[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

I use Jopasu duster to clean the engine bay followed by a quick wipe down with ONR as QD. At most you could even detail the engine bay by a plastic/rubber dressing.

I usually dont bother about engine bay and concentrate on keeping the rest of the car shiny and new but will use the technique as you mentioned - after all you are the official car detailer of team bhp

Drove the car for more than 80 kms today, all fit and fine, behaved normally. One thing i have noticed on cold starts is that the car behaves as if its out of 15-20 bhp, it even stalled once, something to do with the 1.6 TDi it seems.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Drove the car for more than 80 kms today, all fit and fine, behaved normally. One thing i have noticed on cold starts is that the car behaves as if its out of 15-20 bhp, it even stalled once, something to do with the 1.6 TDi it seems.

Thanks.

Good to know that the car is performing well after the engine wash. Early morning car does feel a bit lethargic, given weather is getting cold(Delhi would be even colder than Mumbai). Idle the car for atleast 3-5 mins before driving off and try keeping rev lower at 2500 rpm max. After about 10-15 kms, engine should be at its best.

With winter approaching you may hear more clatter given clod start & more lethargic engine. This would be first winter for your Vento isn't it?

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Idle the car for atleast 3-5 mins before driving off and try keeping rev lower at 2500 rpm max. After about 10-15 kms, engine should be at its best.

Read somewhere that its not advised to idle for more than a minute and the engine heats up better when the car starts moving but from now on, will atleast give it a idle time of 2 minutes and then start moving for the first start.

With winter approaching you may hear more clatter given clod start & more lethargic engine. This would be first winter for your Vento isn't it?

, yeah the clatter is increasing day by day. Yes it would be the first winter for my Vento, tomorrow it turns 4 months and 3600 kms old.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Read somewhere that its not advised to idle for more than a minute and the engine heats up better when the car starts moving

The manual says so.

Cheers!

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by volkman10

The manual says so.

What about turbo idling which is for at least 1 min? Wouldn't that too hurt the engine, since I idle for 1 min before turning off the engine just to give turbo enough time to cool down.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

What about turbo idling which is for at least 1 min? Wouldn't that too hurt the engine, since I idle for 1 min before turning off the engine just to give turbo enough time to cool down.

I stated that in context to idling when the engine is first started and not when switching it off.
What you do is a good habit and should go a long way in preserving the turbocharger, you should definitely idle the engine for a minute or more than a minute if you have just had a fun time with your Vento.

I read in VW blue motion that its advised to start moving as soon as you start your engine, no need to idle as it wastes fuel, just start moving but do idle before switching off.

[coolboy007]

5000 kms update

Its been exactly 4 months and 5 days since the VW entered our lives and its been a blissful 4 months, i had already done a short 400 kms stint on the highways and was mighty impressed with the car's capabilities but the real test awaited when the car had to visit Rajasthan's rural roads yesterday with broken roads, bad patches, mountain speed breakers and what not, end of the day, Vento came out on top and increased my respect many folds for the car.

We visited hanumanji's Salasar temple which is a round trip of 750 kms in a single day with 3 people on board, me, my friend and my father. Would jot out my observations in points as thats how i like it.

- The best part of this car inarguably is the 1.6 TDi engine, it has oodles of torque and reserve power everywhere. Even at 100-120, push the throttle and the car surges forward. No turbo lag and the fabulous in gear timings helped a lot on the single roads.
Its not the most refined engine and sounds like a Tata 407 on cold starts but once warmed up, its within acceptable levels. I can write an essay on this engine, the gear shift is perfect, wonderfully chosen ratios. 5th gear is like an automatic, 40 to top speed, keep going

Icing on the cake, the car returned a staggering 20.2 km/l on tankful on this 750 kms trip, mix of highways, average and poor roads. C segment sedan with fuel efficiency of hatchbacks.

- Ground clearance comes a close second. I was being careful around craters and mountain speed breakers but my father wasnt. He is used to driving a Scorpio and hardly slows down in places where i go crawling but the car impressed me. Not even 1 underbody hit, with the Linea am always prepared for that heart wrenching metal scraping sound but even the mudflaps didnt scrape. This car can really go places without the worry of underbody scraping.

Bridgestone MY01's are brilliant tyres, minimal noise, superb grip and no worry of sidewall cuts or damage. They took a lot of beating and once we were back home, i did check for any sidewall damage or bulges but none.

- The rear seat is extremely comfortable. I got a chance to travel at the back for the first time and i must say am impressed. Had put on the seat belt and went to sleep over not so perfect roads. I was a bit wary as the rear seat's back support is a bit upright but there is a lot of legroom contrary to Linea where despite it being almost 200 mm longer, Fiat have messed up the space inside.

- The slightly softer suspension is very comfortable for passengers over bad patches, infact a little practicality doesnt hurt. We dont drive like schumacher every day but the way the potholes are coming up, when i get old, i will have to go for Hyundai cars.

My Linea eats both VW group cars when it comes to ride quality or handling but both Vento and Rapid come a close second after Linea. Bad patches are dismissed without unsettling the car, the only sore point is that the rear suspension makes a loud THUD when it flies over a undulation and it gets a little frustrating after a while.

What i found was that the car has a phenomenal straight line grip but i get a little uncomfortable around corners as the electric steering doesnt provide any feedback. No clue as to how much grip is left, maybe thats because i am used to driving a Linea for so long but i really miss a pure hydraulic unit in Vento, that should make the car complete.

- As for damages, have managed to save the car from bikers so far but dad misjudged a big gate and scraped the front bumper , took the paint off bumper and small black dots, put a team bhp sticker on the damage as the sticker was long overdue.

No more paint chip offs after that, the paint quality and shine is superb. Used Meguiars ultimate compound, Meguiars hi tec yellow wax and Collinite and the shine wax outstanding, i could see everything in the reflections.

This car is really light on pocket, easy to drive and those who ask me and keep cribbing about VW service etc, i know am driving a ticking bomb which can explode anytime but the driving fun provided by Germans/Europeans can never be matched by its Japanese counterparts, the build quality is superb, interiors top notch and blah blah.

You can either have driving fun and buy a driver's car or have something where you compromise on driving but have peace of mind, i will always choose a driver's car because i prefer sitting up front on the steering wheel rather than the back seat.

The sole pic clicked enroute -

[coolboy007]

10,000 kms update

Apologies for not updating the thread as such but owning the german beauty has been a very simple affair, the car has been running as it was on day 1 with no niggles, no rattles or anything that i should be concerned about (touchwood). In the meanwhile, she has done a lot of highway trips, one to Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Amritsar and now finally Himachal and now am in a position to properly comment about the car - negatives, positives, whats so great and what is not. Its done 9400 kms in 8 months and should complete 10,000 by next week.

I will list out things point wise so its simple for every one .

What i love about this car

1. The first point would inevitably be the brilliant 1.6 TDi engine inside the hood. I sometimes feel that VW made a mistake in calculating the bhp/torque figures. The car feels much more powerful on the road compared to its modest specs on paper. Whatever the chaps at VW did, they have tuned the engine brilliantly. In the recent himachal trip, even with 5 people on board with luggage, the car pulled and pulled like it was on steeroids. This engine is one of the best parts of Vento.


2. Ground clearance comes a close second and its yet another positive. With the tyre upsize to 195/60, the GC now stands at 174 mm and with a not so large wheelbase, i have only scraped the underbelly once on a mountain speed breaker, that too because i was careless. With 5 people, boot full of luggage, the car never scraped its bottom even once, i will show you the kind of terrain the car did, it would have ripped the underbody off my Linea.

3. Ride and handling - though the ride and handling is not upto Linea standards (its in a league of its own), i find the handling decent enough, much better than most C segment sedans barring Linea or Fiesta. Had a lot of fun on the twisties with the monstrous 250 NM of torque. Ride is quite absorbent, gets a little twitchy on undulations and the car does catch some air - Rapid fares better in this regard.

4. Build quality is what i love and i feel i would never be able to buy a Japanese car now, the thud from the doors, how the interiors are screwed together is all excellent. The kind of terrain i took Vento to last week would have atleast brought out a rattle or squeak in others cars but not in this - love the german build.

I love the interiors as well, no cheap plastics or ugly panel gaps. Everything from the seat covers to leather stitching on steering exudes quality. It feels a premium cabin, subtle touches lend it a much more premium feel than the sibling Rapid.

5. A special mention to the Bridgestone MY01 tyres, rugged and complete peace of mind. Roads in himachal at present are extremely bad and there were stretches where any tyre with soft compound would have sheared off its sidewall but the tyres held up pretty well, ride is a bit harsh with Bridgestones but then the sidewall is pretty strong, dry and wet grip is excellent and road noise is within acceptable limits.

6. Tops in all in gear acceleration figures but still returns a staggering 17-18 in city and 20+ on highways. Its so light on pocket than i find excuses to take it out for highway drives, the fuel efficiency is phenomenal considering that it neither weight 900-1000 kgs and nor is the car underpowered with a puny 1.3 or 1.4 engine.

Things i neither like nor dislike

1. The first contender should be the brakes. Brakes are fine but the pedal modulation is strange, its impossible to modulate the brake pedal to induce the amount of braking you want. The first 10-20% travel doesnt do anything and then it starts braking, could have done with better brakes. Linea is much better here and Verna being the worst, i still cant believe that car runs on 4 discs, just wouldnt stop.

2. Looks - pretty neutral on how the car looks. The kid in me wants something like the new Verna but then i feel it has too many lines and curves but then sometimes the Vento looks a bit boring. Classic german styling at work eh

3. Engine jerks during gear shifts - i mean to say that the car jerks quite a lot during gear changes. 1st gear is too short and too bouncy, i need to plan on how to release the clutch to make sure it doesnt jerk much. VW needs to do something to get rid of this irritant.

4. Electronic power steering - yes it is easy when you potter around city and 90% junta wants a light power steering but i dont like the artificial feel attached to it. 4 years with Linea's HPS and driving Vento, steering feels a bit vague especially in hills. No clue about the feedback or what the front is upto.

What i hate

1. The thuds from rear suspension and the front suspension crashing in potholes. The rear thuds do get irritating after a while and it gets on my nerves, even on a small undulation, the rear makes a loud thud sound.

For the front, the moment the car hits a big pothole, the front suspension just crashes with a loud sound and its heart wrenching. The suspension is very vocal about its activities and crashes very easily. Single big irritant with the car.

2. The squeaking doors - a small issue with the beadings cause it to make a continuos squeaking sound and its quite apparent on a silent night. Thanks to the the clatter that the engine makes, its some what subdued.

3. NVH - VW needs to work a lot in this department. When i am paying 11 lakhs for a premium sedan, i dont expect vibrations around the footwell area, am okay with a little higher noise from the engine but i hate cars with vibrations.

4. Seats - extremely bad. Either the seats are too firm or lack in lumbar support. I get pain in my back after sitting for 3-4 hours in the front seat. During the recent himachal trip which took 12 hours to complete, i was at my wits end and really wanted to push in some foam padding to aid the back.

5. I also hate the extremely low front bumper, it has already got chipped off in a few places. The ground clearance is otherwise quite good but the front bumper makes things quite nervous. I fear that it will hit its bottom while coming down multi level car parks, wish it was at the level where the running boards are.

So folks thats it for now, moving to the states for 2 months and only dad will be driving it a little every week. Uploading some pictures from the recent trip.

Vento resting on NH1 - Banur road


Plain jane simple looks, grows on you as rightly said


Lush green scenery in Punjab


She finally tastes some hilly terrain




Against the backdrop of Himachal hills


Beautiful blue sky - can never be seen from Delhi




The narrow village roads, only 1 car can pass at a time in most places

[coolboy007]

A few photos of Vento relaxing in the sun near our ancestral home







These are the kind of roads which the car had to bear, it passed the indian roads test easily


A screenshot of my cars app - see the last 3 months average, its above 18 , not yet included the current trip refill

[coolboy007]

1 year - 12,000 kms update

So its been over a year and my Vento has completed 12,000 kms and 1 year of hassle free ownership. There has been nothing to report, the car is behaving as it should, no niggles, no squeaks or rattles and it just had gone to the service centre to get its first service done.

The service experience at World Class, Moti Nagar was good. The spare part prices have come down and the service costed a mere Rs 8800 which included a labour of around 1500 which is great for a car which goes for service once a year. The car entered the service centre at 10:30 AM and the car was ready by 2 PM, i had said no to stupid things like UV protection, brake pad cleaning, ac disinfectants etc, prefer to do things like these myself and the SA didnt force such things on me. They did manage to put a nick on the rear bumper for which i blasted the advisor but couldnt do much so left it as it is.

Would summarise what i love and what i dont love about this car :

Love list :

1. Every time i drive this car, it really puts a smile on my face. On paper the car looks okayish with 105 ps and 250NM of torque but the way its delivered is awesome, infact have a look at the in gear timings and its clear how quick the car is. Zilch turbo lag, push the throttle and enjoy the surge.

I wont be going in for any remap for this car, its more than fast for what i can handle, the chasis can take it but am not comfortable with the brakes to get a remap done.

2. Fuel efficiency is a stunner as well, easily delivers 15-16 km/l in city with ACC set on 23 and on the highways it jumps to 20+ always. Sedate driving should give 21-23 but its not possible to drive this car at 80.

3. Ride and handling are a good balance, it handles really well. It definitely is a notch or two lower than Linea and some times after sitting in Rapid i tend to feel that Vento is a tad on the softer side, only a little bit though i will test this out very soon. In the Rapid running on Michelins, i can feel every undulation or bump whereas in Vento running on Bridgestones at the same speed its far more comfortable.

Flip side is that over undulations, Vento jumps up a bit more than Rapid. I personally prefer Vento's setup as some times i find Rapid's set up a tad too stiff.

4. This car is built to last. No rattles or squeaks and its been a hassle free ownership, this car was meant to go to the service centre once a year and it obliges, no unnecessary trips to the VW A.S.S.

5. ACC is a real boon i tell you, the ac is quite a chiller against my expectations and setting the temperature to 22-23 really helps, if there was no ACC, i would have kept playing with the thermostat or ac on/off button

6. Bridgestone MY01 are really doing well, no tension of potholes etc and these are going great, no punctures so far, doing their duty as required.

Hate list :

1. The NVH - No matter how much VW improved the NVH, it still is miles behind competition. The engine noise is same as Rapid which i want to reiterate, i get to sit in that car almost every alternate day and there is hardly any difference in engine noise. Had a drive in diesel Ecosport (booked one as well) and there is a day/night difference in engine noise in both cars.

TDi is quite a clattery engine and the noise levels do get irritating on a dark calm highway night until one cranks the audio volume up.
Vibrations are well controlled but the noise is definitely on the higher side.

2. Brakes - I wont say i hate them but am neutral on these brakes. They are good but not as good to complement this car's power and performance on road. The brake pedal lacks any feel or modulation, the first 20% pedal doesnt induce any braking. The only reason i wont go for a remap is because of these stock brakes, am not happy with them.

3. The rear suspension tends to "thud" while going fast over potholes or undulations, have got used to it but nonetheless its irritating.

4. Wish the service centers were a little bigger, i had it in my mind that seeing the rush there, they wont return the car without a scratch and they did what i feared. I had managed to keep my rear and front bumpers scratchless all this while but they nicked the rear bumper taking away the paint.

5. Still wish this car came with a pure hydraulic steering, the kind of power and handling it has, this definitely didnt deserve a EPS. The steering is fine and direct but back to back drives in Linea and Vento - i just wish the car had a HPS.

Thats all folks, am happy with the car and would update again next month when am going for a trip to the twisties.

Also got HID kit fitted on the car, the 90/100 relay is out and Kensun 6000K H4 HID is in place, i had got this HID from usa last month.

Some pics of the HID, slight yellow tinge is due to the 4000k fogs which i changed during the 90/100 installation.

Low beam


High beam


Low beam


High beam




1st service bill

[DieselDon]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

A screenshot of my cars app - see the last 3 months average, its above 18 , not yet included the current trip refill

& I was assuming that my car was giving me good mileage. Good show !
Total Average as in Total Distance Covered / Total Fuel is 16+ kmpl only. Your's is +2.
Highest was 21.04. Only on one occasion. Rarest of Rare when I had to limit myself to <100 due to road & family.

Originally Posted by coolboy007

1st service bill

I am seeing smiles all around (including on my face). Good Decision, 'this' VW !

Cheers !

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by DieselDon

Highest was 21.04. Only on one occasion. Rarest of Rare when I had to limit myself to <100 due to road & family.

Oh yes, these german diesels are so fuel efficient. I can easily achieve 20+ on highways with good speed bursts and a consistent 100+.

I am seeing smiles all around (including on my face). Good Decision, 'this' VW !
Cheers !

Indeed , infact i was prepared to shell out 11-12k as even our Linea costs 8-9k per service, this being a VW the service cost is fine.

[shashank.nk]

Are those HID's in projectors or used with the stock reflector itself ? Looks very impressive. How much did the entire kit cost and what was included in it ?

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Are those HID's in projectors or used with the stock reflector itself ? Looks very impressive. How much did the entire kit cost and what was included in it ?

Shashank, these HID's were fitted in stock reflectors and yes the throw + intensity is really good. This Kensun HID kit consisted of 2 bulbs H4 6000K, 2 digital slim ballasts and the necessary relay, wiring etc. Also got 2 extra bulbs just in case they blow off after a while, everything costed 100$ which at my purchase time amounted to just 5400

Can see the new Ecosport avatar, congrats in advance, even am eagerly waiting for mine.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Shashank, these HID's were fitted in stock reflectors and yes the throw + intensity is really good. This Kensun HID kit consisted of 2 bulbs H4 6000K, 2 digital slim ballasts and the necessary relay, wiring etc. Also got 2 extra bulbs just in case they blow off after a while, everything costed 100$ which at my purchase time amounted to just 5400

Thanks for the details. I was looking up TRS for bi-xenon projectors which were costing approx $315, this is one-third the cost and the output looks good. Will wait till the dollar reaches sane levels and order. Did you have to pay any customs ?

Can see the new Ecosport avatar, congrats in advance, even am eagerly waiting for mine.

Ah yes, it was the Ecosport finally! Drove a lot of other hatchbacks but somehow my old Polo always felt better except the engine and unreliability issues. So its goodbye to VW and hello Ford
Congrats on your booking too!