[naveen.raju]

Finally after waiting for 4 months and countless number of calls and arguments, got my hands on the much awaited Vento. Finally, they kept their promise and delivered the car at the right date and time.

Here's the complete story.

June 2010
Our Fiesta TDCI Sxi clocked 77k in 4 years and showed signs of aging. So decided to get a new ride. Since we wanted a diesel car, our choice was immense. Both our diesel rides, Swift ad Fiesta proved to be reliable and convenient. So, diesel was the first choice since we wanted a car for both city and highway use.

By mid June we started the hunt. My dad really wanted to go for Fiesta again but I asked him to go for a new make this tie since the new Fiesta will be launched early next yr. I suggested him VW Vento but he wasnt that interested since this was a new model and didnt want to take up the risk buying something that wasnt established in the Indian Market. But, the VW brand made him choose this. So without even considering any other cars, we decided on the Vento.

The other options that I considered were Corolla Altis (Diesel). Chevy Cruze and VW Vento. The other cars didnt excite him much since he felt Altis was too expensive for something that offered very less features, Cruze being a very huge car he left that. So Vento was the ultimate choice. Showed him the pics and the specs and he really liked it.

Ideal size for city drive, good equipment list, ample power and torque (ideal for highway ride).

Called up VW Cochin and asked the sale executive the details. He came to my house in an hour with the booking form and brochures. After just going through the brochures, we made a very quick decision. TO BOOK THE CAR. Paid 1L advance (priority booking) on 2nd August 2010. The executive said that they would start the deliveries by 15th Sept and we would get the car by the end of Spet since our booking was the 35th in the list.
Then the next thing to do was to show my dad the official Vento report on TeamBHP. Seeing that, he came to realize that he made the right choice.

Pre Delivery Period:

This was one the worst periods when buying such a popular car. They finally missed 4 delivery dates and we strictly mentioned that this will be our last visit to the showroom else we are going in for the cruze. He gave us one final date, before 10th Dec for sure. The worst part was we came to see many cars getting reg in Cochin alone. And also, came to see many Vento's in the yard. This made us think twice and act aggressively. Called up the GM and told him about his. He assured that the car would be delivered as soon as the next slot is in.

To our surprise, he kept his word. Got the confirmation call on 5th Dec saying that the car is ready for delivery.

Delivery period:

After getting the confirmation call, we decided to head to the showroom to pay the balance amount. After the payment, they asked us one day for the reg and the very next day, they would deliver the car after the final inspection and QC.
On the delivery day, we decided to reach by 4PM. After a warm welcome by the executives, we were directed not towards the lounge but to something interesting, - Brand new face-lifted Phaeton. That was one amazing sight. This is yet to be launched in India and the official launch is scheduled later this month or maybe next month. Checked out the car and take some snaps (pics posted in “Super imports spotted in Kerala” Thread).

Then after filling some forms, he came with the car key, a box of chocolates and the leather pouch for the ownership manuals. Then finally, our Vento showed its face. He handed over the keys and after some quick photo session, it was some briefing by the sales executive. After exploring the car and learning some new points from him, we decided to push off. After sending them off, we decided to rev her up. Filled her tank up and went for a short drive through the city and highway.!

Some points about the car.

1) High quality switches.
2) Acceleration best in the class/
3) Very responsive engine
4) Excellent AC
5) Sporty steering
6) MID shows lot many infos
7) Brilliant horn (Good quality and sound)
8) Smooth ride
9) Huge and deep glovebox
10) Multi purpose key (can open and close windows with the help of remote)
11) Automatic lock when car starts to run. (guess there was a doubt regarding this in the forum. Many said this option wasnt there.) But locking is completely useless since we can manually open the door without even unlocking it.

Some which disappointed me. (only to a small extent)

1) Seats are bit hard
2) Weired audio display (looks very huge but limited info displayed)
3) Beige interiors looks very light everywhere. Very very hard to maintain.
4) Huge hump in the middle
5) I banged my head while getting inside the driver seat. (roofline is too low)
6) Have to turn on the park light to see the AC controls. Not even any small light to show that the ac is on. Switch on the park light and the climate control display will be switched on. Then we can get to see the details. Some sort of small light on each button would have been great.
7) No accessories. Mud flap, floor mats were charged extra but door sills were given as a compliment.
8) When the front armrest is down, it's hard to release and engage the hand brake. But more irritation and something others missed to say is that, it's not possible to put the seat belts when the armrest is down. So what I realized is that, armrest is best suited for long drives. For city drives, this is a real pain.

One interesting feature is that when the car is parked and we wish to turn on the park light for safety, there is an option for the car's one side of lights to work rather than using the battery to light up all the park lights and centre console. Even if we forget about this, when we start the car, the light which was turned on will start flashing just to remind us. This feature is available is few cars but I found this to be really interesting.

Anyways, let me come to the point. SO the final verdict, a brilliant car with features that fit the bill perfectly. Overall a good package for both city and highway use.

Also added the TeamBHP sticker onto the car. Guess, the first Vento sporting Teambhp stickers.

Will keep the thread updated.

[t-jet-mahi]

Congratulations naveen.raju, after all the misery of waiting for so long, you can now enjoy the beast. Wish you many happy miles and have a safe drive.

[sachinj12]

Congrats on the car Naveen

Wishing you many a happy miles with your new car.

[Xryder]

Congrats Brother !!

May you and your 'brand new' German wife have a blissful life ahead ! Hopefully your 1st 'desi' wife (swift) will get along with your 2nd German make.

Monogamy is a curse to men, but we all still get to enjoy polygamy in the form of such fetishes, provided you can afford it.

P.S : Naveen, congrats on your 'actual' engagement and may you have a blissful married life ahead !

[Swift Express]

Congargulations Naveen for your new VENTO.Wishing you miles and miles of safe,trouble free and a joyous ride

[evilshantanu]

Congratulations Naveen!
This definitely was the most waited Vento on TBHP!

glad that you are satisfied with the car, and happy to find out that I ddnt make a wrong choice!

Post some more pictures of the interior

[HappyWheels]

Congrats Naveen!

Looks like they have greatly focused on small things.

Hope you have some long trips planned.

Safe and happy riding!

[devil_klm]

Enjoy a great journey with stylish new Vento.
Provide some info on the price.

[COUNSEL]

Congrats Naveen!! VENTO looks gorgeous.

The most anticipating issue with VW cars is their Service. Hope aal goes wel with A.S.S issues.

[zoom_vroom]

Congrats Naveen. Wish you a million miles of happiness with the VW.

[Schoudhury]

There you go Naveen. Atlast you got the Vento. Congrats bro and those are really nice pictures, but would like see more of vento .
Anyways , wanted to check regarding this " 5) I banged my head while getting inside the driver seat. (roofline is too low)", is it really that low.
Im 6'3 and i have banged my head a couple of time while getting into my Ritz , so will this be a porblem for me if a consider going for a vento down the line .

Cheers and drive safe.

[AutoIndian]

Congratulations Naveen & a good write-up on your decision of zeroing in on the Vento. But I am amazed why didn't you consider the Linea multijet or was it that the Vento specs & the overwhelming review by GTO completely floored you? Nevertheless good choice & I am sure you would enjoy every bit of it. It would be great if you can find the Vento spare parts' costs from the dealer & share with us (as of now there is lot of speculation @ the same). Also please do share with us your city & highway driving experience.

[basilmabraham]

Congrats on the car Naveen.

Is the number shown on the temp plates the real number? My car bought 4 months back has a number very close to this one, just curious. Or did you book this number in advance?

Have fun and update the thread with your ownership experiences.

[srishiva]

Congrats, enjoy your drive. My two small issues with the car

The horn is a little inaccessible from the rim of the steering, you need to stretch your thumb or lift your hand to play it.

They could have given bigger controls for the auto climate.

[josejoseph]

Congrats Naveen! Finally the car has reached destination after long time. Must have been a hard time for the VW guys to see off the car.

What about the leather seats and other accessories you were planning to install?

Did you book the number before hand? IIRC, BP regn. has reached 9000 series, if not BQ has started.

Happy driving!

- Jose.