[joey645]

Originally Posted by speed kills

Joey! If I were you, I wouldn't go in for this upgrade. The RCN 320 doesn't have the reverse sensor radar that you're current RCD 310 has.

I too feel the same about the Bluetooth, but from what I hear, VW are developing a Bluetooth add-on specifically for Indian Vento & Polo. I'm hoping against hope that this would become a reality in the next couple of months.

It doesn't? Dang, that would totally mess it up considering how useful that sensor is! If they are coming with an update that would be awesome! The only thing is.. if they are coming out with the update, then why ask me to buy from Germany instead of just telling me to wait for a few months. These dealers are nut jobs I tell ya!

Originally Posted by Tats07

Congrats on your car; blue is a fantastic colour!

I have a different question for you however. :-)

Which dealer in Bangalore offered this? Was it on the VMT model?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks Tats!

Whitefield Honda. I went to them in Dec 2012, and that was the deal they offered. If they have it in stock, you can try asking for the same deal. I'll see if I can find the details of the SA who made the offer and PM it to you if I do find it!

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by pc73

Again I have to agree. Low speed ride is not best though at highway speeds the car handles rough patches quite well. I recently reduced the tyre pressure to 32 psi (was using 34 psi as recommended by Michelin dealer) and there is a dramatic improvement in low speed city ride.

Yes 34Psi is unbearable. 32 is more like it.
Regarding Braking the Linea T-Jet was excellent. Well it had all disc with 16" alloys. Wish it was here.
The thing is you have to accept its foibles as 2 years since the launch there is not a single car in the segment that is anywhere close to Vento. If there was a wishlist for Vento I would put these in order.
1. All disc brakes.
2. 16" alloys
3. 6th Gear

Originally Posted by joey645

Dunno man, I still think the drive quality is pretty fantastic. And I tend to drive roughshod over most craters and am yet to hear the thuds that most vento owners complain about!

It is a new car buddy. Even if it does not thud, driving roughshod over most craters is not recommended.Give it a couple of years before you do that.
BTW if you want to drive fast over craters, try the Duster. It is something else.

[joey645]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

The thing is you have to accept its foibles as 2 years since the launch there is not a single car in the segment that is anywhere close to Vento.

Amen to that. Credit where credit is due I guess!

Originally Posted by oxyzen

If there was a wishlist for Vento I would put these in order.
1. All disc brakes.
2. 16" alloys
3. 6th Gear

Mine would be:
BT + the Passat's park assist system (it is a whole new level of awesome, that one!)
The jetta's engine
and yes, all disc brakes.

(it is called a wishlist, dude! so don't you dare laugh! )

Originally Posted by oxyzen

It is a new car buddy. Even if it does not thud, driving roughshod over most craters is not recommended.Give it a couple of years before you do that.
BTW if you want to drive fast over craters, try the Duster. It is something else.

It's not like I wanna drive roughshod over them lol.. i just can't be bother braking unless i absolutely have to hehe!

I'm not a Duster fan.. when I was TD'ing the Passat, I saw a duster that had flipped over on the service lane outside VW whitefield. Why? Couldn't handle the gravel road at a speed of 50-60. Didn't inspire any confidence, that sight!

OT: Imagine the plight of the poor customer who had to pay for the repairs on a vehicle that has been used more times by others than a public toilet!

[stringbh]

Originally Posted by joey645

I saw a duster that had flipped over on the service lane outside VW whitefield. Why? Couldn't handle the gravel road at a speed of 50-60. Didn't inspire any confidence, that sight!

Sure thing I hope potential Duster'owners don't read too much in to this, as that is where it is supposed to be very good right ?! The SA with me on my TD of Duster diverted my attention several times to that fact that it can handle any road that comes it way !

@oxygen: You could also add Skoda to that list. It is probably not easy to go the VW way for others. VW have targeted better build quality and got the main thing right. That is a perfect blend of ride, handling and confidence inspiring driving. One can live with lack of features.

[joey645]

Originally Posted by stringbh

Sure thing I hope potential Duster'owners don't read too much in to this, as that is where it is supposed to be very good right ?! The SA with me on my TD of Duster diverted my attention several times to that fact that it can handle any road that comes it way !
.

Well, potential duster owners shouldn't read too much into it anyway. IMO, you have to be almighty idiot to be driving at such speeds on a mud road which has gravel strewn all over it.

I think what happened there was that there is a sudden raised area which is a manhole cover with concrete on 4 sides. This patch just juts out onto the road by about 2-3feet, without warning. The guy probably ended up climbing the concrete, panicked and lost, causing it to flip over.

I guess that's the beauty of Bangalore roads: They're so bad that it doesn't matter what you're driving. It messes everybody up equally.

[joey645]

So, it’s been two months since I picked up the Berliner. During this time, I’ve not really gotten to putting any serious miles in as I’ve been travelling out of station most of the time on work. But here’s what I’ve gotta say after having completed my first 1000 km:

• The plushness of the drive hasn’t changed.
• The mule-like kick of the turbo is something I’ve now gotten used to.
• The handling, be it at high or low speed is absolutely superb. The car feels planted at all times and that is unbelievably comforting
• The brakes (like @Oxyzen and a few others mentioned) tend to be a hit or miss affair in the sense that there is no sweet spot to gauge how much pressure you gotta apply. The ABS tends to have a mind of its own at times.
• The engine clatter is driving me absolutely crazy. Early mornings and late nights tend to be the only time in Bangalore where driving can be fun. But the sound of that engine kills that rare sense of serenity. I keep wondering if VW has put an Ashok Leyland truck powerplant under that hood. And since I’m not a morning person to begin with, it just annoys me all the more.
• The gear ratios are superb except for first gear. The first gear is like riding a Bajaj scooter in first – you know you can do it, but it scares the bejesus out of you cause it just doesn’t feel right. It is so ridiculously short and jerky in first gear that I’m terrified that something's gonna blow up. Second through to fifth are just blissful. And once the turbo spools in second and third, its brilliant as it gives you breathing space in city traffic – no holding on to the clutch and no unnecessary acceleration or unnecessary downshifting. The acceleration is like a charging bull on steroids though!
• I find the gear recommender both useful and annoying. Useful cause for the most part it seems to get your gear needs spot on. Annoying cause I feel like someone is telling me how to drive my car. Which is not something I am too fond of. If I wanted to be told how to drive my car, I’d have just asked my wife or mother to sit in the back!

New things I love that I didn’t notice before:

• The up/down of the windows using the remote fob. With summer round the corner, I find myself thoroughly happy with this nifty little feature
• The fact that you can lock the car using the remote while keeping the rear door open, and how closing it after ensures the car stays locked. The best way I can explain this without sounding like a blubbering moron is: You’ve bought groceries. Loaded it in the back seat. Reach home. Hands are full of bags. Now you have to put the bags down to lock the car right? NOPE. With the Vento, you can keep the backdoor open, close all other doors, use the remote to lock the car. Then, put your remote in your pocket, remove the grocery bags, kick the door shut, and voila, the car stays locked.
• I absolutely love how light and effortless the steering is. Especially when parking in tight spots and making sharp, slow turns, it feels effortless. And then at the other end, when I’m cruising in high speed, it feels solid and just heavy enough. Perfect.
• A really useful feature is that the front passenger has directional cabin lights. This is really cool IMO cause it doesn’t annoy the person doing the driving – this was a regular irritant in all my previous cars.
• I really really love the fact that turning off/on the engine does not disconnect the music system until you pull the key completely out. This can be such an annoyance when you’re waiting at a signal, and switch off the engine, and switch it on again when it goes green - to find your music system doing the same. No such problems here.

Small niggles that I don’t like that went unnoticed earlier:

• I don’t like that the total kms driven is not available on the MID unless you calculate backward via kms to next service. (It annoys me that I have to do the math to calculate how much I’ve driven till date. Math is something I hate doin, so there is no love lost here) I don’t know if it’s just me… are there other Vento owners who’ve reset the individual trip meters, and can’t find the total km counts anywhere except at the next service countdown?
• I definitely miss the fact that the Vento doesn’t have a dead pedal. Considering that I’m gonna be doing a lot of highway miles in the next 12 months, this is going to be a grouse that might not go away and one I should not have overlooked to begin with. And since the pedal vibrations are quite high to begin with, the lack of a dead pedal just becomes all the more glaring.
• The brake pedal keeps acting feisty every now and then. I can feel it almost jamming for a few seconds before a little pump action sees it through. Not sure what is going on there!
• The famous thuds of the suspension have finally come to play. Initially I never felt any of it cause I drove it like I was walking barefoot on glass. But now that she’s got her first dings and fast approaching the end of her running in period, I find myself driving roughshod over bumps a lot more often, and man, that noise is alarming.
• Tyre noise is high. Nothing compared to the clatter of the engine of course. But high nevertheless. I’ve kept the stock Apollos, no add ons at all right now (I’m on thrift mode – my employers had wrongly calculated my TDS from my pay and have since corrected it by quadrupling my TDS deductions over the last three months, so no liquidity right now, sadly). Also, tyre pressure of 32psi works wonders in both ride quality and ensuring that it doesn’t feel like you’re trying to mount a mule in heat when going over speed breakers! Just for the sake of experimentation, I drove for a week at 34psi and a combination of 32 and 34 across the front and back respectively, and in both cases, the result was a choppy, bumpy ride.
• Fuel efficiency is well, meh within the city. I get 12km regularly. Perhaps cause I always keep the AC on. But on the one occasion I had to drive down to Hosur, she gave me a mouth watering 24km/l the entire way. That was awesome.
• The positioning of the wiper blades is annoying to say the least. I know there is a service position and use it on most days so the cleaner doesn’t scratch the blade against the metal. But there are days when I’ve forgotten to put it in service position (4 or 5 days max) and the fool of a cleaner has yanked it nevertheless and scratched the metal in doing so. It is infuriating that a company like VW could overlook something as basic as this! And as for my cleaner, I’ve told him not to pull it up on days when the blades are not in service position, but let’s face it, if I can forget to put it in position, why won’t he forget to let it be when not in position?
• The last observation for now – When I engage reverse gear, the music volume automatically gets lowered. But upon disengaging reverse, I find that at least 5 times out of 10, the music does not return to the original volume but rather stays at the lowered level

Here's a few pics to go with.

Gleaming for the most part!

Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave.

Mileage only so-so thus far. But the acceleration sure does make up for it!

Another view of the cockpit.

That annoying handbrake vs handrest problem is taking some getting used to!

Back seat travelers have had no complaints thus far!

A nifty little sunglass holder I picked up. Way more effective than keeping it in the dashboard.

Her first scratch. This is the only drawback with this majestic color - a scratch is all it takes to ruin her looks. Courtesy of Bangalore's notorious auto drivers. Sob. Any advice guys?

Apart from the MID fiasco that I’d reported on the official Vento thread, Ive had absolutely no problems with the vehicle thus far. I have absolutely no regrets with the decision to purchase this beauty. The honeymoon period may be over, but the marriage looks goooooooood!

[joslicx]

wonderful report. Its amazing most user reports here on TBHP are quite positive while if one were to look at VW India facebook page, it looks like nothing but your worst nightmare.

Originally Posted by joey645

I don’t like that the total kms driven is not available on the MID unless you calculate backward via kms to next service. (It annoys me that I have to do the math to calculate how much I’ve driven till date. Math is something I hate doin, so there is no love lost here) I don’t know if it’s just me… are there other Vento owners who’ve reset the individual trip meters, and can’t find the total km counts anywhere except at the next service countdown?

Total KM reading is there on the MID. You have to press the right buttons. Check the manual (unless it is changed in the 2013 car)

The last observation for now – When I engage reverse gear, the music volume automatically gets lowered. But upon disengaging reverse, I find that at least 5 times out of 10, the music does not return to the original volume but rather stays at the lowered level

Thats particular to your car then. It comes back to original level in a few seconds for me every single time.

[joey645]

Originally Posted by joslicx

wonderful report. Its amazing most user reports here on TBHP are quite positive while if one were to look at VW India facebook page, it looks like nothing but your worst nightmare.

Thank you Joslicx. The VW page - well, how many people do you know who will take the time to write on their page with appreciation. Complaints on the other hand are born out of necessity. Unfortunately I guess we'll never really know what's the real situation

Originally Posted by joslicx

Total KM reading is there on the MID. You have to press the right buttons. Check the manual (unless it is changed in the 2013 car)

Nope, it's just not showing up on mine. This MID niggle seems to be continuing! First it didn't show me the individual trip meters, but they fixed that, and now it's gone to the other end and refuses to show me the total reading

Originally Posted by joslicx

Thats particular to your car then. It comes back to original level in a few seconds for me every single time.

Will have it checked out for sure!

[joey645]

Initially, I was pretty apprehensive about buying the diesel vento. And that was proven right when after 2 months of ownership, I mournfully realized I’d clocked only about 1000 km.


But all of that changed overnight. Being in sales, I was always sure that at some point in time, the law of averages would catch up and I’d be sooner or later busting a gut driving up and down with client meetings.


Which is precisely what happened.


Add to that, a trip to Ooty, and here I am clocking my 5000km update. Pluses and minuses are well, mapped accordingly

Observations:

(-) Mileage has steadily dropped over the last few months. Even on the Bangalore-mysore highway, the best I could coax out of her was a disappointing 12.5km/l. City mileage is no better. On a good day she now gives me 11. On a bad day, well, don’t ask. Absolutely mortified by that.


(+) I have driven at least 40 times to Ooty till date in the last 3 years. In at least seven different cars that I can think of. None, and I will sign this statement in blood if I have to.. none of them, handled the hairpins quite as brilliantly as the Vento did.

(-) In equal measure, none of the cars, tanked as badly on fuel efficiency as the Vento did. From the moment we crossed masinagudi and until the time we reached our destination which was an 80km journey, she obstinately refused to give me anything other than a shockingly low 5.4 throughout. It was just my wife and I, with one dueffel bag thrown in – so it couldn’t have been the load. I, for the love of God, have no idea why it tanked so badly.

(+) Find me another car that can wrap itself around a hairpin bend in third gear without stalling and I will shave my left earlobe. :P

(-) The brakes got red hot pretty fast. So much so, that at the checkpoint at the entrance to Ooty, the cop manning the gate pulled me over to allow the discs/drums to cool off. 20 minutes later we were off again though. The fact that cops took the trouble to do something like this was heartwarming.. im used to policemen poking their faces in only when there is money to be made. This was just a whole new level of being helpful that I still find hard to believe!

(+) People who’ve been to Ooty will be familiar with the road I’m gonna describe – it’s after you’ve done all the hairpins on the way up. The road is a straight, ultra-steep stretch that has no less than 10 speedbreakers for those going downhill. On that road, I tend to find most cars struggling to go on anything other than 1st gear, not unless you managed to gain some serious throttle in the first 50 yards. Despite being behind an oaf in a truck, the vento chewed through that stretch in 2nd gear as comfortably as a diaper fits a baby’s bottom. The sheer relief of not having to drive in first gear on that stretch is something I cannot describe without sounding like a babbling idiot.

(-) The engine malfunction light started coming on intermittently before staying put with a disapproving glow. That issue is described here

(+) After lots of panicky moments, I’ve finally gotten used to the ABS. And now, I dunno how I ever did without it. Boy, can the vehicle come to an abrupt halt if you want it to!

(-) Cometh nightfall, and driving in anything other than high beam is hazardous to your suspension. The throw from the low beam is just pathetic and I have already gone into/over some pretty bad patches of road too fast for my liking. Probably will be upgrading the H/Ls in the next week or two.

(+) I finally got the chance to hit the throttle hard on the stretch from Mysore to Gundulpet. And man, the car is stable. Cornering was a breeze even at speeds in excess of 120. The gentle curving stretches of road on that sector were easily managed and the straights were being swallowed up at speeds of 160+. Unbelievably responsive and even more secure, the car felt as planted as a concrete pillar, and unless you looked at the dash, you don’t really realize how fast you are going indeed.

That’s it for now. Next update will be upon completion of the first service (*Shuddering at the thought of that bill*)

[nileshch]

@joey645, I've been through the same phase. There are certain things about the Blue TDI that you absolutely love and some that you absolutely hate. But there's always more love and less hate in this relationship. I am fanatical about the color and the torque rush.

Wondering why you got such a low mileage for the drive. Check my experience of the same route in my thread. Got 17+ kmpl for a fully loaded car. In a recent drive from Mumbai to Bangalore, I did door to door in a single tank of fuel. So if the mileage is dropping drastically for you something is wrong.

For the downhill drive at Masinagudi, I used less of the brakes and more of the gear based deceleration (constantly in 3rd gear). That helped keep the brakes cool and for some strange reason, as if they knew what i was doing, the policemen did not stop me.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by joey645

(-) Mileage has steadily dropped over the last few months. Even on the Bangalore-mysore highway, the best I could coax out of her was a disappointing 12.5km/l. City mileage is no better. On a good day she now gives me 11. On a bad day, well, don’t ask. Absolutely mortified by that.

Went through your ownership log today. Nice crisp report. Your cars fuel efficiency is a bit on the lower side I guess. The other ownership threads I guess report around 15kmpl. Guess this will be one of the points of discussion with the SA when you go for the service.

[joey645]

Originally Posted by nileshch

@joey645, I've been through the same phase. There are certain things about the Blue TDI that you absolutely love and some that you absolutely hate. But there's always more love and less hate in this relationship. I am fanatical about the color and the torque rush.

More love and less hate - I couldn't have summed it better if i'd tried!!!

Originally Posted by nileshch

Wondering why you got such a low mileage for the drive. Check my experience of the same route in my thread. Got 17+ kmpl for a fully loaded car. So if the mileage is dropping drastically for you something is wrong.

No idea either. When I gave it to Apple earlier this week, they claimed it was ok and on their testing, was giving 14km/l, after cleaning the air filter. After I got it back, it definitely has gone up to the region of 12-13 depending on whether the a/c is on or not. So, fingers crossed, it will continue giving some acceptable nos now!

Originally Posted by nileshch

For the downhill drive at Masinagudi, I used less of the brakes and more of the gear based deceleration (constantly in 3rd gear). That helped keep the brakes cool and for some strange reason, as if they knew what i was doing, the policemen did not stop me.

I'll try that the next time. When the cops stopped me, my wife went all "I toldja ur gonna get busted for rash driving blah blah'". When they said that they noticed the brakes smoking and that's why they'd stopped me, she was still fuming at me when they turned to her and said "maám, you should let you husband concentrate on his driving". It was hilarious and so worth it for the look on her face!

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Went through your ownership log today. Nice crisp report. Your cars fuel efficiency is a bit on the lower side I guess. The other ownership threads I guess report around 15kmpl. Guess this will be one of the points of discussion with the SA when you go for the service.

Arvind, thanks. It's picked up since the recent run in with the SC. Hopefully by the time of the next log, I should have something decent to report when it comes to the mileage.

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[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by joey645

When they said that they noticed the brakes smoking and that's why they'd stopped me, she was still fuming at me when they turned to her and said "maám, you should let you husband concentrate on his driving". It was hilarious and so worth it for the look on her face!

I guess you got stopped while entering Ooty that means after you climbed the ghats. Wondering how the breaks got hot during climb. Was it from front or rear wheels ?
Also regarding service center is Apple Auto the only service center in Whitefield area? I thought VW Palace road opened a service center in ITPL area, not sure though.

Regarding above post for your sake I hope your wife does not read your posts

[joey645]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

I guess you got stopped while entering Ooty that means after you climbed the ghats. Wondering how the breaks got hot during climb. Was it from front or rear wheels ?
Also regarding service center is Apple Auto the only service center in Whitefield area? I thought VW Palace road opened a service center in ITPL area, not sure though.

Regarding above post for your sake I hope your wife does not read your posts

Na got stopped on the way down. The front wheels it was. The drive from where I stayed to the check post was a good 40km of plantation trails and ghats in itself so thats probably why it overheated

As of now Apple is the only option. id heard about palace cross too but it seems to be a rumor and nothing else. besides, from what I understand, all the SC's are birds of the same feather when it comes to customer care.

As for my wife reading this...do you really think id have written it if such was the case? Signing my death warrant is something I avoid at all costs heh.

[pc73]

Originally Posted by joey645

(-) Mileage has steadily dropped over the last few months. Even on the Bangalore-mysore highway, the best I could coax out of her was a disappointing 12.5km/l. City mileage is no better. On a good day she now gives me 11. On a bad day, well, don’t ask. Absolutely mortified by that.

This is a bit of surprise. My Vento has run about 9.5K Kms and is about 8 months old. Initially I used to get about 22-24 Kmpl on highways and now it has dropped to about 18-20 Kmpl which is still good (the drop could be attributed to my careful driving during initial days). I have found that keeping the car at constant 80Kmph and not accelerating a lot gives 22-25 Kmpl but then Vento is a more capable car and difficult to keep it just at 80Kmph. In city I manage to get atleast 13-14 Kmpl in bad Bangalore traffic (think BTM layout, Silk Board, Sarjapur-ORR). So, I guess something is wrong here. Related to brakes smoking out and engine fault light going off you reported ?

My Vento engine opened up fully after running about 8K Kms. It is much smoother and seems to spin more freely and effortlessly.

I agree on the brakes though. I am still not comfortable with the way it feels but I know it is reliable.