[STARCHILD]

Well this is the comparison between my two latest acquisitions. My Petrol VW Vento Highline MT and Petrol Ford Fiesta Titanium MT.

I’ll start with the choosing and buying process of the Vento. The NFS process is there on my initial ownership review, here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...rd-fiesta.html

CHOOSING THE CAR

My wife had been cribbing a lot ever since she joined a big MNC, at a senior post, that she doesn’t like being seen scurrying about in our diminutive Santro. She desperately wanted a bigger car. I had been dilly dallying on this for a while till once, when I went to pick her up and she asked me to park a good 100 meters away, preferring to walk up to the Santro rather than have me pick her up from her office porch. Well that was it; I had to stop being a miser and take the plunge.

I decided that a car in the range of 9-10 lacs would be a pretty good and balanced upgrade. We started our survey and the contenders were the ANHC, ANHV, NFS and the Vento.

We checked out the Vento first and were floored by the quality of the interiors. In fact my wife remarked that the interiors are almost as good as the Superb’s and not too far from her bosses BMW 5 series. I have never been inside the 5 series so I took her word for it and gave the Vento some extra marks, just for that. We are mostly chauffeured around and after we sat in the rear of the Vento with the rear AC vents, space saver lever, excellent seats and quality feel of the materials, what can I say, we felt instantly like we were sitting in a much more expensive car! The ICE was pathetic though. A plain jane CD player with radio, that was just awful.

Next was the NFS. We had spotted the NFS on display at a Delhi mall a couple of months back and were impressed with the appearance of the car. In fact, at that time I had been thinking about buying the ANHC but after seeing the NFS on display it had become our primary choice. Unfortunately the display car was locked and we could all but take a peek inside, through the rolled up windows, to get an idea of the interiors. At the showroom we saw the interiors and found the grey and black colour combination to be depressing. The showroom was poorly lit and that made things worse. Here I would like to point out that the VW Motinagar showroom looked excellent. The interior layout was very elegant, airy and it was wonderfully lit with natural light. I immediately felt good after entering it and got the feel that this place represents a high end automobile company. Anyhow as the interior quality was of utmost importance to me and I had already seen the Vento, the NFS was ruled out.

We then went to the nearby Honda showroom and checked out the ANHC. I did not like the interiors and the quality of materials used. Even the shade of the beige colour looked too dark and the silver bits jazzy. The lack of climate control was a put off. I didn’t want to operate the AC controls with levers the same way I had been doing in my Santro and prior cars all these years. Though we were getting a huge discount on the car I decided it was not worth it even with the discounts. The fear of further discounts post purchase and the possibility of a face lifted version coming in a few months were also reasons in my not choosing the ANHC. I would like to mention the atmosphere in the showroom seemed very grim. The SP, though very helpful, seemed unhappy and low on morale. Maybe it’s just me but I suppose Honda and its dealers have been hit hard by the falling sales.

My wife suffers from motion sickness. When we sat in the back seat of the ANHV, there was no motion only sickness. She immediately felt nauseous and stepped out. The low seats and high window line even made me feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic. We also did not like the fluidic design which in my opinion with the multiple lines and facets feels as if Hyundai has tried too hard to make the car look attractive. The showroom was packed and the SPs didn’t seem to be bothering much for the customers. I remembered reading that the ANHV had received over 20k bookings already so was worried about the waiting period. I asked a passing SP about that and without even looking at me, he gruffed “3 months”. That was just too long for me. The ANHV was struck off the list.

All this time I kept remembering the Vento and its interiors. Ahh! Those interiors…In my mind the Vento had won.

The Linea was given the go by as my dad had been eying it for a long time now and I'm not a big fan of the TATA-Fiat collaboration for sales and A.S.S. As for the SX4, we have had an 800, 3 Zens, an Alto and 2 Esteems so far and this time I did not want another Maruti.

A couple of days later I went to review the cars again, along with a car lover friend who agreed that the Vento fitted the bill.

The next few days were a nightmare. I just couldn’t decide on the NFS, Vento and the ANHC.

NFS: Was new, looked great had a lot of gizmos
ANHC: Its Honda, looks awesome, the Auto has paddle shifts!!!
Vento: Ahh the interiors… It’s also VW.

I reminded myself of the NFS interiors (little did I know we'd end up buying it for my dad) and the fact that the chauffer will get to play with the ANHC paddle shifts or in the case of MT the engine. I finally decided that I’ll go for a TD of the Vento and if I like it then that will be it.

I booked a TD for a Sunday. It was raining and the helpful SP, now familiar with me, got drenched arranging the car while I enjoyed coffee with my wife. The car drove well and the performance, though not ‘push you into your seat’ great, was adequate. We tested the suspension, at the SPs behest, on a bad patch and the Vento held its own.

I asked for discounts/freebies but was not obliged. The SP told me about the special 6.99% finance from VW finance which was a pretty good offer.

BUYING AND GETTING DELIVERY OF THE CAR

The next day my friend called me up and told me that a friend of his works in another VW outlet and that she will give me 30% off the insurance along with some freebies as a special case. I immediately rushed to that outlet and confirmed the offer. Then, something amazing happened. I casually mentioned the lack of features on the standard ICE on the Highline. She immediately asked me if I like the multimedia system on the IPL edition as, if I did, she could try to convince her management and get it installed. I couldn’t believe my ears as I had asked the other SP the very same thing and he had declined. I responded with a grateful YES trying hard to contain my enthusiasm. She then left to go and talk to her management while I started to pray! She came back with the following offer:

Vento IPL KIT for Rs: 47,000 which includes:

- The IPL touch screen ICE with USB/SD/IPOD input, Bluetooth and Navigation system.
- Leatherette seat covers
- Door sill protectors
- Floor mats
- Mud flaps
- An IPL cricket bat and ball

She would take back the standard ICE and give me 6k for it so the IPL kit would cost 41k. The Vento was now complete. One of its biggest drawbacks addressed. I booked a Terra Beige colour Highline along with the IPL Kit.

The next few days went fast. The finance formalities were completed and delivery was due on Sunday 24 July 2011. I had pointed out to the SP that the IPL edition seat covers were designed for the Trendline which doesn’t have the rear arm rest, so how can it be fitted on the Highline which did. She had told me after deliberating with their accessories person that it won’t be a problem. However a day before the delivery date she sent me an SMS that she won’t be able to deliver the car as promised because they are having trouble with the seat covers because of the arm rest. I told her that I’d come back for the seat covers later but I had to have the car as planned. She agreed and I felt my heartbeat returning to normal. The next day I was told to come at 6PM as it will take time to ready the car because of the modifications. I tried to keep myself busy throughout the day to keep my excitement contained then finally it was time to head for the showroom.

The delivery process was smooth and took around 1.5 hours. We remained with the car most of the time watching it get dressed up. The SP had got seat covers installed sans the IPL logo. Instead they sported an embossed “VENTO”. I was more than happy with that. They took our photograph, printed it and presented it to us in a nice photo frame along with chocolate chip cookies! They gave me an extensive demo of the car and its features and I learnt that the 1st service is after 15000 KMs or a year, which is great. We then drove off and headed for the temple.

THE COMPARISON

The Vento is an elegant and sophisticated looking car. The NFS looks sportier, more modern and younger.

I didn’t position the NFS right, sorry it’s my first time and my office parking won’t be empty for a long while.




The Vento looks well proportioned from the side.




The NFS looks ready to go though the rear tyres look small.




The Vento is unmistakably German from this angle




Looks ready for action. I should have removed the ribbon.




Plain Jane rear and unremarkable tail lights.




Bumper looks disproportionately big.




Looks identical to the Polo but nevertheless handsome. Some differentiation from the Polo would have been better. The subtle differences on the bumper chin are hardly noticeable.




Almost looks mean and ready to take on Delhi roads. Headlight and hood design is great.




Peek into the heart of the Vento. Lot of space and neat layout. The engine is a bit noisy, almost sounds like a diesel when starting up and quite audible above 2000 RPM. Pulls well at higher gears even at lower speeds.




The VW logo looks amazing here. Note the easy to access oil filter, bottom left next to the windshield fluid filler cap.




The NFS innards. Nothing catches the eye, but the engine is great. Better pickup than the Vento but not as good as its earlier avatar. You’d love to drive this car hard.




The NFS bonnet cover has padding for noise and vibration insulation.




No such luck on the Vento which needed it more than the NFS.




The NFS bonnet release cable has a lot of play.




Cheap looking tab type bonnet release lever on the NFS




Pulling the bonnet release lever feels horrible because of the cable play. It has to be pushed back into its original position else it will stay in the open position.




Vento bonnet release looks, feels and operates great.




NFS driver foot well. All the pedals are located just right. You get used to them very quickly. Note the dead pedal.




Both foot wells have illumination in case you drop anything or need to work on some wiring etc. Looks good at night.




Vento foot well. No much happening here. No lights or dead pedal. The clutch has a long travel which makes driving a bit uncomfortable as my shoe tends to slide over the pedal with it ending up on the middle of my foot when depressed.




NFS driver side floor mats are meant to have a locking system to keep them is place, hence these holes.




Hey where are the locks. Did they forget about them?




Vento front cabin lights are very up market. Switches are available for, off, on, door open, left passenger and driver side lights. Note the interior surveillance system. What is claimed is that, besides being an anti theft system, it will monitor movement inside the cabin when the car is locked. So if you leave kids or pets inside a locked car then good luck.




NFS front cabin lights. Not much to look at. Same functions as in the Vento.




Vento rear cabin lights. Positions available are for off, on, door open, left and right passenger through a rotary switch. VW calls the interior lighting of the Vento “Theater lighting”. The lights fade in and fade out when turning on and off and look incredible at night.




What?!? No rear cabin lights for the NFS???

[STARCHILD]

Vento glove compartment is quite spacious.




Note coin, sunglasses and visiting card holder (below the sunglasses holder). Useful recess for the car manual.




NFS glove compartment has little space but has the coin and visiting card holder besides a pen holder. The breakaway tab on the top right is probably for a future locking mechanism or perhaps a charger?




Close up of the visiting card and coin holder.




Behold the mighty pen holder.




The Vento front storage with cup holders?




Nope. Now they are cup holders! The frame rotates, to beautifully click into place either way.




Rear AC vents of the Vento, below which is the rear cup holder in closed position. Note the space saver lever on the back of the front passenger seat. It can be lifted to move the seat forward and backward.




The cup holder in open position. This also reassuringly clicks into position.




3 for 3. The NFS matches the Vento’s 3 cup holders but not in style.




The Vento front armrest in position 1




In position 2




In position 3




Put away completely




Hey it’s got storage too, complete with rubber padding so that your expensive mobile won’t get scratches or make a racket on bad roads.




NFS exterior lighting control. The big knob turns on the side and tail lights and headlights. Rotary knob on the left to adjust beam height and push button for front fog lights. Button on the left for rear fogs.




Vento exterior lighting control. Pretty much the same except that after you turn on the tail and side lights the big knob can be pulled one level to turn on the front fogs and then another level for the rear fogs. Note the chrome accent on the big knob is no longer provided.




NFS has 1 speaker and 1 tweeter on each of the front doors. The ORVM mirror switch can be pushed down to fold the mirrors in and out electrically. Only the driver side window has one touch control and anti pinch.




NFS rear door speaker.




Vento has only one speaker per door. All windows incorporate one touch and anti pinch features! The windows can be operated for some time after removing the key from the ignition! They can also be remotely operated by holding the unlock or lock buttons on the key fob. Boot release switch on the lower left of the door and security system warning light (on window sill) blinks when the system is armed. ORVMs can’t be electrically retracted or opened...Sigh!




Rear door speaker of the Vento.




The plain steering wheel of the Vento. It can be adjusted for both reach and rake. Note the chrome accent below the airbag and leather cover on the wheel is no longer standard on the Highline.




The NFS sportier looking wheel sports leather cover and audio controls. The steering is a dream, very responsive and precise. Can only be adjusted for rake.




Vento wiper stalk in on the right. The toggle type trip switch is used to move back and forth through the various displays on the MID screen on the instrument panel.




The NFS wiper stalk is on the right also.




Vento indicator stalk on the left along with headlight flasher and beam control.




NFS indicator stalk is also on the left along with headlight flasher and beam control. The push type button for changing MID displays means that if you miss a particular display you have to cycle through all the other displays. Note the button to active voice recognition.




The NFS gear shift is smooth and crisp.




The Vento gear shift is also great but the reverse can cause problems. You have to push down and then holding it down, slot it into reverse. This is disconcerting when parking in tight places involving multiple shifts between first and reverse gears. Also if you change gears with a heavy hand you might mistakenly shift to reverse instead of first which can lead to a disaster.

[STARCHILD]

The lever to adjust forward and backward movement of the NFS front seat is easy to operate.




Vento’s is quite hard to pull.




Rotary adjust for the fronts seat back of the NFS, though good for precise adjustments, takes ages. It’s also quite hard and you end up scrapping your knuckles as there isn’t much space when the door is closed. Seat height can be adjusted by pushing or pulling on the lever.




Vento’s lever type adjust for front seat back is much easier to operate. Looks good too! Same lever type arrangement for seat height adjust.




NFS has seat belt height adjust.




So does the Vento. Would love to have had beige seat belts! Note the hook, on the top right. One each on both B pillars.




The NFS rear seat. My friend Shekhar is 5’11” (Let’s assume him to be 6 feet). The driver seat has been adjusted for a six footer too. That still leaves about 2” of leg space. The rear arm rest is not only ugly (see the hinge) but also a bit high.




The recess on the front seat back helps the rear seat occupants of the NFS.




The Vento’s driver seat has also been adjusted for a six footer.




NFS head space. The head rest keeps your head straight. You can't tilt your head back even a bit to relax or take a nap. When the head rest is down, it pokes into your back. Bad design!




Vento head space, about an inch less! Head rest is comfortable but hinders rear visibility for the driver.




The Vento seat cover has a flap for the armrest.




When the armrest is folded back the flap gets secured with Velcro at the bottom and two zips. Unfortunately the rear seat does not fold down.




The NFS rear seat does fold. I’m glad that the rear seat belts are long enough, else I’d have to move them out of the way each time I’d fold or unfold the seat.




With the back seat folded, the boot can be accessed through here. Some large and unwieldy objects/luggage can thus be carried easily.




The NFS boot. Can be opened via a soft touch button between the number plate lights or the key fob.




The Vento boot. Can also be opened via the key fob. Note the luggage guard.




The NFS central tunnel.




The much higher central tunnel of the Vento.




There is a storage space behind the rear seat of the NFS.




The charging socket flap of the Vento in closed position.




Oh wow! The flap is spring loaded so it flips back when you are done.




The NFS charging socket cap.




Whoops! It just came off. Now that I’m done charging where did I keep the cap?




Ahhh! The Vento ICE. It has everything but a CD slot and an AUX port. I don’t use either so don’t mind. Sound quality is very good! The navigation maps are Polstar and are quite detailed. The GPS is very accurate and satellite lock takes less than a minute. Bluetooth telephony is a breeze. Touch screen is very precise. This is a Nippon NAL-NAV9180. No Winstons or Caskas for me! Unfortunately no remote Waaahhh!




Reverse parking cam (after market) on the Vento bumper.




Cam display through the A/V input. There are two A/V inputs, so I can add parking sensors with distance display as well. I would like to mention the NFS is about 1.5 meters away.




Pic26: NFS tyre pressure chart located on the driver side door sill.




Pic25: Vento tyre pressure chart located on the fuel filler lid.




POST IGNITION

As mentioned earlier, on start up the Vento sounds more like a diesel. The key turn for starting the engine is also a bit hard and requires a determined twist.

The clutch causes too much trouble for me. I've tried every seat position, I just can't make it work. Forward visibility is not very good and the dash seems a bit high. You tend to underestimate the distance between the car's front and obstacles. Guess that's a good thing in a way as it feels like a bigger car than it actually is and forces you to drive carefully. Accidental brushes will thus be avoided.

The acceleration is quite linear and you won't be able to burn rubber very well (I know I know before I am reprimanded for even thinking such a thing during the run in period let me clarify that I've not tried that, yet!). This probably also has to do with the long travel of the clutch and excellent grip of the thick rubbers. Nevertheless, even if the Vento could ride like the wind, in the hands of a more enthusiastic driver, the car is most enjoyable when driven in a sedate manner i.e. limo style. The BHP, torque and weight of the 1.6 litre engine is 105PS, 153@3800RPM, and 1130KG. This translates to a BHP/TON of 92.9PS and a torque/ton of 135.4NM.

Economy is great. I am getting between 12.5 to 13.7 KMPL in the city with AC on. Once on the Gurgaon expressway when I was following almost all the rules in the book, i got an amazing 17.9 KMPL (AC on).

The Vento's suspension, though good, has a fair bit of suspension noise. The sound proofing is also not as good as the NFS and there is some tyre noise which creeps in above 60 KMPH, as does the engine noise when you are in a good mood.

To summarise, the Vento is a car which oozes quality. You travel in opulence and luxury, feeling really good about yourself.

The NFS on the other hand is more of a driver's car. It's fun to drive it hard because of the peppy engine and excellent clutch. About the steering, which is one of the NFS's highlights, I'd like to quote from my NFS review thread "The steering is very precise. The car goes exactly where you want it to go, inspiring a lot of confidence. I adapted to it very quickly and was soon driving it like I had had it for months. The straight line stability of the car is amazing. When going straight, I noticed that I didn’t have to make any steering corrections even if there were undulations in the road. The steering wheel remained fixed and the car kept going straight like it was on rails. I guess the 'Pull drift compensation' tech is not a marketing gimmick after all, it really works."

The 1.5 litre heart of the NFS churns out 109PS and 140NM@4500RPM and weighs 6 KG less than the Vento @ 1124KG. This works out to 97PS/TON and 124.6NM/TON leading me to wonder why it seems to have better acceleration than the Vento. Perhaps the shorter clutch travel and better gear ratios.

I'm not getting very good economy around 10KMPL in the city with AC on. Strange as this is the one that's supposed to be the sipper. Hope the 1st service at 2.5k KMs will fix that. Though I must confess it gets caught in traffic a lot more than the Vento.

Driving position is very good and the car feels smaller than it really is (23 mm less than the Vento) both on the inside as well as outside. This only encourages you to zigzag around traffic complemented by the steering as well. The suspension of the NFS is very very good, practically no suspension noise and potholes are cut down in size. The sound insulation is also excellent, the cabin becomes your own little private bubble. If only it had better interiors and less cost cutting.

I would like to sincerely thank my friend Shekhar for all his help in taking the photographs.

[Vid6639]

Thread moved to Initial reviews section.

Excellent thread Starchild. Very detailed comparo withe excellent pics.

[HappyRoadie]

Excellent comparo Starchild. It is really very detailed and nice photographs. It will be really very helpful to many people.

[azeemhafiz]

Congratulations on the Vento and Fiesta. I like the subtle way in which the German simplicity impresses.

An excellent review and stunning attention to detail.. Respect!!

[driveanddrive]

Congratulations on the double delight!
It is a very very detailed report! Thanks a lot for the report. Rated 5 stars.
It will definitely be very helpful for so many here. Thanks again! Lovely pictures too.

[souravc]

Thanks Starchild ( and your friend Shekhar) for the very detailed and useful comparo - deserves 5 star rating .
Its curious that your pics show no noise reduction padding inside the engine compartment of the Vento , its there in the TDi - possibly because the TDi cars are many times noisier . Maybe you can try to get the insulation done - if its there in TDi , should work with your Vento too.

[Mindgrinder]

very nice comparison. Is this IPL version of Vento? or has it been upgraded. Last time i checked this was not the ICE present in vento. Also how do you make bluetooth calls in vento?

[plain.vanilla]

@STARCHILD That was an excellent comparison. Rated 5 stars.
On the side views the rear tires on the NFS do seem small due to the higher rear. And the rear bumper also looks too big. Maybe that is how they reduced the height of the central tunnel, by seating the rear passenger higher. I dont know, just a thought.

[vb-saan]

Thanks StarChild for the comparison. Excellent job indeed!

And good to know that the VW guys removed IPL references from the IPL kit. I would have looked odd otherwise

I thought Fiesta is your car, and the Vento is for your dad. Now reading this thread, got to know it’s the other way around

[danny25]

Congratulations on the twin purchase.

Excellent comparison of the two cars on every minute details. Very well organised and well taken pictures .

Did you jump between the two cars while you were taking the pictures or did you have a checklist ?

It would be interesting to note how the two cars fare and age as time passes .

All the best.

[MAS]

Excellent Comparison Starchild. Thank you very much for the detailed pictures. The Vento definitely has up market interiors. The Fiesta has very poor quality interiors and the exposed hinges on the rear seat is an eye soar.

From the comparison, in terms of driving pleasure, you seem to like the Fiesta better. Your comparison has given me a good in-sight into both the cars.

[STARCHILD]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Thread moved to Initial reviews section.

Excellent thread Starchild. Very detailed comparo withe excellent pics.

Originally Posted by HappyRoadie

Excellent comparo Starchild. It is really very detailed and nice photographs. It will be really very helpful to many people.

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

Congratulations on the Vento and Fiesta. I like the subtle way in which the German simplicity impresses.

An excellent review and stunning attention to detail.. Respect!!

Originally Posted by driveanddrive

Congratulations on the double delight!
It is a very very detailed report! Thanks a lot for the report. Rated 5 stars.
It will definitely be very helpful for so many here. Thanks again! Lovely pictures too.

My unreserved thanks for the appreciation. The 5 stars do look great next to the thread title, thank you so much for it.

Originally Posted by souravc

Thanks Starchild ( and your friend Shekhar) for the very detailed and useful comparo - deserves 5 star rating .
Its curious that your pics show no noise reduction padding inside the engine compartment of the Vento , its there in the TDi - possibly because the TDi cars are many times noisier . Maybe you can try to get the insulation done - if its there in TDi , should work with your Vento too.

Thanks for rating! I will find out about the insulation though I read on hossdoc's post that VW does not provide it separately.

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

very nice comparison. Is this IPL version of Vento? or has it been upgraded. Last time i checked this was not the ICE present in vento. Also how do you make bluetooth calls in vento?

Nope the IPL edition is basically a decked up Trendline. I got the same IPL kit i.e. all the paraphernalia installed on a Highline. Bluetooth connectivity, at least on this ICE and my BB was very simple. I paired the phone with the ICE and thereafter whenever I start the car (my BB bluetooth is always on) they get connected automatically.

Originally Posted by plain.vanilla

@STARCHILD That was an excellent comparison. Rated 5 stars.
On the side views the rear tires on the NFS do seem small due to the higher rear. And the rear bumper also looks too big. Maybe that is how they reduced the height of the central tunnel, by seating the rear passenger higher. I dont know, just a thought.

Thanks for the rating! You theory makes sense but would they go to so much trouble just to reduce the CT height by a couple of inches?

Originally Posted by vb-san

Thanks StarChild for the comparison. Excellent job indeed!

And good to know that the VW guys removed IPL references from the IPL kit. I would have looked odd otherwise

I thought Fiesta is your car, and the Vento is for your dad. Now reading this thread, got to know it’s the other way around

Thanks vb-san! Unfortunately the IPL references were removed due to dumb luck and my own handiwork. The IPL edition seat covers could not accommodate the rear arm rest and the horrible IPL stickers were removed by me. Unfortunately they remain on the door sill protectors (don't look bad though) and the start up screen on the ICE .

Well, I guess my dad is more young at heart @ 78!




Possible future mods! The armrest with stowage will be fitted between the front seats. Ford dealer rates for gear knob is 8k and armrest is for 10k.

[STARCHILD]

Originally Posted by danny25

Congratulations on the twin purchase.

Excellent comparison of the two cars on every minute details. Very well organised and well taken pictures .

Did you jump between the two cars while you were taking the pictures or did you have a checklist ?

It would be interesting to note how the two cars fare and age as time passes .

All the best.

Thanks danny! I did jump between the cars a lot. Would you believe I had no checklist!!! Just started from the front of both cars focusing on what's good and bad in each then comparing that with the other. Not a very efficient or organised approach I must say.

Originally Posted by MAS

Excellent Comparison Starchild. Thank you very much for the detailed pictures. The Vento definitely has up market interiors. The Fiesta has very poor quality interiors and the exposed hinges on the rear seat is an eye soar.

From the comparison, in terms of driving pleasure, you seem to like the Fiesta better. Your comparison has given me a good in-sight into both the cars.

Thanks a lot MAS! Glad to know you found this useful.