[vibbs]

Hello team. My colleague is looking for a new car. It has to be a petrol sedan and an automatic. The options in front are City SV CVT, Vento TSI and Verna AT.

We had a test drive of the City today and found it to be pretty good. Although there was slight rubber band effect in the CVT under hard acceleration it was smooth for major part. The ride was good, the car was spacious and interiors were well put together.

We did visit Volkswagen too today but could not get a test drive. Infact the dealer does not have a Vento TSI for test drive but says will give us a Polo TSI for test drive in the coming week. Now I know there will be significant difference between a hot hatch and a sedan even though it is just the boot that is extra, but we expect to get a feel of the engine, transmission and ride.

Visually for both of us the Vento seemed the superior car among two from inside. The interiors are very well put together and the quality really seems better than City, although city is not bad either. But in the volkswagen the attention to detail seems to be a notch better. Also both of us felt that the front seats are better in The vento as compared to City. The rear seats I felt were slightly more comfortable in the city with more space too. That apart, the Vento has everything going for it on the inside. I have driven a polo and I know from that experience, the Vento's ride and handling will be better than the City. It also is cheaper than the city by close to INR 50k. So while the test drive is still pending, it does seem lile Vento is a better choice than the Honda excepy for one crucial factor. The aftersales support.

Now other name of Honda is reliability and Volkswagen's reputation of horrible after sales precedes it. But I would like to know if it still the same or has it improved? How is it more importantly in Pune? Please suggest which should be the automatic to buy in the segment? Vento or the City? Or should we have a look at the Verna too?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Hello team. My colleague is looking for a new car. It has to be a petrol sedan and an automatic. The options in front are City SV CVT, Vento TSI and Verna AT.

We had a test drive of the City today and found it to be pretty good. Although there was slight rubber band effect in the CVT under hard acceleration it was smooth for major part. The ride was good, the car was spacious and interiors were well put together.

We did visit Volkswagen too today but could not get a test drive. Infact the dealer does not have a Vento TSI for test drive but says will give us a Polo TSI for test drive in the coming week. Now I know there will be significant difference between a hot hatch and a sedan even though it is just the boot that is extra, but we expect to get a feel of the engine, transmission and ride.

Visually for both of us the Vento seemed the superior car among two from inside. The interiors are very well put together and the quality really seems better than City, although city is not bad either. But in the volkswagen the attention to detail seems to be a notch better. Also both of us felt that the front seats are better in The vento as compared to City. The rear seats I felt were slightly more comfortable in the city with more space too. That apart, the Vento has everything going for it on the inside. I have driven a polo and I know from that experience, the Vento's ride and handling will be better than the City. It also is cheaper than the city by close to INR 50k. So while the test drive is still pending, it does seem lile Vento is a better choice than the Honda excepy for one crucial factor. The aftersales support.

Now other name of Honda is reliability and Volkswagen's reputation of horrible after sales precedes it. But I would like to know if it still the same or has it improved? How is it more importantly in Pune? Please suggest which should be the automatic to buy in the segment? Vento or the City? Or should we have a look at the Verna too?

City used to be the last word in reliability, but is not free from niggles these days as the ownership experiences in the TD thread will tell. Yes, the mechanicals should still remain trouble free.

But, it's not well put together IMO. No way. One can feel the door panel flex and protest on closing the door hard. One hard press on the fancy dashboard trim is all it takes to make them squeak. Head right now to the TD thread and you could see three owners complaining about rain water leakage on the second last page. On a Honda!

Yes, it has lot of equipment but I for one prefer lesser equipment but with better quality- and thats where the German delivers.

PS- I dont own either of these cars / brands. My experience is from back to back test drives taken recently.





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[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Hello team. My colleague is looking for a new car. It has to be a petrol sedan and an automatic. The options in front are City SV CVT, Vento TSI and Verna AT.

We had a test drive of the City today and found it to be pretty good. Although there was slight rubber band effect in the CVT under hard acceleration it was smooth for major part. The ride was good, the car was spacious and interiors were well put together.

We did visit Volkswagen too today but could not get a test drive. Infact the dealer does not have a Vento TSI for test drive but says will give us a Polo TSI for test drive in the coming week. Now I know there will be significant difference between a hot hatch and a sedan even though it is just the boot that is extra, but we expect to get a feel of the engine, transmission and ride.

Visually for both of us the Vento seemed the superior car among two from inside. The interiors are very well put together and the quality really seems better than City, although city is not bad either. But in the volkswagen the attention to detail seems to be a notch better. Also both of us felt that the front seats are better in The vento as compared to City. The rear seats I felt were slightly more comfortable in the city with more space too. That apart, the Vento has everything going for it on the inside. I have driven a polo and I know from that experience, the Vento's ride and handling will be better than the City. It also is cheaper than the city by close to INR 50k. So while the test drive is still pending, it does seem lile Vento is a better choice than the Honda excepy for one crucial factor. The aftersales support.

Now other name of Honda is reliability and Volkswagen's reputation of horrible after sales precedes it. But I would like to know if it still the same or has it improved? How is it more importantly in Pune? Please suggest which should be the automatic to buy in the segment? Vento or the City? Or should we have a look at the Verna too?

Few thoughts

• Firstly, I dont think you need to consider Verna purely because of its inferior AT box. It should be a straight fight between the Vento and City
• Even pending test drive, if you feel Vento is a better choice, then I an assure you that the test drive will further tilt you in favor of the Vento. The TSI DSG combo is a gem. And from performance perspective there is no noticeable difference between the Polo GT TSI and the Vento TSI.
• The Vento is better equipped than the City SV (apart from Cruise Control)
• The City is the newer car, will have better resale and considering it is a Honda , is expected to be more reliable. I will reserve judgement on after sales since it remains to be seen how well the dealers are equipped to handle the huge volumes being generated by Honda currently.

[shashank.nk]

Definitely the Vento. The city is a competent car no doubt, but for the enthusiast it has to be the TSI+DSG combo. Whether in city or out on the highway,the engine+gearbox combo will never fail to impress you.

I haven't read of many bad experiences with VW dealers in Pune. They seem to be good in general.

[vibbs]

Thanks Crazy driver, Rajeevraj and Shashank. Yes the Vento is way ahead in terms of interior and build quality. The quality of materials used are much better and it shows. Even the seats at front are more comfortable. Although we are yet to drive the TSI, I know from my test drive of the Polo that Vento would be better than the city. IVTEC is a gem but the DSG and TSI combo should be great too considering the fact that the engine has a very flat torque curve which should aid drivability. What we are worried about with Vento is the After sales support. How reliable is the DSG?

Overall reliability and peace of mind will play a big role in this decision and I somehow have a feeling that it would be easier to live with the City than the Vento.

Any insights on how these two compare with each other on spare parts and mamitenance costs?

Verna is more or less out of contention because my friend is very wary of anything Korean. So it has been included in the comparison for academic purposes only.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by vibbs

How reliable is the DSG?

I think the new DQ200 box is reliable. This is after the shift from synthetic to mineral oil. A close friend has a Polo GT TSI for a year now with 20k on the odo. He's had no issues with gearbox so far.

Overall reliability and peace of mind will play a big role in this decision and I somehow have a feeling that it would be easier to live with the City than the Vento.

Vento will be on the expensive side to maintain,regular service and parts both.On the upside, you have to deal with A.S.S folks only once a year. I wouldn't say its 'tough' to live with it though.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Thanks Crazy driver, Rajeevraj and Shashank. Yes the Vento is way ahead in terms of interior and build quality. The quality of materials used are much better and it shows. Even the seats at front are more comfortable. Although we are yet to drive the TSI, I know from my test drive of the Polo that Vento would be better than the city. IVTEC is a gem but the DSG and TSI combo should be great too considering the fact that the engine has a very flat torque curve which should aid drivability. What we are worried about with Vento is the After sales support. How reliable is the DSG?

Overall reliability and peace of mind will play a big role in this decision and I somehow have a feeling that it would be easier to live with the City than the Vento.

Any insights on how these two compare with each other on spare parts and mamitenance costs?

Verna is more or less out of contention because my friend is very wary of anything Korean. So it has been included in the comparison for academic purposes only.

The DSG box used in the Vento TSi is the infamous 7 speed DQ200, but to be fair to VW- it is not running at max torque handling capacity as is the case with Laura / Octavia/ Superb. And I guess none of the Polo / Vento users have reported issues till now. Your friend will have to take a 'leap of faith' here if he decides to go in for the VW.



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[noopster]

Vibbs,

I chose the VW Vento AT over the Honda City 4 years ago and have had no cause to regret it. Worth mentioning that both of these have gone through major changes since then. The City is all new, with a CVT instead of the 5spd torque convertor. The Vento's 1.6NA engine is replaced by a turbocharged 1.2 delivering equal power and a slick DSG7 'box. No points for guessing what comes ahead!

Verna is an option only for the diesel advantage. On that note there has been speculation and even a spotting of a diesel DSG Vento for a while and you may want to explore that option as well. Best of both worlds, if you ask me.

[CountMe91]

You need to assess your priorities correctly.

1. If you want a no-non sense AT petrol sedan, Honda City should tick all your boxes. Club that with reliability, after sales service and good resale value.
2. Vento on the other hand is more of a driver's car with terrific engine combination that will evoke the enthusiast in you. The DSG and TSI combo is in one word - pure bliss! But it has its own set of niggles, club that with after sales service. So if you can take the risk, Vento would be a better take.

Let us know your friend's final decision.

[sandeep3in]

Have driven both the A/T since we wanted an AT at home, for an elder member of the family who moved in from abroad.

Vento definitely is a drivers car and the 1.2 TSI with the DSG gives a better performance(purely my opinion) than the CITY .

Vento feels more solid build than the CITY as with any European car.

From the above statement it may looks like we bought the vento AT but we didn't and went for the CITY .

The reason was the general belief that VW is expensive to maintain than the Japanese.This was purely an opinion of the elder member of the family.I think this is a general belief present outside of India.

If i were to choose or if i was driving the car, i would any day prefer the vento TSI over the CITY.

[mav2000]

Test drove both the cars and I likes the vento tsi more. Unfortunately it seems a full size smaller than the honda and I felt it a bit cramped on the inside. Finally went with a manual city as the cvt was not much fun to drive

[imp!]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Hello team. My colleague is looking for a new car. It has to be a petrol sedan and an automatic. The options in front are City SV CVT, Vento TSI and Verna AT.

We had a test drive of the City today and found it to be pretty good. Although there was slight rubber band effect in the CVT under hard acceleration it was smooth for major part. The ride was good, the car was spacious and interiors were well put together.

Vento seemed the superior car among two from inside. The interiors are very well put together and the quality really seems better than City, although city is not bad either. But in the volkswagen the attention to detail seems to be a notch better. Also both of us felt that the front seats are better in the Vento. The rear seats I felt were slightly more comfortable in the City with more space too. That apart, the Vento has everything going for it on the inside. The Vento's ride and handling will be better than the City. It also is cheaper than the city by close to INR 50k. So while the test drive is still pending, it does seem lile Vento is a better choice than the Honda excepy for one crucial factor. The aftersales support.

Now other name of Honda is reliability and Volkswagen's reputation of horrible after sales precedes it. But I would like to know if it still the same or has it improved? How is it more importantly in Pune? Please suggest which should be the automatic to buy in the segment? Vento or the City? Or should we have a look at the Verna too?

The City is indeed a spacious car, however, it is rather boat like in its driving mannerisms and anytime your friend decides to push the engine, it isn't going to respond too well.

The city is very short on thigh support for the front seats. Additionally the seat compound is extremely soft, which may seem more comfortable for a short drive, but makes for uncomfortable longer journeys (which, may soon be the norm in Pune as the rush hour traffic is rapidly approaching Bangalore levels of congestion and uncouth behaviour); Although the center tunnel in the City is less pronounced, it still exists and makes it impossible for comfortable 3 abreast seating. While the Vento has a taller tunnel, I have found that it is still more comfortable in the rear seat than the City, although I wouldn't want to drive more than 3+1 in either of the two cars. I did find the firm rear seats of the Vento much more comfortable than the rear seats in the City

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

I think the new DQ200 box is reliable. This is after the shift from synthetic to mineral oil. A close friend has a Polo GT TSI for a year now with 20k on the odo. He's had no issues with gearbox so far.



Vento will be on the expensive side to maintain,regular service and parts both.On the upside, you have to deal with A.S.S folks only once a year. I wouldn't say its 'tough' to live with it though.

Shashank,

I think that regular service being more expensive is a bit of a misnomer as by all accounts on the forum the less expensive Skodas and VW's are equivalent to the Jap competition as far as scheduled maintenance is concerned. The CVT box of the City is a toss up, it'll behave very finicky until and unless maintained with a great deal of care at precise intervals, which, in the long run may make the City more expensive to maintain in the long run.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The DSG box used in the Vento TSi is the infamous 7 speed DQ200, but to be fair to VW- it is not running at max torque handling capacity as is the case with Laura / Octavia/ Superb. And I guess none of the Polo / Vento users have reported issues till now. Your friend will have to take a 'leap of faith' here if he decides to go in for the VW.
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CrAzY dRiVeR,

The DSG box issue was sorted out ages and yonks ago by changing its oil from Synthetic to Mineral. This prevented a short circuit which in turn destroyed the Mechatronics. I'm not sure if the torque through the box had much to do with it, but if it did, please let me know, I'd really appreciate it.
As things stand today, there are many small niggles with the City, which make it more of a headache to own than the Rapid/Vento.


Vibbs,

I'm following this with close interest. The traffic conditions in Bangalore have become obscenely dense and congested. It appears that we will need to add another car to our garage in the near future. It seems I'm going to do something I would normally hate doing; buy an automatic
When the time comes, the Vento may be the front runner, but a pre-owned Passat or Accord may also be in contention for us! Please do keep the thread updated.

Thanks & Regards

imp

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Hello team. My colleague is looking for a new car. It has to be a petrol sedan and an automatic. The options in front are City SV CVT, Vento TSI and Verna AT.

Details on driving dynamics, cost of ownership etc. are already mentioned here, but I would suggest the Vento TSI also for the fact that it is better equipped on safety. It's the only car in its segment which comes with ESP.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Hello team. My colleague is looking for a new car. It has to be a petrol sedan and an automatic. The options in front are City SV CVT, Vento TSI and Verna AT.

Go for the Vento, that would be my pick over the City because

a) It's cheaper
b) Safer
c) Better to drive

Interior design and desired features really do boil down to the end user, so that's a personal preference. If you go by reliability and service levels, Honda definitely has the edge over the VW. But you must remember that the DSG in the Vento that has been so problematic was operating on its technical limits (250 nm of torque) whenever it failed. With the Vento nowhere near that in stock, it will be safe to use. If there's an Extended Warranty on offer, take it and enjoy the Vento. It is the better car for me.

I wouldn't even consider the Verna. The transmission is lazy as heck and only good for sedate driving, not to mention less efficient than the City's CVT or VW's DSG. Pick one of the VW or Honda, you just can't go wrong.

[StarScream]

Most things in favor of the Vento TSI have been said already but let me put it this way, the test drive (with a Polo TSI) put a smile on my face. The City didn't. A few years from now the Vento TSI will become a legend of the sort the first-gen City VTEC became. It is a car that punches above its weight. The decision really is - does your friend want reliable point A to B commuting or does he want a little fun in life, while doing that?