[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by GTO

You couldn't be any more wrong. For one, the Fortuner still has a 3 - 6 month waiting list, a year after launch as does the Altis D-4D. The Honda City, during its initial months, also had a 3 month waiting in some cities. Though I'm a hard core fan of Toyota, lets not harp unnecessarily.

Lets get one thing straight here : ANY popular car will have some amount of backlog. NO manufacturer will keep an inventory of 20,000 cars just so that initial customers don't have to wait for delivery. It's too time consuming, a logistical nightmare and honestly, a headache.

Hmm.True but then how would you explain the almost ready availability of the Figo. I guess its a pretty popular car and was launched at around the same time as the Polo. True that Ford has been in India for a lot longer time and so can manage volumes better but my point is VW should have cleared production bottlenecks by now or at least before the Vento was launched and anyway they are not selling nearly as many Polos as Figo to really cite demand overwhelming the supply. Polo is selling what around 2-3k cars per months? BTW what is the exact problem that is plaguing the Polo and Vento production and whats the capacity of the Chakan VW plant for these 2 cars.

Honda may have had problems initially but they did not go ahead and launch another model before they could clear the earlier model backlog to compound the availability problem. I am not sure if the Fortuner is manufactured in India and so its availability problems are not really the same as the Polo's. Is the Diesel Altis really that much in demand to frustrate a lot of potential customers? Anyway lets wait and watch if Toyota is able to improve the Altis diesel availability.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

This thread has become quiet informative with views coming in from all quarters, I had forwarded the link to this thread to a friend of mine who is not a member of TBHB but planning to buy a Vento. He was very much impressed with both the quality and quantity of information available here.

Despite some initial euphoria, then a dip, my interest in this car has been rekindled again, but I still would like to be a fence sitter for some more time and wait for the valuable inputs from the proud owners here and the feed back which VW gets to iron out the small things which have been missed in the initial launch (better music system, streering controls, dead pedal, reverse sonar, etc. etc.) and probably a middle varient.

You took the words right out of my mouth! This is a golden thread indeed. GTO and all the TBHPians who have contributed, take a bow!

Originally Posted by msd63

The dealer called me and informed me that I would be getting my Silver Diesel Highline on Sunday. Eagerly waiting.

Originally Posted by Sahil

My silver vento a/t has finally arrived at the dealers after much delay from VW. Seems to be the first automatic ksm thane has got as even their TD vehicle has not come.
Hopefully should get the car by this weekend or early next week.

You have NO idea who much WE are waiting as well! My consideration set boils down to these two: the Diesel HL and the AT. So hurry up and post those ownership reports!

[motorhead5]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Kindly confirm this with VW blore cos you cant judge the market situation as of now. If it's 2/3 months then it should be fine. It's worth the wait.

They still say it will be around 3 months here.

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

Cannot understand why they don't offer the top variant for the TD. It makes no sense. When they advertise, they will quote all features of the top variant but its a different story when you want a TD. This is annoying and leaves a poor impression about many features of the car that one cannot experience first-hand.

In Blore, they have HLs as TD cars. At least for Diesel, which I tried.

From the accessories booklet - Dont they have other types of rear spoilers??. I was expecting the kind of ones that we had for Octavia.

[pamishra]

Post deleted by Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post one-liners that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the overall quality of this forum.

[shamanth]

Honda is offering Rs 25,000 discount and Rs 1 insurance which will amount to around Rs 25,000, so total of Rs 50000 discount from Honda. I dont see any price difference between Vento and ANHC AT anymore, both are priced same. So the competition is hotting up thanks to Vento. Good for both Vento and ANHC buyers.

[anilkalvani]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

A well engineered German, this - wonder why they forgot under thigh support.

I checked it once again today, i felt it was good, so did Mom & Dad.

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

Cannot understand why they don't offer the top variant for the TD. It makes no sense. The Vento TDi is a better buy than the Altis Diesel which is overpriced and underpowered.

Exactly what i felt, why can't they provide a Highline for TD? The Vento TDi SURE IS a better buy & i've just put the money where my mouth is

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Very Spacious & Comfortable.
Steering is Very very Light (Don't know how it performs during high speeds)
Must say, Brakes are superb(The rear drum is very huge).
Should say best drivers car.

Literally I had to steal this broacher from the Showroom , as they say its the only one available. Sorry for the poor pic. quality, taken from iphone 2G.
This is exclusive for T-BHP. :-)

Yep. Double checked the Leg room. Even when the front seat is pulled back fully, there was still an inch of knee space. Steering is super light as mentioned in my post & yes, i did not write about the brakes, but they were excellent. They did not have a brochure even today, just those inkjet printouts. And thanks for the accessories brochure, i will need it.

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

The bad thing - NO FREEBIES

Yup, i was told too, NO FREEBIES & not to even mention the F word.

Originally Posted by MihirC

The only grouse I have is that for such a well built car the boot lid was really really flimsy. It was so light that it felt almost ummmm how do i say this.....japanese. Anyone else felt or experienced the same?

I checked it out again today & its similar to my Logan, which i find to be solid, so for me its fine, but your comparison level may be different than mine.

Originally Posted by m_upreti

This thread has become quiet informative with views coming in from all quarters.

+10000 to that

Originally Posted by Sahil

My silver vento a/t has finally arrived at the dealers after much delay from VW.

Excellent. Do share your showroom & delivery experience too.

Originally Posted by noopster

You took the words right out of my mouth! This is a golden thread indeed. GTO and all the TBHPians who have contributed, take a bow!

+10000 to that too, this is a golden thread, especially NOW.

Originally Posted by MihirC

boot lid was really really flimsy. It was so light that it felt almost ummmm how do i say this.

I wrote a similar thing but what i said was that it felt like a Generic European type and not really a German car per say. I got to test drive the car also but because of low/high tyre pressure high speed "120-130kph" was unpleasant.

Comparing it to the likes of any other German car except polo is totally unfair but then again polo is not exactly a segment leader. Certainly corners have been cut to bring Polo and Vento to the cost level they are selling at.

[nowwhat?]

Folks, check out the new Jetta. It is similar in appearance to the Vento and Polo. I love its looks!

Picture Album:
2011 Volkswagen Jetta - Slide Show - NYTimes.com

Review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/au...jetta.html?hpw

[noopster]

I read the AutoBild review of the new Jetta while waiting for my new shoes to be fixed on at Premji's yesterday. Had a quiet chuckle to myself- can imagine the VW-baiters chanting "It looks like a Polo" in their hordes! But frankly- I loved the current Jetta's look, don't know why VW has changed it. Now even less differentiates the Jetta from the Vento (well, at least physically...the 2 litre diesel under the hood will be a BIG differentiator!)

New Jetta does not look good at all :( looks like a stretched polo with extensions and a bit of rework. It looks like VW wants this look to dominate the line i hope they dont include this philosophy of design in Passat also that would be wrong. Such a design in the world of 2011 seems dull even compared to the old Jetta or the old/new Civic. Hope the larger size will get order's roiling in but then again how popular was Indigo XL compared to normal Indigo's.

EDIT: Forgot to include when i test drove the Jetta i found it very good in all aspects.










Vento vs New Jetta because pictures say a 100 words.

[anilkalvani]

Had another visit to the Volkswagen West Showroom at Santacruz West. My third this week but my second test drive albeit again, very brief because of the rush for the car. I observed many things that i did not in the earlier two trips:

First, What i liked:
1. There is a slight tilt of the Centre Console towards the driver which i really liked.

2. The seats are contured towards the ends to give you a neat snug fit, similar, but not as good as the Jetta's.

3. The Ground Clearance in real time driving was reasonably good.

4. The boot, though narrow is very deep & is designed in a way that it will be easy to put in and remove luggage easily.

5. Again, since i've just tried the diesel, the gearbox is excellent, has short throws & is very slick. Not seen a better gear box recently in this segment of cars.

6. The Common Rail Engine is a Gem. Its torquey & willing. I was in the 4th between 1700-1800rpm & there was a bus i wanted to overtake. I just pressed the accelerator & moved ahead, no down-shifting was required. Has to do with that excellent torque band of 1500~2500rpm where you get 250Nm to play with.

7. The fit & finish, though pretty dull & typically European is top notch. No uneven gaps noticed at all, good quality feel to it, though, personally i did not like the chrome bits as much on the outside.

8. Again the ride quality, handling & suspension were typically European, solid and good feel inside the cabin.

9. Maybe because the engine was well warmed up or what, but the diesel noise did not intrude much inside the cabin compared to the Old Jetta PD that i sat in the other day. It was pretty decent, i say.

10. I don't know if everybody feels like me, but i quite like the understated looks & it doesn't look ugly like most hatch-integrated-boot platforms.

11. The 6 year Anti-Perforation Warranty (Though the Jetta has it for 12 years)

12. Its a Mini-Jetta with Jetta like engine performance at 65% Price!

Dislikes:
1. Lack of Leather Trim, even as an option.

2. Lack of USB/AUX/Bluetooth/Steering Controls even on the Highline Trim.

3. The Driver Armrest is very poorly designed, seems more like an after thought, more an ergonomic blunder.

4. The Rear Centre Mound Hump limits the 5th passenger space & is poorly designed.

5. No Reverse Parking Sensor, even in Highline.

6. Delivery Period. Diesel Highline: 3-4 months

7. A-S-S network in not very strong & to be closely watched.

[TheStig]

Spotted a red Vento yesterday in Trivandrum (Probably the first one). It had temporary registration plates. IMO red doesn't look good on the Vento as much as the Polo.

But in the flesh the car seems like it is from a higher segment and price range. Overall a handsome car.

[msd63]

Got my Vento Diesel Highline today at The Lalit Ashok Bangalore. It was the launch and delivery in Bangalore. It was organised by the 3 VW dealers and the VW itself. Mr Neeraj Garg was there to hand over the keys. Felt special to be one of the first owners of the Vento in Bangalore. Totally 17 cars were delivered. Came back home at about 10pm. Felt nice and easy to drive. Will try to give a report of my experience in a few days time with pics etc. No mud flaps, mats or other accessories as none of the dealers have it. Told that they would contact me when the accessories arrive.

[TheStig]

Originally Posted by msd63

Got my Vento Diesel Highline today at The Lalit Ashok Bangalore. It was the launch and delivery in Bangalore. It was organised by the 3 VW dealers and the VW itself. Mr Neeraj Garg was there to hand over the keys. Felt special to be one of the first owners of the Vento in Bangalore. Totally 17 cars were delivered. Came back home at about 10pm. Felt nice and easy to drive. Will try to give a report of my experience in a few days time with pics etc. No mud flaps, mats or other accessories as none of the dealers have it. Told that they would contact me when the accessories arrive.

Please do post a detailed ownership report with LOTS of pics please!!

[Flash777]

Finally, the wait's over and I take delivery of my VW Vento HL. It sips the sticky fuel and comes in blood red. It's the First Vento delivered from Orion, Jubilee Hills and the 3rd Vento in Hyderabad.

Its been a day of mixed emotions and shall post a separate thread with the Ownership reports.

Btw, congratulations msd63!!! Do share in your experiences.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 20 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.