[atlantis0965]

Hello!

This ownership report is about the VOLKSWAGEN VENTO TSi .

I will start off with the likes and dislikes for those who just want to have a quick look. I have of course written only MY own personal likes and dislikes and opinion about this car.

Also if some of you want to kill some more time you can please read on after that about the ravings I have managed to pen down. I am not putting up any photos since there are many available already and I have not made changes to the stock car.

LIKES

•Quality of the ride
•Excellent engine and gear box performance.
•Simple elegant design that can be modified to either look sporty or classy with minor/major additions.
•Comfortable, good quality and good looking interiors.
•Boot space.

DISLIKES:

•Lower gimmicks and gadgets compared to the peers and for the kind of money one is paying for it.
•No spare alloy!
•The space along the beading in the door mirrors which really is a dirt magnet and causes streaks/scratches if not cleaned everyday.
•Been to the service center for minor niggles more times than I would have liked.


PROLOGUE

This is my second car and my first ownership report. I got my driving license way back in 2002 and have travelled extensively numerous times in family cars ranging from the premier pad mini; maruti 800; maruti Zen; Mahindra armada jeep; maruti gypsy. I just like travelling and more so when the mode is private.

The year 2009 was when I bought MY first car; a Hyundai i10 automatic with the kappa engine. An odd choice according to all my near and dear family members & friends. 3 of my friends have bought automatics after that though and are liking it.

DECISION PROCESS :

After driving around in the i10 for close to 4 years and clocking close to 40k km (not much since I stay on land only half the year and also I don’t have an office to go to every day) I wanted a car, which was more comfortable & definitely more solid and a little bit more fun to drive yet still have an "automatic" transmission.

I never want to go back to the grind of using the clutch pedal anymore unless it's an emergency and have to drive the car of someone else. I checked out the ford fiesta when it was launched with the Dual clutch transmission; somehow it got vetoed by the family and I had to postpone my plans.

April 2013:

I had just come back home from a sail and heard about the polo tsi/dsg combo; I did all the enquiries/visits but again the plan got vetoed.

July 2013:

I went off on another sail and this time after coming back I was planning to stay on a bit longer. So I started my round of enquiries from my ship itself since I wanted to get another car as soon as possible when I got off. The Hyundai Verna might have been an obvious choice but I did want to go into the Hyundai brand again for various own reasons.

So the choices left were:

-Volkswagen Vento TSi
-Skoda Rapid 1.6 automatic petrol
-Nissan sunny CVT
-Honda CITY automatic.
-Volkswagen Polo GT TSi.
-All new Ford Fiesta DCT

I contacted a few dealers through email from the ship itself . I was very clear on my choice of colour ; black ! I got an immediate response from VW mount road.(That was probably a sign of things to come! ). They said they could definitely deliver a Pepper Gray colour in January 2014. I was hung up on Black and conveyed the same to them.

Ford did not even bother to get in touch.

My wife & mom meanwhile did a round of the showrooms of Nissan and Honda & Skoda after receiving calls from representatives. I was not too keen on the Nissan anyway and thankfully they too were not very happy with the interiors quality. Of course my mom liked the back seat space very much (she always raves about the space in my brother in law’s Tata manza) but she too did not like the overall package.

Honda did not have anything to show since they had yet to receive any new cars.

They liked the Skoda Rapid and of course the offers available too were pretty good ; In fact we were even tempted a bit by the Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSi; but dropped it pretty soon since we felt the price pretty steep and also for the simple fact that I really did not need that big a car now.

Meanwhile I kept getting proper response to all my emails from the VW showroom and i was pretty happy with the way things were panning out. The Volkswagen showroom was the one, which was farthest from my place. We made a call asking for a demo car.

They did not have a TSi/DSG combo car; they did send a high line model in pepper grey colour to my place.
Both my wife and mother liked the car very much…. While I was pretty happy I did have a slight concern regarding the DSG issues. (All the research online did point out to issues only prior 2011; and when it was coupled to engines with higher torque output.)

We made the decision and put in the booking amount of 75k for a shadow blue colour since i was told black would not be available very early and the family too thought it was a very nice colour. This was sometime in mid-December. I was told delivery will be by January end or early February.

DELIVERY PROCESS:

January 2014

My return back home was getting nearer and I sent an email to the dealer asking them for any updates and I get a reply saying they’ll confirm after the 7th of January. 8th January I get an email asking if I still wanted a black colour that can be delivered by mid January.

I said YES immediately and asked for the VIN number ; which too was sent promptly. They also asked me to email them that i was willing to change my choice of colour. I checked the VIN number using TBHP's help and it was confirmed to be a 2014 make. I immediately emailed them my willingness to change the colour and the car was allotted to me !

I got back home on the 11th of January and the one of the first calls I made was to the SA at VW mount road. They said the car was in transit from Pune and I can get it registered/delivered latest by 18th January.

Next I called up the loan at HDFC bank since I already had a pre-approved loan. 13th January I completed the loan application formalities and also paid the remaining amount to the dealer. Since there were a lot of holidays that week I was told by the bank there might be delays. I told them I was planning to take delivery latest by 21st january and was told that it was possible.

16th January I get an sms from the bank stating that my application has been approved. I was pleasantly surprised and called up my loan agent. He says he’s yet to receive any details and will call me back.

17th January and still no calls from the agent; I call him up again and he says yes he just got the email and he’ll come and get the remaining papers signed the next day.

I told him I wanted it done ASAP and went over to the bank and signed all the papers and asked them to release payment the same day or at least the next day so that I can get the vehicle registered and delivered by the 21st.

It was then that the HDFC guys played spoilsport and for reasons still unknown to me delayed the payment till the 22nd. That too it was after numerous calls to the manager and the agent and also a bit of cajoling from the dealer end.

In the meantime they also tried to sell me the HDFC ERGO car insurance for the car saying it could speed up the payment release. Finally after a number of phone calls they released payment on the 22nd afternoon.

The SA in VW mount road really helped out by getting all the other formalities completed. Meanwhile at home they said they wanted the registration done either on the 23rd or only after the 27th .

We also had to go on this trip down south (a 750 km round-trip) to a temple. So 22nd evening we pack all our bags in our faithful old i10 visit the showroom in mount road.

I did a PDI trying to follow as much as possible the TBHP checklist ; was pretty satisfied with things . So signed/submitted all the papers required to complete the registration process and started off on the drive .

23rd I get updates after the registration and also the registration number which was quite catchy considering the fact that I had paid nothing for it. We returned back home on the 23rd night

Finally on the 24th I was able to take delivery . I went a bit early and the people there did all the explanations they could. On the explanations front : I just wonder how and why people with so feeble ideas and enthusiasm are given the responsibility of doing it !

They did a small puja and of course had a small photo session and gave an extra box of chocolates for my toddler. I did not want the ribbons and decorations and asked them to take them off which they did after giving me strange looks. I was pretty happy overall and finally at around 1645 started my first drive in the car.

MONEY MATTER

Final OTR was 1241000 including registration; taxes and insurance from Bajaj Allianz. The insurance policy was a policy called “drive assure elite” that they were offering through the dealership and not even online. I did realise that the premium amount of about 56k was definitely on the higher side.

Considering the prices i guess it'll be safe to say that the prices of the gifts i wanted to give the people involved in the showroom too was included in the prices they quoted to me; result: )

I did not want to add too many accessories and I got the standard set of floor mats; mud flaps and a car cover from the dealer. Again I am sure these were already added to the costs.

No discounts were offered for the TSI model; that is really like an insult to the buyers since the offers on the other models are so blatant and considering the premium they charge for this model I am sure they can definitely add a few more goodies. I did ask the dealer regarding the step motherly treatment to the TSi buyers and all that he said was that while it definitely was not a high selling model there were a small but steady group of buyers for the model and so it was able to sell anyway.

I am not one who bargains anywhere (this is a constant complaint against me from my better half too...) so I just left it at it . I also knew about the treasure trove of after market additions available for these cars and thought those were better any day .

Went to my usual petrol pump for topping up the tank and was surprised when the owner there himself directed me to a new pump they had installed and started operations earlier that day. He too owned a Vento TDI highline. Exchanged some niceties with him and finally when I reached home the odo was reading an exact 100km.!! Of course we had a small puja again in our nearby Ganesh temple.

THE GOOD BAD & UGLY :

BUILD QUALITY:

Overall build quality and the fit and finish is very good . Of course when looking closer or in many nooks and corners one can see some loose insulation material especially inside the trunk and above the driver side and passenger side foot rests.

STYLING & DESIGN:

Coming to the exterior styling and design; many people have commented positively and negatively about the understated styling and frankly that is one of my favourite parts. I like the front head on looks the best especially with the black shade headlamps. I like the neat integration of the rear parking sensors in the rear bumper. My wife would have liked to have had a rear view camera ; again I am not complaining too much in that aspect .

I would have sure loved better looking tail lights but then i hardly get to see it myself ; so i am okay with that !
I was searching for that notorious dangling wire beneath the car and was surprised to see it neatly fitted with a clamp .

It is from the side view that one really can’t differentiate between the rapid and Vento and it has now become one of my favourite guess games on the road during drives .

AIR-CONDITIONING:

The air conditioner is pretty good, I was running it on auto till even early march and the blower speed never went beyond 2 notches;but then this is Chennai ! Now that the summer has started off here I am finding my self keeping the A/C in manual mode for most of the times especially when the rear seats are also occupied.The wife simply loves the vents for the rear seats and that surely also help in the cooling for the rear seat passengers.

I am desperately trying very hard though to resist the urge to put on sun films which I find is still being offered and used almost everywhere.

INTERIORS:

Overall the interiors are very good;and that was the major plus point for this car getting chosen by the family.
It would have been better had they had the coin holder on top of the dashboard instead of inside the glove box.
I am also planning to add some sort of lining to the door pockets to avoid the rattles caused by the numerous knick knacks and small toys and what not that is going into them !

I would have liked to have had some storage space in the rear armrest too; will see if I can find some replacement for the current one.

The front armrest is definitely hindering the use of the handbrake; in fact I don’t use the armrest at all in with in the city since I use the handbrake a lot inside the city.

DRIVING & HANDLING:

I find the driving experience very different from that of my i10 (keeping in mind that both have 1.2l engines). In fact sometimes when I drive the two cars back to back I get surprised every single time as to how good the vento really is. There is simply just no strain on the engine or on the driver of the vento as compared to the i10 during all kinds/periods of driving. Mind you this engine is puny only in size and not in performance.

One point I wanted to discuss was when stopping at signals I put the gearbox in neutral and engage the handbrake. So when i want to move again i release the handbrake with my foot on the brake pedal and then put the drive in "D" and move on. Is this practice good/bad ? I've been following it on my i10 all these years and I have not had any issues. Of course the DSG is an altogether different thing. So Experts please advice.


I do find the odd surge during deceleration at times inside the city and am learning to anticipate it ; but it still does catch me unawares at times. I can barely make out the upshifts though and sometimes I am just surprised to see the gear indicator showing d5 or d6 on open roads inside the city. On the highways I cannot imagine that I am driving a car with the same cubic capacity as my i10.( Sorry if i am harping a bit too much on this.)

I have never pushed my i10 beyond 110 km/h or 120 km/h even on butter smooth empty highways ; but with this one I am definitely feeling confident enough to take it higher.

The braking feel is definitely miles ahead of the i10 and it is one of the main confidence inspiring aspects which encourages me to go that little bit faster.

To sum it up I would say the car is definitely a good all rounder for both the daily city drives as well as those long highway drives.

Now I am not a person who drives daily to office/work in the city or in highways. Most of the time I drive purely for leisure and for the sake of driving . So heavy daily users please do so at your own discretion or better still ask some other owner if you are planning to get one for yourself.

I have been following only the MID figures and i would say the averages would be about 13km/l during the city drives and 16km/l for the highway runs. Also since i am having this real time mileage and average journey mileage consumption figures for the first time in a car I have driven I was able to notice that the real time mileage shows excellent figures when speeds are maintained in the 80-100km/hr range.

NIGGLES !!

I thought I wouldn't have to use this small sub topic in the ownership report but sadly i was mistaken.

One niggle/problem I faced just a day after I took the car was this odd noise from the headlight levelling motor on the left side. Reported it immediately to the VW SA.

It was a Saturday they asked me to wait till Monday stating that it is not a major issue and will be looked into as soon as possible and that the car can be driven till then. I was not very happy with it though because how can you postpone/say such things even without having a look at the problem a customer is stating.Of course it was not an emergency for me because i was anyway not going to use the car much for the next few days .

Monday afternoon; two guys in a CHEVROLET TAVERA turn up at my house.
I switch on the ignition and then the headlights to be met with only the engine noise. I was stumped because I had clearly heard it and so had one of my cousins and told the same to the guy.

He started off with this condescending tone saying "it’s all right sir "... " it happens "... and all that...I was just standing there with this awkward look on my face. I gave them a cup of tea each and before they left I wanted to try it one more time ; and there it came on again !

Now it was the turn of that guy to look sheepish! He started fiddling around the area trying to look for some loose connection or something ; I clearly showed him how it was coming on at only level "0" and no in the other levels. He then made some calls and I was asked to talk to some senior technician who told me that it was indeed the headlight levelling motor and also that they’ll order the part and will replace it ASAP.

They got it ready in 3-4 days but I was out of town and after a week went to the Service Centre in mount road. The Service Centre in mount road is in a place where the traffic is a nightmare and also the pavement right in front of the workshop is all broken up and I was definitely very apprehensive about parking it there before they took it inside .

Initially they were not even ready to make a job sheet ; it was surprising and also very disconcerting; also they said it might take about 2-3 hours to complete the job. I told them politely and firmly to make a job card and do the job and so they did.

I signed the service sheet stating that the part was replaced but not shown or given to owner since they said it was under warranty. I did ask them if they cared enough to check the other headlight motor too and just drew a blank stare from them.Also they were not really sure as to what the exact cause of the problem. I realised there was no point in pushing them further and left it at that.

All said and done I just hope this experience was not going to be something which is going to be the norm because while they were definitely able to procure the part quick enough ; it was the lack of things such as sending someone over to look into the problem and not having a clear ;precise & transparent procedure to deal with the service issue which irked me.

I feel that is the norm almost everywhere in the service industry now . I am not saying it lightly because i have observed this attitude amongst service technicians everywhere ; from telephones to two wheelers to home appliances.

It has been an absolute pleasure to drive and also be driven according my family .

CHANGES DONE SO FAR:

Seat covers of make "Auto Form ; model: “U -Cheer “ in the colour combo of Cola and Beige has been added. It was done at Jewajee car decors Anna Nagar; Chennai. I have put up a few photos in the corresponding forum.

I have changed the headlight bulbs to Osram NB unlimited ; thanks to TBHP member GANNU who gave the heads up about its availability from this website called e-pitstop.

I have also put in the 3M nomad mats in the Cola colour again and that's about that so far.

I have been preparing this report for quite sometime now so please excuse me if there are any glaring repetitions or contents with no continuity.

For those who have patiently read everything so far and still want to see some photos or know anything further or want to tell me something please let me know .

Finally ; thanks to those of you who have gotten so far .

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[rahulsharma2008]

A picture is worth a thousand words !!! Please post some pics to do justice to this ownership report.

[Mahesh Prasad]

Congrats mate on your new buy. A nice and crisp review covering all the points.

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

A picture is worth a thousand words !!! Please post some pics to do justice to this ownership report.

, Definitely a few pictures would spice up the review and a lot us would like to have a look at this beauty.

Wishing you happy mile crunching and keep revvin!!

[arjuunz]

Originally Posted by atlantis0965

One point I wanted to discuss was when stopping at signals I put the gearbox in neutral and engage the handbrake. So when i want to move again i release the handbrake with my foot on the brake pedal and then put the drive in "D" and move on. Is this practice good/bad ? I've been following it on my i10 all these years and I have not had any issues. Of course the DSG is an altogether different thing. So Experts please advice.

Nice write-up! Congrats on the new ride. Waiting for the pictures!

Regarding the automatic transmission in general :

Put the automatic transmission into ‘Neutral’ when you’re stationary.

When stopped at traffic lights, if your vehicle has an automatic transmission, putting it into ‘Neutral’ will take the pressure off it until the traffic lights turn green, when you can put it back into ‘Drive’. When the automatic transmission is in ‘Drive’, it’s still driving the wheels even if you have your foot on the brake to keep the vehicle stationary at traffic lights, for example. If you were to take your foot off the brake, the vehicle would drive forward under power without you even pushing the accelerator since the engine is running at idle speed and is therefore driving the automatic transmission.

Considering how much time the vehicle spends at traffic lights at a standstill, it’s best for the automatic transmission to be in ‘Neutral’ while stationary. Automatic transmissions are highly complicated, sensitive pieces of machinery. Relieving the tension in it by putting it into ‘Neutral’ when you’re stationary and waiting around will go a long way to keeping it in the best possible condition and avoiding unnecessary wear and tear.
(Content Courtesy)

[Rajeevraj]

Congratulations once again and wish you all the best. Good to see another vento tsi ownership report.

[crazyro]

Congratulations atlantis0965. Hope you are enjoying the car as much as we are.
Me just completed 1000 kms and loving it. Only concern is the mileage which is hovering around 10 with 100% city driving. Hope it improves after the run in period.

[atlantis0965]

Hi
Thanks for all the wishes !

I am uploading a few fotos I managed to take .

This was during the delivery . I wanted to keep only the garland.


This is my favourite viewing angle of the car



I've changed the seat covers and they look like this now




It also kind of gels well with the child seat we already had!

New headlight bulbs Osram NB unlimited.



Will try and keep posting more .

[atlantis0965]

hi
I’ve lost a wheel hub cap with the VW symbol . Guess it has been flicked by someone when it was parked.

Also one of the mud flaps has been damaged as though with a blade.

Replacement for both being charged at 450 and 1600 respectively by VW authorised service centre.

Was checking online and saw similar mud flaps selling at 550 in ebay ; are they worth it ?

[dr.kushagra]

Hey, congratulations for the fantastic purchase. Wish you thousands of happy miles.

As for the mud flaps, try to get soft ones. AFAIK stock VW are hard ones and they are notorious for being scraped on speed breakers and bad roads.

See if you can find any soft mud flaps.

All the best.

[thebfg]

Originally Posted by atlantis0965

hi
I’ve lost a wheel hub cap with the VW symbol . Guess it has been flicked by someone when it was parked.

Also one of the mud flaps has been damaged as though with a blade.

Replacement for both being charged at 450 and 1600 respectively by VW authorised service centre.

Was checking online and saw similar mud flaps selling at 550 in ebay ; are they worth it ?

No. Definitely not. It might cost a little more (a lot more actually), but it is worth it. What you are getting on eBay is a Chinese product and will break pretty early. I recommend you to go with the VW ones. My brother in law had ordered the same thing online and it broke within a month and that was greater Noida's butter smooth expressway and the good roads of Delhi.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by atlantis0965

hi
I’ve lost a wheel hub cap with the VW symbol . Guess it has been flicked by someone when it was parked.

Or it might have come off when you drove the car over some pothole? You can get the replacement from the VW service center (Rs. 500 odd for one hub-cap or get 4 of these for cheap from AliExpress or eBay)

AliExpress

Before placing the order, measure the OD (outside diameter) from your Vento's alloy rim and select the correct one. Looks like there are several models meant to fit different rims depending on the OD.

Moderator ajmat has sourced one from eBay recently for his Jetta (link).

Originally Posted by thebfg

What you are getting on eBay is a Chinese product and will break pretty early. I recommend you to go with the VW ones.

VW India has been importing a lot of replacements from VW China since the cost of transportation is cheaper. Labour and cost of raw materials is also cheap in China compared to the EU.

BHP'ian thoma had recently sourced the OEM alloys from the VW service center and here's the sticker stuck on the box:



Source

Previously, they were manufactured by Borbet and were imported from South Africa.

[atlantis0965]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Or it might have come off when you drove the car over some pothole? You can get the replacement from the VW service center (Rs. 500 odd for one hub-cap or get 4 of these for cheap from AliExpress or eBay)

AliExpress

Before placing the order, measure the OD (outside diameter) from your Vento's alloy rim and select the correct one. Looks like there are several models meant to fit different rims depending on the OD.

Moderator ajmat has sourced one from eBay recently for his Jetta (link).



VW India has been importing a lot of replacements from VW China since the cost of transportation is cheaper. Labour and cost of raw materials is also cheap in China compared to the EU.

BHP'ian thoma had recently sourced the OEM alloys from the VW service center and here's the sticker stuck on the box:



Source

Previously, they were manufactured by Borbet and were imported from South Africa.

hi

I am not too sure if it fell off while driving because I am usually very careful over potholes and if it has come off in such a way then I guess it is very bad on the part of VW because the car is just 3 months old and things can’t be falling apart so soon.
Also I recently happened to notice that my wheels have the marking as being “made in Poland”.
Yes i saw that the hub caps come in varying sizes. Will try the website aliexpress too.
Thanks .

[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by atlantis0965

hi
I’ve lost a wheel hub cap with the VW symbol . Guess it has been flicked by someone when it was parked.

Also one of the mud flaps has been damaged as though with a blade.

Replacement for both being charged at 450 and 1600 respectively by VW authorised service centre.

Was checking online and saw similar mud flaps selling at 550 in ebay ; are they worth it ?

I have exactly the same ones in my GT TSI. Bought it from ebay and have been really worth it. No issues for six months so far. Try this link. http://www.ebay.in/itm/Volkswagen-PO...7174adb&_uhb=1

[atlantis0965]

hi

Finally the fuel tank leak has been rectified . I had mentioned earlier regarding this on the "vento TSi launched thread "

I had to wait for about 2weeks before the part became available and then another week before I could visit them . So finally almost 3 weeks after the first leak; the issue has been sorted out. I topped up my fuel tank after 3 weeks along with a SA from VW who attended to the topping up to check up on the work carried out.

The guys at the VW service have been pretty decent I should say.

Of course I did have the issue of them giving back my car dirtier than how it went in. I’ve had those issues even with my hyundai . I raised the issue with them and after seeing the sheepish or helpless look on the SA’s face just left the place since I did not want a slipshod hasty cleanup .

Anyway alls well that ends well . The car has done 4000+ km now and i am just having loads of fun driving it .