[ventoman]

Hi all,

Just now came back from VW palace cross after drooling over at Vento Highline Diesel (Black) and Vento Petrol AT (Silver) display vehicles.
They had the vehicles in the basement and no photos were allowed to be taken. Worse, you can see the vehicle only from outside.
This is due to the fact that the official launch is only from tomorrow onwards.

Felt great to see the car in flesh and all the interior, exterior features covered by GTO could be spotted easily. Both the colors were stunning.

The showroom is closed now. These vehicles will be ready for display from 12 noon tomorrow onwards, after which you can feel the interiors as well. They are expecting another vehicle(s) for test drive by Wednesday, 8th.

[carfreak]

Hi aseem how did you feel the lag in city driving?is it a bother?

Also how is the steering feedback at high speeds?compared to the ANHC?

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

The pricing factor in India also plays a role in Honda/Toyota/Skoda being treated as premium brands.

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.

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

At the same time, the reliability and quality of Honda/Toyota/Skoda does justify the brand image tag to a great extent.

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'.

[grules]

Checked out VW showroom yesterday in Chennai to checkout Vento. They are terribly understaffed; Had to wait sometime before i could get the details. But atleast their attitude is good and are welcome to non luxury customers.

No TD car yet, no display car yet :( Display car expected next week and TD car only by the week after. OTR Prices below

Petrol Trendline MT - 803229
Petrol Trendline MT (Metallic) - 818919
Petrol Highline MT - 943769
Petrol Highline AT - 1054395

Diesel Trendline MT - 916112
Diesel Trendline MT (Metallic) - 931803
Diesel Highline MT - 1056652

Meanwhile i heard the sales rep promising something really funny. Don't know how true or plausible this is. Another customer was inquiring about the service and support network. The sales guy promised that very soon there will be lot more service centers opening up and they should be able to get good support. Also he said in case of emergency within 3 hours 2 vehicles will be sent assistance. But the highlight is he said in case of emergency medical need they will be airlifted to nearest hospital. I wanted to laugh out loud but controlled it.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by C300

Check Diptimanraje's posts..the OTR is 10.07 for highline diesel outside octroi limit.

Am sorry but what does that mean? How much does it cost to register for an address in PMC limits?

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

The pricing factor in India also plays a role in Honda/Toyota/Skoda being treated as premium brands.

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.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

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.

Unfortunately higher asking price represents premium brand. Not only in India not only in auto sector. This is a part of marketing. Quality of the product definately has something to do with brand value. But that is in the long run.

Maruti definitely has one of the most reliable cars. But the reasons it is not a premium brand is
1) It sells alto/ecco/estillo/omni/800.
2) Rattling problems SWIFT
3) Interiors!! Call them interiors??

Why is Skoda a Premium Brand?
1) Excellent Products. Built to last.
2) High asking Price.
---but as mentioned above how can you perceive a brand to be premium if there are so many quality issues? So many unhappy customers.

What about VW?
Internationally WV is no better than Ford/GM. But they played a very nice trick in India. Rolled out the luxurious Passart, Jetta and now they are coming with Polo/vento. So they can charge an extra premuim for it.

So what is Premuim Brand according to Masses?
1) High asking Price
2) Good Interiors/ built quality.
3) No cars in entry level.
------they believe what they are asked to believe.

[AvonA7]

Originally Posted by grules

No TD car yet, no display car yet :( Display car expected next week and TD car only by the week after.

Is it the case everywhere that no display car yet? I am surprised, because I have seen 2 Ventos driven on Pune roads (no demo car written on it) on 14th Aug`10. I don't know whether it is on display in showroom or not, but definitely the dealers have Vento in their stockyard/somewhere else and may be awaiting VWs nod to put it on display. Otherwise how come they drove it on road.

Originally Posted by grules

Also he said in case of emergency within 3 hours 2 vehicles will be sent assistance.

Even I am told similar things by VW at the time of taking delivery of my car, that replacement car would be send, nearest best available accommodation would be provided, next available flight fare would be provided in case of flight miss due to car getting stalled etc.

Originally Posted by grules

But the highlight is he said in case of emergency medical need they will be airlifted to nearest hospital. I wanted to laugh out loud but controlled it.

Air Lifted? May be sales representative read the European or American VW warranty booklet. We all know it took close to 10hrs to air drop the commandos to Bombay from Delhi!

VW does have great build quality and they are a good and respected brand world wide. In fact Skoda is not as premium as VW its only in India that Skodais treated as a premium brand. VW has something in common with BMW's and the Audi's and that is that it is German and worldwide "Even in UK/ Topgear a show that moots at every other car that is not English say that VW is a good deal and a good brand poor mans Merc/Audi."

[ventoman]

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Is it the case everywhere that no display car yet?

AvonA7, Please refer to my post earlier today http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/2056626-post510.html.
I saw 2 Vento´s at VW palace cross today.

[grules]

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Even I am told similar things by VW at the time of taking delivery of my car, that replacement car would be send, nearest best available accommodation would be provided, next available flight fare would be provided in case of flight miss due to car getting stalled etc.

These are pretty bold statements to make. Do other manufacturers make such commitments? Not sure how far these will be implemented. He also mentioned that these are all arrangements directly from VW and not from the dealers. Anybody who has already booked the car have info on these commitments? Will these be part of the warranty, terms and conditions?

[lonecrusader]

I have been following this thread and also the thread on the new hot hatch, the polo 1.6.

A question for folks looking at vento petrol highline:

1. Boot (no 60:40 or complete rear seat down IFAIK)
2. Leg room for rear passengers (definitely longer wheelbase)
3. Some equipment upgrades (Like ACC)

Other than the above, is there any other reason to go for the vento compared to a polo 1.6, in terms of ride or feel or any such? Do the above justify approx 2.5L diff in OTR price?

I am considering both and right now the Polo 1.6 is nudging ahead.

Enough has been said about the review, but GTO deserves all the kudos and I add mine too to the bunch.

GTO,
Hope you get your hands on a Polo 1.6 soon.

-lc

[noopster]

Originally Posted by lonecrusader

I have been following this thread and also the thread on the new hot hatch, the polo 1.6.

A question for folks looking at vento petrol highline:

1. Boot (no 60:40 or complete rear seat down IFAIK)
2. Leg room for rear passengers (definitely longer wheelbase)
3. Some equipment upgrades (Like ACC)

Other than the above, is there any other reason to go for the vento compared to a polo 1.6, in terms of ride or feel or any such? Do the above justify approx 2.5L diff in OTR price?

I am considering both and right now the Polo 1.6 is nudging ahead.

Well put. More and more the petrol AT Vento is losing its sheen. I have even started softening the missus up for a diesel (she seemed impressed by my quick calculation of savings of Rs. 900/- oer Pune-Mumbai return trip; I justified the initial overlay by saying I was going for the AT anyway and teh price of the diesel MT is the same )

But to answer your question, someone who needs a boot (and you don't know you need it till you start driving a hatch!) has a good reason to prefer the Vento over the Polo. My biggest grouse with my Swift's boot is that I can't squeeze in a guitar there

[kaiserketkar]

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'.

the "premiumness" of the brand ultimately comes down to how the target audience percieves it. this can be achieved by the car manufacturer in different ways. honda, toyota have done it by having no presence in the lower end of the market, as have VW- to start off with.
herd mentality is a very big phenomenon, not just here in india- i guess it's the same everywhere. and this holds true for the statement "the indian customer knows nothing about the car he buys" as well.

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Even I am told similar things by VW at the time of taking delivery of my car, that replacement car would be send, nearest best available accommodation would be provided, next available flight fare would be provided in case of flight miss due to car getting stalled etc.


Air Lifted? May be sales representative read the European or American VW warranty booklet. We all know it took close to 10hrs to air drop the commandos to Bombay from Delhi!

don't know the exact details, but this is some outside agency which VW have tied up with- who are providing the said emergency roadside assistance. which i also understand is part of the package for the first one or two years and after that you have the choice to renew it at a price.

[sandeepmdas]

This is (perhaps)

GTO, just how many hours you've taken to author this review?

"Author" may not be the right word here, since it is full of analyzed data, unlike movie reviews.

[suhaas307]

Brilliant review GTO, as always!

The Vento is quite an interesting car. It seems to have been positioned pretty well and it also looks like VW is giving a lot of importance to the rear passengers. Are they targeting customers who prefer to be chauffeur-driven? It seems like; with the inclusion of the front-seat-adjust mechanism that the rear-passengers can use.

However, it's sad to see the base variant living up to its title!

One question though, does it look like VW has gone on a cost-cutting spree with the Vento too? I mean, the lack of AUX/USB port is just not right!