Need Advice For Volkswagen Vento Petrol

[kromastorm]

Hi,

I wish to buy a petrol car in next 4-5 months. I already own a honda amaze. Looking for VW/Skoda for their build quality and safety features.

With honda, the build quality is a bit of a let down, but it makes it up with the FE I get.
On the other hand, I read reviews of VW customers having heavy expenses once car is 3-5 years old. That does look like a gamble.

I live in bangalore and after going through various negative reviews about Skoda sales and service here, I have mostly dropped it from my list.

Here are the current requirements:
Cost: under 12-13L
Running - 300-400Kms/ month ( can go up to 1500 kms once every 6 months)
Features : Sturdy Built, good safery feature.

I also have a separate query. Would it be a sensible thinking to look for base model of next segment than sedan? Like Honda Civic (hopeful of its launch in 2018), VW Jetta ( phased out recently).

The logic behind this is the assumption than it would have better safety features and ride handling.

Thanks

 

[kkn13]

As an owner of a Honda and ex owner of a Superb (and SIL owned a Polo), Id say go for Ecosport,Creta, Verna ,Compass(If you can stretch for 1.4 Sport model)

Germans are nothing like the Asians in terms of maintenance, reliability, comfort etc

As for safety, it varies from model to model and I dont buy Germans being safer theory just because of "door thud" especially given more recent offerings by brands like Hyundai do feel heavier than before

Wait for civic and other cars imho

Also VAG cars are also shifting to newer platforms so buying any car right now is a gamble

PS I think its unfair to base judgement on Honda based off Amaze
Honestly Brio based cars (Brio,Amaze,Mobilio,BRV) were fairly built to cost and it shows

Civic based cars like City,Jazz, CRV, WRV are excellent quality overall despite a few flaws over previous gen Hondas

I do feel current 4th gen Honda City is a letdown from my 3rd gen City in some ways but not enough to make me consider the competition(except Verna and Ecosport barring rear seat comfort)

 

[billubakra]

As an owner of a Honda and ex owner of a Superb (and SIL owned a Polo), Id say go for Ecosport,Creta, Verna ,Compass(If you can stretch for 1.4 Sport model)

Germans are nothing like the Asians in terms of maintenance, reliability, comfort etc

As for safety, it varies from model to model and I dont buy Germans being safer theory just because of "door thud" especially given more recent offerings by brands like Hyundai do feel heavier than before

Wait for civic and other cars imho

Also VAG cars are also shifting to newer platforms so buying any car right now is a gamble

PS I think its unfair to base judgement on Honda based off Amaze
Honestly Brio based cars (Brio,Amaze,Mobilio,BRV) were fairly built to cost and it shows

Civic based cars like City,Jazz, CRV, WRV are excellent quality overall despite a few flaws over previous gen Hondas

I do feel current 4th gen Honda City is a letdown from my 3rd gen City in some ways but not enough to make me consider the competition(except Verna and Ecosport barring rear seat comfort)

Newer platforms like? Please explain.

 

[kkn13]

Newer platforms like? Please explain.

VAG cars are shifting to MQB platforms for their premium offerings and "ECO" platform which is a cost cutting version of MQB for the rest

https://indianautosblog.com/2017/08/mqb-vw-polo-vw-virtus-india-278746
Skoda to develop low-cost ‘Eco’ car platform for India - Livemint
https://www.autocarindia.com/car-news/volkswagen-working-on-lower-cost-mqb-platform-391717

Also with scandals like dieselgate adding to the general woes, I wouldnt trust them personally though I did find my Superb value for money compared to say a BMW,Audi or Mercedes at the time but now the competition such as Ford, Hyundai, Jeep, Honda have caught up over the years and VAG cars no longer excite me after ownership

Dyno tested at last! VW's Dieselgate software update - Team-BHP
^^ Dieselgate fix reduced performance of owners cars

 

[kromastorm]

Thanks kkn.

I agree on all your points. I have no doubts about quality of honda cars. I love ivtec engines. After driving maruti for many years, honda was fun to drive even on amaze.

One of the major issue I have with them is the thin sheet of metal covering the car. I have driven jazz, amaze and city, and I have notice this has one of the major issues with them. Even a small pressure puts a dent in any part. I have few on my car too which I did not bother fixing.

What I was looking for in these european cars is power. Jap models are refined and efficient but considering the petrol versions I find it lacks power ( models till city ).

I am interested in civic and jeep. Not sure when civic is expected to launch. Jeep is compass is yet to get detailed feedback and hence I am not jumping to conclusion on that. Will explore and wait for other models to come. Even newer VAG models are welcome change, but with their poor service record, would it be a reliable bet?

 

[SachinOnTop]

Here are the current requirements:
Cost: under 12-13L
Running - 300-400Kms/ month ( can go up to 1500 kms once every 6 months)
Features : Sturdy Built, good safery feature.

I'll keep it simple for you.

Hyundai Creta SX Plus 1.6 Petrol is the car you are looking for.
We have it in family, and it ticked all our prerequisites like yours along with a robust After Sales Service network and assurance.

It'll give you a good FE of about 13-14KMPL with AC in moving traffic situations. Anything worse and FE will come down to 10-11 KMPL straightaway.

 

[kromastorm]

Thanks SachinOnTop.

I will explore Creta too. But it is definitely not on my priority list though. Only SUV that is interesting to me is Jeep Compass. There is no particular reason to it. I am just not looking for SUV as such. Maybe need to think of the usecase of which works better for indian road condition - SUV or Sedan.

 

[acechip]

It depends on what do you mean by German cars having power& safety. The Vento/Rapid 1.6 are not more powerful than a Honda City or a Verna as such. The Vento TSI is the most appealing car in this category. But does it have phenomenal power as compared to the others? Not so. The Vento/Rapid have sturdier build quality, but both come with 2 airbags only. The TSI comes with a ESP, which is not available in City/Verna-but they have additional airbags in their top variants. My suggestion would be the Verna, which is the most rounded product in the C-segment sedans overall. If not, then you have the Ecosport AT which has a new powerful petrol engine and all the safety features (ESP+ 6 airbags), backed by a sturdy build.

 

[kkn13]

It depends on what do you mean by German cars having power& safety. The Vento/Rapid 1.6 are not more powerful than a Honda City or a Verna as such. The Vento TSI is the most appealing car in this category. But does it have phenomenal power as compared to the others? Not so. The Vento/Rapid have sturdier build quality, but both come with 2 airbags only. The TSI comes with a ESP, which is not available in City/Verna-but they have additional airbags in their top variants. My suggestion would be the Verna, which is the most rounded product in the C-segment sedans overall. If not, then you have the Ecosport AT which has a new powerful petrol engine and all the safety features (ESP+ 6 airbags), backed by a sturdy build.

You are totally on point !! Excellent observations !!
If not for rear seat comfort, Ecosport and Verna are the obvious VFM choices here else my pick is City petrol ,Creta or Compass
TBH Vento/Rapid never lived up to the hype for me
Verna took me by surprise lately especially with the steering feedback, its better than VAG cars in this department and previous gen was totally opposite

 

[kunal Singh]

Newer platforms like? Please explain.

VW india has signed a deal with tata to use the latter's AMP(All modular platform) since there new global platform the MQB is too expensive for India but any new cars on this AMP platform from VW would be altleast 4-5 years away so you can be at peace on this aspect.

 

[kromastorm]

It depends on what do you mean by German cars having power& safety. The Vento/Rapid 1.6 are not more powerful than a Honda City or a Verna as such. The Vento TSI is the most appealing car in this category. But does it have phenomenal power as compared to the others? Not so. The Vento/Rapid have sturdier build quality, but both come with 2 airbags only. The TSI comes with a ESP, which is not available in City/Verna-but they have additional airbags in their top variants. My suggestion would be the Verna, which is the most rounded product in the C-segment sedans overall. If not, then you have the Ecosport AT which has a new powerful petrol engine and all the safety features (ESP+ 6 airbags), backed by a sturdy build.

Thanks acechip.

Will definitely do a test drive of verna. I have never been a hyundai fan. But if market share supports them, then definitely they are doing some good work.

 

[kromastorm]

VW india has signed a deal with tata to use the latter's AMP(All modular platform) since there new global platform the MQB is too expensive for India but any new cars on this AMP platform from VW would be altleast 4-5 years away so you can be at peace on this aspect.

Looks like by the time they come up with this platform, we would be already in electric vehicle era!! :)

 

[kkn13]

What I was looking for in these european cars is power. Jap models are refined and efficient but considering the petrol versions I find it lacks power ( models till city ).

Thats not entirely true
While 1.2 IVTEC is a tad underpowered in Jazz, Amaze, its quite rev happy and feels at home in Brio
1.5 IVTEC absolutely beats the VW 1.6 MPI and the 1.2 TSI overall especially in city traffic where true usage of most cars occurs and matters most
Ive never found myself craving power in 1.5 IVTEC, it just pulls clean especially after you hit the right VTEC rpms after 3.5k wherein the 2nd camshaft profile comes into play and makes up for lack of turbo
Pulls clean to the redline if you want and even then doesnt cost a dime extra to maintain and still gives good FE with fantastic performance and refinement

If I were to switch from my 1.5 IVTEC, Id consider Hyundai 1.6 VTVT, Fiat 1.4 Multi Air, Ford 1.5 Dragon because I didnt find anything superior about VW engines other than the DSG which is terribly unreliable and impractical but its shifting speeds makes the otherwise mediocre engine feel faster than it actually is

VW india has signed a deal with tata to use the latter's AMP(All modular platform) since there new global platform the MQB is too expensive for India but any new cars on this AMP platform from VW would be altleast 4-5 years away so you can be at peace on this aspect.

Not true
They called off this JV in inital consideration itself...
Skoda is developing a cheap version of MQB called "ECO"
Heres proof
https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...s-into-rough-weather/articleshow/59355298.cms

 

[acechip]

Thats not entirely true
While 1.2 IVTEC is a tad underpowered in Jazz, Amaze, its quite rev happy and feels at home in Brio
1.5 IVTEC absolutely beats the VW 1.6 MPI and the 1.2 TSI overall especially in city traffic where true usage of most cars occurs and matters most
Ive never found myself craving power in 1.5 IVTEC, it just pulls clean especially after you hit the right VTEC rpms after 3.5k wherein the 2nd camshaft profile comes into play and makes up for lack of turbo

I was impressed with the Jazz -minus its 1.2 litre engine. If Honda had a 1.5 liter engine in it (like its international variants), it was the Jazz over the Polo for me. But the 1.2 iVTEC simply didnt make the cut in comparison to the Tsi. Of course, the Polo also felt dynamically a bit more sorted at speed, whereas the Jazz had that 'van' like feel. I dont know how Honda really figures out our market. They wasted their time and money and that 1.5 engine in products like the BRV, Mobilio, whereas the Jazz,WRV are the ones that needed it the most.

 

[kkn13]

I was impressed with the Jazz -minus its 1.2 litre engine. If Honda had a 1.5 liter engine in it (like its international variants), it was the Jazz over the Polo for me. But the 1.2 iVTEC simply didnt make the cut in comparison to the Tsi. Of course, the Polo also felt dynamically a bit more sorted at speed, whereas the Jazz had that 'van' like feel. I dont know how Honda really figures out our market. They wasted their time and money and that 1.5 engine in products like the BRV, Mobilio, whereas the Jazz,WRV are the ones that needed it the most.

I couldnt agree more !!
Even the new 1.2 VTEC Turbo would be great for Jazz