars "sedans" in the 9 - 14lac but it has to be a diesel. I already test drove Laura, Cruze and a very short test drive of Linea.

Now i had gone to chd to get a test drive of Linea sadly did not get to the demo car had a fractured suspension and is on repair so that does it for my date, angry at them because shimla - chd trip is not a small one.

I then remembered about VW forgive me but i did not think that either vento or jetta were lookers but team-bhp did change my mind I went to Genuss Motors to ask for a test drive of Jetta they did not have a demo car :( and hey guy told me to wait and he will give me a date when the car comes.

As i waited i saw the Vento inside its interiors are great better than Linea and i think even better than Cruze, at least the plastics were HQ. The rear leg space is to my surprise as much as either Laura, Linea or Cruze "I am surprised because vento is 4384mm in length"

I wanted to take a test drive then and there but they did not have a demo model dam.

I liked it quite a lot for a sub 10Lac car it seems a good buy, he said that the car most likely would cost around 9.25Lac but since he did not have the price list yet he was not sure.

I also wanted to put one thing up there vento comes with a 105PS 1.6L engine and the new linea is suppose to come with a 1.6L is also 105 PS.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by ajai_dev

Now a days i am test driving almost all cars "sedans" in the 9 - 14lac but it has to be a diesel. I already test drove Laura, Cruze and a very short test drive of Linea.

Now i had gone to chd to get a test drive of Linea sadly did not get to the demo car had a fractured suspension and is on repair so that does it for my date, angry at them because shimla - chd trip is not a small one.

I then remembered about VW forgive me but i did not think that either vento or jetta were lookers but team-bhp did change my mind I went to Genuss Motors to ask for a test drive of Jetta they did not have a demo car :( and hey guy told me to wait and he will give me a date when the car comes.

As i waited i saw the Vento inside its interiors are great better than Linea and i think even better than Cruze, at least the plastics were HQ. The rear leg space is to my surprise as much as either Laura, Linea or Cruze "I am surprised because vento is 4384mm in length"

I wanted to take a test drive then and there but they did not have a demo model dam.

I liked it quite a lot for a sub 10Lac car it seems a good buy, he said that the car most likely would cost around 9.25Lac but since he did not have the price list yet he was not sure.

I also wanted to put one thing up there vento comes with a 105PS 1.6L engine and the new linea is suppose to come with a 1.6L is also 105 PS.

True. You almost forget one thing. Vento Diesel comes packed with 250 nm torque which is supposed to be the best in the segment.

[ntrack]

The interior quality is truly marvellous, which as of now is imported. Will have to wait & watch if it retains the same premium feel when they localise it.

Though its a very good car, some aspects disappoint me, especially it being a VW. A lot of cost cutting has been done on certain essentials in this segment.

The headlights are just pathetic, dunno why nobody has pointed this out. The seats feel comfortable but the cushioning is too soft & seat fabric not great. The car I checked had the left side outer door handle getting stuck when pulled.

Ride & handling is good, not the best.

Class leading diesel performance & is very good, the turbo lag is expected.

Looks - much better than Verna, Fiesta & SX4, is close to City but Linea wins this battle hands down

Features - in the City league, again no match for Linea

I feel it is overpriced - could probably be due to the premium positioning of VW & also challenging Honda City.

All in all - a good & solid car - for the ones who don't mind spending a little extra.

[sandeep.mishra]

Had a look at the Vento at Bhasin Motors, South Ex. My feedback is as under!

1. Biggest dissappointment- It will take atleast 45-60 days for th delivery of Petrol and anywhere between 90-120 days for the Diesel variant. Wonder howz VW launching a product without adequate capacities in place!

2. Interior looks premium but very plane jane. Switchgears are of high quality. The buttons for Climate Control are too small and not upto my licking. Better than the ANHC in terms of fit and finish but ANHC scores on the design front.

3. Seat material is a notch above the competition. Front seats are very comfortable and ergonomics are above average but for the protruding arm rest whic interferes with the Hand Brake.

4. Back seats are comfortable though a bit upright. Would think twice before sitting at the back on a long highway trip. The hump at the center spolis the show and eats up valiuable space. In my view, the third passenger wouldnt be comfortable at all. In contrast, the backseat of an ANHC is much more comfortable in terms of the seat height and seating position including the seating angle.

5. Glove Box is humongous! Truly spacious. ANHC's glove box in comparison is too small.

6. Gear Shift quality : Outstanding to stay the least. In comparison, ANHC's gear shift is pathetic.

7. The spare tyre has steel rims as compared to Alloys. Looks like R14 size. Am I wrong, confused?

8. Boot space is good and sufficient but the suspension intrudes too much inside.
9. Steering is adjustable for rake and reach! Though there are no steering mounted controls for audio. It feels good to grip and better than the ANHC which in my view lacks grip.

10. Getting in and out of the car is a Herculean task.

11. Since they didnt allow me to drive, no comments on the engine. The car was a diesel highline and was sufficiently silent not to bother my ears. (They allowed me to crank it).

No bias for and against any particular brand. I own a Honda city.

[aseem]

The plastics at door panels are strictly pedestrian compared to Anhc and are fit to a car a segment below. Just by painting polo door panels brown biege dont make it upmarket :(

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by aseem

The plastics at door panels are strictly pedestrian compared to Anhc and are fit to a car a segment below. Just by painting polo door panels brown biege dont make it upmarket :(

But the plastics on Jazz & Anhc are very thin. So thin that it can be moved/shaken by fingers. Does this not lead to rattles at a later stage? Jazz, that I test drove on two occasions had rattles inside the cabin.

This reminds me of going to the market in search of a plastic bucket. Thin guages are cheaper. I do not know why automobile companies try to save money on these things.

[sandeep.mishra]

I agree Chethan, plastics are cheap and the sheet metal of ANHC is skinny but not as bad as you think. My car has run almost 10k kms but without rattles.

[fuel_addict]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

So what you're claiming is that the best way to make something a "premium brand" is start pricing it exorbitantly from day 1??? That the quality of the product has nothing to do with it whatsoever??
I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me at all.



Again, this makes no sense to me whatsoever. MUL makes some of the most reliable cars in the market, and they don't get perceived as 'premium'. Skoda, on the other hand, has had TONS of quality issues (contrary to your claim), and yet they enjoy this 'premium' tag.

My assertion is that the average Indian consumer knows little or nothing about the car he buys. My wife's family has bought TWO Honda Citys... the NHC and the one before that. Why? Because the car seemed to have some "brand cache" and they wanted to keep up with the Joneses.

The biggest factor influencing the decision (after cost) seems to be the 'Herd Mentality'.

You will agree that the premium brand tag is not something that is developed overnight by just hiking product prices. If that was the case, even Tata would have been a premium tag today (not considering the Jaguar line up of course). Maruti or Hyundai have been known to make “cheap” cars for the mass market from day 1. I don’t use the word cheap in a derogatory sense. Just about everyone would agree that Maruti or Hyundai or Tata cars do not have the “quality” that you would associate with Honda or Toyota or Skoda. And with quality, I mean build quality, fit-finish, interiors, etc. And not just engine reliability. Though Maruti makes reliable engines, they are found wanting in other areas. Quality as a complete package and not just the engine reliability is something I cannot associate with Maruti. Will be interesting to see how much “premium” the Kizashi gets once it is launched.
Skoda has had issues which have only been accentuated by the poor A-S-S but still they are treated premium (only in India, not globally) just because of the overall quality, price and European nameplate. Every car maker has some quality issues; the way they address them is what ultimately makes them a hero or a villain.

The herd mentality works in India for say a year or two at the most, not forever. Just see what happened to the Palio. It was an instant success at the launch and couple of years down the line, sales just stagnated. If a car (lets take Honda City for example) has been selling consistently in huge volumes, there has to be something good about it apart from just herd mentality.
The point you made about Indian customers knowing little or nothing about the car they buy is true to a large extent. The herd mentality is applicable to such people.

[aseem]

I was specifically talking about door panels quality being down market. Just an observation. The thing is anhc borrows quite a few bits from its elder siblings like its ac vents, steering and seats, In shape and form. Apart from the cheap central console the overall dash, cabin and exteriors capture the aspirational value of a poor mans big car.

The vento on the other hand borrows bits from polo its younger sibling. The steering of jetta family is different, the door panels are hard plastics and relatively cheap looking. It has a smaller footpeint compared to anhc, the rear seat comfort and leg room is not ergonomic thanks for extending the ehaust tunnel of polo that acts as an eye sore.

I remember ppl use to make fun of sx4 middle seat, vento is no different remain to see market reaction for this. Lastly i am awaiting reviews of aussies if this car is ever released there. The diesel engine though a tad loud rocks and paint job impecable. But the car does not give the same middle management snobbery as city. Vw badge doesnt count beyond a point as even ritz iis sold iirc as vw internationally. Just my two cents.


Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this, use commas and spaces to keep your post readable . Thanks

[srishiva]

@aseem, I agree with you. If not for the diesel engine, the car itself is not on par with ANHC.
ACI chose City over Vento (petrol) even with the hefty price difference. Now I am buying the Vento diesel and hoping I would start loving it atleast for the torque and features (damn the audio)