[adimicra]

Originally Posted by krreddy

I understand this is a test drive and review thread, but from adimicra test drive experience, customers ought to take this public.

From our Skoda service experiences, i will really think hard before i buy a Skoda/VW/Audi vehicle in India.

adimicra, was this at Orion Motors or VW Secundrabad?

It was at Orion motors and I believe both the dealerships are owned by the same person/entity. And you know what, the dealership said they will inform when the Petrol Polo is available for TD and took my number. Nobody called me in the next couple of weeks. Then I swallowed my pride and called them and I was told that the petrol Polo TD car has not arrived yet!
Anyway, one of our fellow BHPians from Hyderabad has got the Vento diesel HL delivered and I will be driving his vehicle tomorrow along with another BHPian as per plan. Am pretty excited though I am not considering buying any car now! I will post the experience tomorrow.
About the legroom in the front, I felt it is cramped particularly the left kneeroom. I kind of sit with my legs spread a little bit and my left knee kept on hitting the central console. Also, I did not see any place to rest your foot in the footwell. On top of that, when I lift my leg to depress the clutch, my knee was hitting the steering adjustment. Somehow, I did not feel comfortable at the wheel and it is exactly same as the Polo.
However, I was surprised to see the rear leg space which was very good and similar/more than ANHC.

[Floyd de Souza]

Hello folks. Posting after a long long time. Well, since the Vento is the hot topic on the forum and I am in the market for a new car in the Rs. 10L range, I decided to check out the Vento. I had already test driven the City thrice before this, but though I loved the engine and the space and the quality, in my impression it was lacking in some aspects, notably, in my opinion, ultimate refinement. By this I mean, the car does not isolate you from the outside world. Though the Vento lacks the flair of the City, it just "feels" like a class act.
It gives you the feel good factor whether it is the fit and finish, both internal and external, the nice absorbent suspension, the slick gearbox or more importantly hardly any road noise. Don't get me wrong, it is nowhere near as solid feeling as the Jetta but it is good. The only thing I missed is the City's engine but the diesel somewhat made up for it. The petrol is sluggish but is quite acceptable once in its stride.
In my view, VW have done a commendable job of giving a such wonderful car at a great price. VW has to only get its act right in producing trouble free cars and on the A** front which is going to be tough. In my opinion very very few Indian dealers can be considered world class.
Now, VW plonk the 1.2 TSI in the Vento soon...its coming next year I hear.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza

Now, VW plonk the 1.2 TSI in the Vento soon...its coming next year I hear.

1.2TSI in vento. You gotta be kidding me. 1.2 TSI will be perfect for Polo.
What vento desrves is a 1.8TSI. And an optional 6 speed DSG.

[Floyd de Souza]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

1.2TSI in vento. You gotta be kidding me. 1.2 TSI will be perfect for Polo.
What vento desrves is a 1.8TSI. And an optional 6 speed DSG.

A 1.8TSI engine in a 10L car? I doubt it. Trust me. I know someone who has driven the 1.2TSI Polo abroad. He claims that it is much better than the 1.6 petrol and better than the diesel in straight line performance and a match for the i-vtec in the City. This covers the only real weak point in the Vento doesn't it?

[Guna]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

1.2TSI in vento. You gotta be kidding me. 1.2 TSI will be perfect for Polo.
What vento desrves is a 1.8TSI. And an optional 6 speed DSG.

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza

A 1.8TSI engine in a 10L car? I doubt it. Trust me. I know someone who has driven the 1.2TSI Polo abroad. He claims that it is much better than the 1.6 petrol and better than the diesel in straight line performance and a match for the i-vtec in the City. This covers the only real weak point in the Vento doesn't it?

Skoda Yeti comes with 1.2 TSI with 100+ bhp, so it should be adequate on Vento as well.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza

A 1.8TSI engine in a 10L car? I doubt it. Trust me. I know someone who has driven the 1.2TSI Polo abroad. He claims that it is much better than the 1.6 petrol and better than the diesel in straight line performance and a match for the i-vtec in the City. This covers the only real weak point in the Vento doesn't it?

If we can have Corolla with 1.4L diesel, why cant we have 1.8 L Tsi in Vento? We always get big cars with small engines. Never the other way round.
I know 1.8 TSI in Vento at a price of 10L is a bit too much to ask for. But it would then be a cheaper Octavia replacement.

Originally Posted by Guna

Skoda Yeti comes with 1.2 TSI with 100+ bhp, so it should be adequate on Vento as well.

Will have to wait and see how this 1.2 TSI perform in Yeti. Yeti being an SUV I believe petrol will have only a small share.

[ajay_satpute]

I just test drove the Vento when I had gone with my friend to fit accessories on his Polo.

My first impression:
- interiors are classy.
- exteriors very good. May be not as stunning looking as ANHC, but better than Verna, Fiesta, SX4. Only Linea competes in this department.
- PRICE: Perfect to win the competition. Fills the gap between SX4, Linea and ANHC band.
- Only concern is how VW meets the high demand. My friend got his Polo after agonizing 4 months waiting. I spoke to the sales guys and they said 2-3 months waiting for Vento. White colour has more waiting.

I just hope to God VW successfully teach a lesson to Honda India. Honda sales guys act too smart and God knows why the City is so expensive.

My ultimate wish...Vento sales make the City prices come down anywhere between 50k to 1 lac. Then it makes it a real cut throat competition.

[EssYouWe]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

I know 1.8 TSI in Vento at a price of 10L is a bit too much to ask for. But it would then be a cheaper Octavia replacement.



Will have to wait and see how this 1.2 TSI perform in Yeti. Yeti being an SUV I believe petrol will have only a small share.

I doubt Volkswagen really cares about providing us an Octavia replacement. :P

I would anyday prefer a smaller turbo mill to a big burly engine. Cheeky lil' things, give you performance and efficiency.

[noopster]

7 weeks and 832 posts after this thread started, I finally experienced the Vento in the flesh. With family in tow, landed at VW Pune this morning only to find half the city had already descended there and the place resembled a picnic spot.

Realized quickly that most folks seemed mostly interested in basic product information (doesn't anyone visit TBHP ) so after a quick but thorough examination of the display car interiors, my wife cornered a lady who seemed to be handling TDs and we sneaked out for a quick run each of the Petrol AT and the Diesel MT, both highline, in that order.

My impressions:
+ Interiors are CLASSY. I felt immediately at home inside, and the brey didn't matter after the initial shock, as GTO had assured me.
+ Climatronic AC controls have nice ergonomics, ditto the ICE.
- The armrest is a disaster, even coming in the way of fastening seatbelts. But certainly not a dealbreaker, flipping it up and down will soon become part of the routine.
+ My biggest worry had been the narrow seats and in the default position, my left knee took a bashing at first. But the seat height adjustment and steering adjustments are fantastic. I am thoroughly picky about my sitting position, but managed to get decently comfy in a matter of minutes.
+ Boot is cavernous. I found the light boot release a boon.
+ Rear seats are comfortable enough. We hardly ever use it at the most my kid and her grandparents use it and the humungous hump isn't a problem for me.
+ Build quality is best-in-class. Doors thunk-closed nicely. The three-stop-action makes it easy to get out of in tight parking situations (my Swift's typically swing wide open and hit the next car, especially when opened by a newbie)


+ The AT is sheer bliss. The lady who took us on theTD didn't know how to work the Tiptronic so I didn't push her (she was friendly and competent enough otherwise) and stuck to D mode. VW Pune is plum in the heart of the city and driving there (max speed around 50) felt absolutely wonderful. I didn't have any problems overtaking. The only problem was a tendency of my left foot to move forward automatically everytime I slowed down . No comparison with the ANHC AT (which I've TDed) on functionality, looks, interiors or the AT gearshift. And of course, price. OTR for PMC limits is a cool 10.277 lacs.

+ The diesel was next. I didn't feel any lag in the lower gears frankly, and overtaking in the city was easy enough. Interior noise also was not as bad as I had expected nor was any clutch vibration obvious.
- However, the gearshift on the diesel is clunky, slotting in takes a bit of effort. The petrol seemed to be much smoother (in the display car, I didn't TD the manual).
+ Interior noise is also absolutely fine. Throaty growl typical of diesel from the outside, but no problems inside.

Miscellaneous
- Steering feels over-light. I expected some big-car feedback, but this is Toyota or Suzuki-light. Oh well!
- Rear windscreen visibility is bad, with the high boot and poor excuse of RVM they've provided.
- Tyres are Apollo Acelere or JK Vectra and an awkward size that can't be like-replaced. Horrors!
- The staff were completely swamped- who can blame them?- but from what I saw, they managed the crowd pretty well. VW really needs to expand their dealer network: one dealer for all of Pune+PCMC is ridiculous, especially when nearby Mumbai has so many!
- Terra beige and blue are not available in the first lot. VW is producing them only in Jan 2011 (this was told to us even by Downtown VW). Seems strange for a new car, but I think I'll wait for the beige. Silver looks too common, black though gorgeous is a nightmare to maintain, ditto white. The Flash Red that works so well on the Polo, doesn't on the Vento.
+ No signs of any arrogance or impatience on the dealer staff's part. In fact I was chagrined at the way people let their kids run riot in the showroom. One kid was playing merrily with the indicator stalks, another was running around with a twig and nearly scratched the gorgeous grey Polo on display. Really, people?!!
- TD needs to be longer with some highway runs. Can't blame the dealer staff because the dealership is in the heart of the city. Anyway, I got a good sense of what to expect and am satisfied, though barely!

Can't wait to close this deal and do some serious ripping with this baby. Watch this space!

[drmohitg]

I was told by the delhi west dealer that only blue is not available right now and he has no information regarding when will it be available. But all the rest of the colours are available. So either one is wrong.
so Noopster if you are very keen on buying a beige vento i can ask the showroom people again about it.

[lonecrusader]

Vento already did bring down the pricing on the City by 50K (or more if you include accessories), at least for the month of Sept.

-lc

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

I just test drove the Vento when I had gone with my friend to fit accessories on his Polo.

My first impression:
- interiors are classy.
- exteriors very good. May be not as stunning looking as ANHC, but better than Verna, Fiesta, SX4. Only Linea competes in this department.
- PRICE: Perfect to win the competition. Fills the gap between SX4, Linea and ANHC band.
- Only concern is how VW meets the high demand. My friend got his Polo after agonizing 4 months waiting. I spoke to the sales guys and they said 2-3 months waiting for Vento. White colour has more waiting.

I just hope to God VW successfully teach a lesson to Honda India. Honda sales guys act too smart and God knows why the City is so expensive.

My ultimate wish...Vento sales make the City prices come down anywhere between 50k to 1 lac. Then it makes it a real cut throat competition.

[gaurav_chopra04]

I see a lot of Vento VS City.. ofcourse its meant to be. Here are my thoughs http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/2092473-post98.html

[motorhead5]

Spend this weekend moving in and out of showrooms covering Linea, City, Verna and finally Vento (again)!. Myself and a friend of mine and our ladies and his little boy. So I got to drive and later sit at the rear for TD, which was good.

Linea -
+ Exterior looks - unique. But personally, I am getting bored with it already.
+ Boot was ok.
- Interiors - Bad!. Controls and Plastics are not at all up to mark. The plastics in the rear arm rest tray - really bad. But seats were ok, I guess.

Didn't take a TD as we wanted to try the new 1.6L. Hopefully, we will get a call for TD by 3rd week of Oct

Then we went on to ANHC -
+ Looks good.
+ Performance
+ Seats and comfort.
- With 5 people including the sales guy, it was a good opportunity to test the clearance. And guess what, it was terrible. Scraped the bottom at least at 3 humps. And we weren't harsh - at least for our taste . Sales guy couldn't blame us at least on the later humps as he said it wouldn't kiss the road on those.
- Refinement - At high revs, it couldn't shield us from the engine.
- Wasn't good while moving through bad patches either.
Guess, I was less happy compared to my earlier City experience. May be that time, I didn't have a choice.

Next was Verna CRDi -
+ I liked the 2 way driver seat height adjustment.
+ Initial performance - It had better response initially. But it couldn't hold on the momentum. Thereon, turbo kicks in a little late, esp after you slow down a little.
+ Could adjust and bring the rear head rests down = better visibility for the driver.
- Didn't give a lot of confidence while overtaking / changing lanes at high speed. Rear passengers also felt the same. And no airbags!!
- Seats were a bit too hard and boot, much less.

Finally, went again for Vento (TDI) -
This time we got to spend more time and that too on highways with less traffic

+ Performance - No question about the engine. Just too good. The initial punch wasn't as good as Verna; But it was very linear and we never had to downshift while overtaking or even after braking. It had so much to offer even in top gears. My friend, who is a big time diesel fan, was thoroughly impressed with the low end torque.

+ Handling and Braking - We were quite happy even at 140+ - Lane changing and braking. Better than all other cars.

+ For a diesel, refinement was good. At high revs, it was probably comparable to City (oh yes, its a diesel to petrol comparison, but..). Ride
quality too was much better than all other cars.

+ And most imp, it didn't scrape on humps. In fact, unlike city, we tried to do it couple of times..

- Having 5 at the rear was ok, except for the middle person. Long drives will be a problem.
- By now, I got used to the front arm rest. But my friend was really upset about it.
- And that rear view mirror. Wish Vento at least had adjustable rear head rests like Verna.

+ And finally, the sales guy patiently waited for us to finish the TD to close down (Sunday, they close early) and, again, for me the best experience with sales folks had been with VW, surprisingly. BTW, they have couple of good technical sales folks in their hosur road showroom.

With the kind of usage that we have (High ranges, Long high ways, some bad roads etc along with our regular city usage), we are convinced about Vento TDI. Anyways, will wait and try the new Linea (1.6) as well - its just 2 weeks away.

[drmohitg]

The best thing about vento is its price tag. I have been mulling over vento vs alits debate for quite sometime now and I am just not able to convince myself that altis is worth the extra 3 lakhs approx( and yes even with the toyota badge).
I am sure its just the initial rush thats causing some hassles with vw staff.
Ventos ground clearance is very very good. The road i TD it on had massive potholes and due to water logging I couldnt spot a huge one and the car went through it without any complains whatsoever.
As far as the arm rest is concerned I guess its just a personal thing. Driving with your arm resting even in city traffic is surely going to be a blissful experience. And in a city like delhi you dont need to use your hand break very often( unlike bangalore which has a much more hilly terrain).

Originally Posted by motorhead5

- And that rear view mirror. Wish Vento at least had adjustable rear head rests like Verna.

Hey Since u seemed to have driven it over a longer distance and that too a highway how would you rate the overall rear visibility altogether including the OVRMs?

[vette8991]

Sharp car with a good price tag!! anyone have any input on VW's after sales & support?

I hope it doesn't turn out like Skoda, I heard Skoda service isn't bad in South, hope they are improving.