Quote:
Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez Not a creature comfort but a safety feature - curtain airbags. |
Agreed but VW Polo version sold in India does not come with 6 airbags but they do have combined side and curtain bags whereas the Indian model had only side airbags
The consolation is that VW Polo with 2 airbags scored 4* in NCAP tests for both front and rear passengers whereas the version with 4 airbags (side+curain) scored 5* in Latin and Euro NCAP tests. The build quality feels really solid and best-in-class . Also, it comes with ESP which is not offered by many cars in this segment.I don't think a Vento with 4 airbags is any less safer than competitors with 6 airbags
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rahul_
Adi, the thing which I really miss the most is automatic headlamps (I am following your updates on it) and the really pathetic and old looking instrument cluster or the multi function display. The missing push button display is in a way a boon. The cabin lights in the front cockpit area looks like a straight pick from a Maruti 800 and not from a car costing 17big ones OTR bangalore. The buttons on the steering wheel and the functions were very well integrated with the stereo and MFD if you compare it to the Vento , Vento has undergone multiple iterations of updates and it clearly shows up in a way where integrations like these are not so seamless. Also, the rear camera guidelines were adaptive in i20 and I feel is it a good feature to have.
I know we would love all good fancy stuff on our machines however couple of very very basic stuff is missing on the car which are there on international variants which would have made the car "complete". Some from my end.
- hazard lamps on the doors
- puddle lamps.
- three point seatbelt + isofix seats at back (so basic that's it would be shameful to call it even a feature)
- auto folding orvms - every time I use the switch I feel I might have broken it. I actually loved this on i20 where the ORVMS used to open as soon as I came right next to the car.
- mirrors on both driver and passenger sun visor with a light on passenger side.
- soft touch material (leather /cloth ) on the door pads . Heck it was there earlier and they "forgot" to put it into place and saved what Rs500 ?
Adi : one more question to you - I see you are planning couple of mods like the automatic headlamps + front cabin lights etc. I was very very interested to do these on my car as well but I really really do not want to mess up with warranty - do you clearly understand the implication on the warranty of the car if you do these mods ? I have never really got a clear answer to that from anyone - so are you clear or are you taking the risk with the warranty ? |
Rahul, I understand your points and do agree with some but I feel you are looking at one side of the coin.
First of all, we all bought this car for the TSI+DSG performance and frankly, there is no competition (particularly for automatics) in this segment or up to 20 lakhs OTR. The next significant performance improvement is the 1.8 TSI which will cost 10L more.
Now, lets go through some of the pain points you have mentioned.
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"soft touch material (leather /cloth ) on the door pads". I think this is the most blatant cost cutting and absolutely unacceptable. This was present in the earlier Polo/Vento models but have been removed in the name of cost cutting. I am thinking to get it covered with art leather at a local shop which makes seat covers etc. There are some ready made ones in aliexpress but those are for left hand drive cars. I am not able to find the same for right hand drive cars.
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The cabin lights in the front cockpit area looks like a straight pick from a Maruti 800 and not from a car costing 17big ones OTR" - I totally agree and this makes the car feel super cheap. In fact, the Vento had nice cabin lights when launched (3 bulbs along with a sunglass holder, I believe). I can't live with it to be frank. As I mentioned, I am going to try out the Passat cabin lights with the beautiful red ambient lighting. I believe this is going to significantly change the interior feel of the car. I don't see why it would void warranty as we are not going to cut any wires. You can always put back the original light if you want to claim warranty.
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"really pathetic and old looking instrument cluster or the multi function display" - Agreed but I don't feel so strongly about it. I like the simple speedo console but the MFD does feel a bit dated. However, it provides a lot of useful information and is easy to read out as well. I would prefer that to tacky color display. Anyways, there is nothing much we can do about it.
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"three point seatbelt + isofix seats at back". You mean 3point seatbelt for the middle passenger. Not sure if any other cars are offering it in the segment. Isofix, agreed. I did not care about it because it's not useful for me.
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"buttons on the steering wheel and the functions were very well integrated with the stereo and MFD if you compare it to the Vento , Vento has undergone multiple iterations of updates and it clearly shows up in a way where integrations like these are not so seamless" - Not sure what you mean by this. I am happy with the ICE
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" automatic headlamps" - agreed. I am planning to get it enabled. It's just a paug and play with no impact on warranty and can be swapped back to the original within a minute.
- "auto folding orvms" - Somehow, I don't think it's a big deal. It is more of a feel good feature. I talked to vagtune and they said it can be done. I am not sure if it requires just programming or other parts as well. Not at the top of my priority list.
- "the rear camera guidelines were adaptive in i20 and I feel is it a good feature to have." - Yes,agreed but I am not finding it difficult to deal with it. Surprisingly, this feature is present mostly in Hyunda/Kia cars. The Honda City or even the Skoda Octavia doesn't get this feature.
- hazard lamps on the doors. I don't think this is a big deal and something which other cars offer.
- puddle lamps. Again, a feel good feature but I won't lose my sleep over it.
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"mirrors on both driver and passenger sun visor with a light on passenger side" - Agreed and I feel the sunvisors feel super cheap as well. I don't think we can have the light enabled easily but I might replace the sunvisors with mirrors on both sides and a cover for the mirrors.
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Every manufacturer makes some prioritization and compromises when it comes to features and even though VW Vento might not be the best loaded car in the segment, there are some good features which I appreciate (apart from the engine+gearbox). Hopefully, this will make of all of us feel better.
- The DRLs and full LED headlights for both high and low beam - looks absolutely stunning and very premium and not something which is offered by competitors (the City ZX might have it but they don't look as good as the Vento).
- Fully backlit (red) switch gear including steering controls, power windows, OVRM control, boot release - makes the car interior feel premium in the night and very usable as well.
- All 4 power windows with auto up-down functionality
- Ability to open the windows from remote - super useful when the car is out in the sun for a while
- AC vents are fully adjustable - they can move up/down and left/right along with independent air flow controls
- Illumination for glovebox and footwell - not sure all other competitors are offering the same.
- heat insulating glass - useful feature not sure if others are offering
- telescopic steering - some competitors are not offering it
- very usable armrest - The armrest is very usable for shorter folks like me. I have found most cars' armrests are not at all usable for me
- very good ICE - the ICE might not have the biggest screen but it is very responsive, the screen is bright and anti-reflective which offers very good sunlight visibility and the sound quality is great as well. It's so much better than the Digipad on the City which doesn't even offer Android AUto/Carplay.
- Superb 16" alloys - Again this might be subjective but the grey Portago alloys are best-in-class IMO.
- Beautiful flat-bottom steering wheel - this feels really premium with the leather wrapping and thumb controls. In comparison,the Honda City's steering feels spartan.
Sorry for the long post. But the point what I want to make is that apart from the awesome engine+gearbox, Vento highline plus model is fairly well loaded with respect to the competition. It has some blatant cost cutting,misses some features but offers some as well - it might not stand out but does not feel like lagging a lot behind the competition.