[architect]

Originally Posted by motorhead5

Linea -

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

... new Linea (1.6) as well - its just 2 weeks away.

Are you sure of this? Is there a Linea with a 1.6 litre engine around the corner. Is it a diesel or a petrol? The 1.4 litre T-Jet petrol is supposed to be launched this week, but is the 1.6 litre diesel being launched anytime soon?

[sadnabrina]

I somehow feel that the Polo's rectangular fog lamps looked better than the Vento's round ones. Any takers?

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by motorhead5

Next was Verna CRDi -
+ 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.

Verna's Max torque is at 1900-2750
Vento's is at 1500 - 2500.
How can verna have better response initially and then loose breath?
Can you elaborate a bit more about the comparo?

Originally Posted by motorhead5

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

Didnt you feel vibrations in clutch?

Originally Posted by motorhead5

Anyways, will wait and try the new Linea (1.6) as well - its just 2 weeks away.

I dont think Linea 1.6 is coming. T-Jet is on its way as far as I know.

[adimicra]

This Sunday, 3 TBHP members - Naveen,Suesh and myself assembled to test out the Vento and City back to back.
Naveen (forgot his id) had bought the Vento HL diesel and he it seems is the first Vento owner in Hyderabad. Suresh wants to buy a new car and he wanted to reach a conclusion after the test rives, but he ended up with more confusion!

A big thanks to Naveen for bringing his brand new Vento and giving us the chance to drive it. We exchanged the driver's seat a few times,so I got a pretty good idea of the rear seat comfort as well. It was lot of fun ripping through the Hyd streets on Sunday afternoon.

First, let me put some points about the Vento -

• Excellent diesel engine with lots of torque available from the lo-mid range. Overtaking in any gear is very easy and turbo lag is very minimal.
• Ride quality is very good over relative small humps and potholes. The car crashes only in very pig potholes, which most cars will as well.
• Handling is not as good as I expected. It is nowhere in the league of a Linea or a Fiesta. The steering is light and no feedback and also there is very noticeable body roll
• Steering is nice to hold.
• Fit finish and quality of interiors very good, but the deisgn is bland. I prefer the black of the Polo than the brown of the Vento.
• The front armrest is a joke!
• The clutch vibration is very much there and annoying.
• No dead pedal or place to rest your foot. Again found very irritating.
• Refinement is par for the course I feel with my limited exposure to diesel engines

Comparison with ANHC -

• ANHC being petrol, the refinement can't be compared. But as we all know Hona engines are very refined and so I think the ANHC wins here even when pitted against the Vento petrol.
• ANHC has slightly more space, but difference is very less. But the rear hump in the Vento makes sitting 5 very difficult.
• Vento has better ride quality
• Vento has better insulation. Lots of road noise crept in the ANHC cabin.
• I am not a big fan of interiors of either cars considering they are priced at 10L. But the ANHC interiors looked cheap - the dashboard, AC knobs and the doors seemed outright cheap. SO, Vento wins here by a little margin.
• In the handling dept, Vento is slightly better though as I said it is not a great handler but it does better than the ANHC.
• ANHC looks better IMO. Another important thing which is silly but matters to many people - from the outside, ANHC looks a bigger car and the design is flashy enough to grab eyeballs whereas Vento looks much smaller and is not a headturner with its understated looks.

Overall, Vento is a very good package and has more equipments at a lower price. Where Honda scores in the reliability,reputation and A.S.S which it has built for so many years. As a package, the Vento matches the ANHC or may be beats it marginally but that may not be enough to dislodge the city from the top pedestal.

[motorhead5]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

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?

ORVMs are good. but the inner rear view mirror is bad. Even if I change the inner mirror with a bigger one, the rear head rest really comes on the way. That is where I found Verna's adjustable rear head rest better.

Originally Posted by architect

Are you sure of this? Is there a Linea with a 1.6 litre engine around the corner. Is it a diesel or a petrol? The 1.4 litre T-Jet petrol is supposed to be launched this week, but is the 1.6 litre diesel being launched anytime soon?

That is what the sales person told us. I will try to confirm this. But probably you are right - Fiat Linea 1.6 Diesel, Review, Price, Fiat Cars India, Comparison, Images, Variants . This one says 2011. He probably meant 1.4 T-jet.

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Verna's Max torque is at 1900-2750
Vento's is at 1500 - 2500.
How can verna have better response initially and then loose breath?
Can you elaborate a bit more about the comparo?

Didnt you feel vibrations in clutch?

While starting from 0 in 1st and 2nd, we felt Verna went up faster compared to Vento. But if you brake/slow down, then there was a lag before it could take off again, which was not the case with Vento. On this we liked Vento as that is what matters in city driving, high ranges and highway overtaking. And the initial power too, the difference was not much.

Verna's higher bhp (110 vs Vento's 104) and lesser weight (1173 vs Vento's 1220) could be the reason for initial surge. 0-100 performance gives the same picture (Vento 11.7s vs Verna's 10.61s). Vento's higher torque at low rpm is indeed the reason for its linear performance and near nil lag. This is my best guess

Vibrations in clutch - This was indeed there. Didn't put this and music system related aspects as this was already discussed before. In fact we didn't try the music system this time

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by motorhead5

That is what the sales person told us. I will try to confirm this. But probably you are right - Fiat Linea 1.6 Diesel, Review, Price, Fiat Cars India, Comparison, Images, Variants . This one says 2011. He probably meant 1.4 T-jet.

I just dont believe Fiat will be giving us that 306 Nm of torque.
Even if they somehow decide to launch it they will seriously detune the engine for the heck of FE..

If that is available there is no way I will go for Vento.
Specially after Adimicra's comment on Handling.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Specially after Adimicra's comment on Handling.

Hey man, please test it out yourself. But I felt the car is not very comfortable at fast cornering or sudden direction changes - there is noticeable body roll and the steering has no feedback. Thought it handles better than the city, it is nowhere close to the Linea/Fiesta.Expected much better handling from a German/European car. Somehow, I think Polo had less body roll and better body control while changing directions though steering is the same. I think the Vento suspension is tuned more for comfort which might be the reason. The 2 disappointments about Vento are the handling (may be my expectation was very high)and clutch vibration. Every car has some negatives I guess. Overall, it is a great package

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

I just dont believe Fiat will be giving us that 306 Nm of torque.
Even if they somehow decide to launch it they will seriously detune the engine for the heck of FE..

If that is available there is no way I will go for Vento.
Specially after Adimicra's comment on Handling.

OT but the Linea 1.6d was supposed to be out last year, but there was talk about Fiat developing another gearbox for it which would be ready by end 2010. So im guessing it might be here in 2011 sometime.

[Driver2000]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Hey man, please test it out yourself. But I felt the car is not very comfortable at fast cornering or sudden direction changes - there is noticeable body roll and the steering has no feedback.

Adi, I have not TDed the Vento yet; am still with my Polo. How would you compare the Vento with the Polo, in terms of steering feedback and body roll?

[sidindica]

Flash Red vento pics.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by Driver2000

Adi, I have not TDed the Vento yet; am still with my Polo. How would you compare the Vento with the Polo, in terms of steering feedback and body roll?

I already gave the answer in the last post. Steering feedback is same as Polo, not too much feedback. I felt Polo to have less body roll than the Vento.

[motorhead5]

@sidindica, Good pics. I love Octavia in Red (With flashy Alloys and a rear spoiler) and was expecting the same with Vento. Though I liked Vento in red, it wasn't up to my expectation. Some times it brings a Orange tint, which doesn't give a good feel. May be I should go and see the Red one again.

Vento in Red looks really good in your pics. For me, it has to be a Red or Black!!

[Dippy]

A friend in my building got delivery of his Vento day before yesterday. And yesterday a flatbed truck came and took it away. The reason? Smoke coming from the rear brakes. Apparently there is a crack somewhere

German reliability anyone?

[drmohitg]

I have been in a dilemma choosing between altis and vento. And Your story Dippy is scaring me away from the vento. Do you think it was a one off incident or what? any more details on it?

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I have been in a dilemma choosing between altis and vento. And Your story Dippy is scaring me away from the vento. Do you think it was a one off incident or what? any more details on it?

Will update more details once I get them from my friend. Heck even the garland on the car was still on when they took it away on the truck.