Volkswagen Vento Highline TDi Ownership Review


Thread Starter #1
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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.


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. Weird 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. Will keep the thread updated. Here are the pics.

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AMG

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Just a small question.

Why a sedan if this is going to be only a city car?
 
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Congratulations Naveen! The car is stunner and sure provides more VFM than the Polo. Enjoy your new ride and drive safe.
 
Thread Starter #4
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Just a small question.

Why a sedan if this is going to be only a city car?
No, have a swift that's used for 90% city drive. Vento is gonna be 50-50. Have around 2 long trips every month. So went for this.

Congratulations Naveen! The car is stunner and sure provides more VFM than the Polo. Enjoy your new ride and drive safe.
Thanks a lot. Really enjoying every bit.
 
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Congrats and excellent choice. The alloy looks so nice.

1. Seats are bit hard
This will be helpful in long journeys. I hope you will like it.

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.
Yes and this is present in Punto and Linea as well.
Useful feature.
 
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Congrats Naveen. Vento looks cool in white. Excellent choice buddy, because the only car which i believe you could have bought(bang for buck) other than Vento is Cruze which you eliminated from your list because of size. I am glad you didnt choose Altis over Vento since it is way too expensive.

BTW you didnt consider Skoda Laura? Was wonderful A.S.S, the reason?
 
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Congratulations on the purchase Naveen , Vento looks great in white! But why left out Cruze? It's an awesome performer and it offers many more features too. If you had the budget you could have gone for Cruze but no doubt Vento too is a great car! I hope maintenance wont be too costly!
 
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Thanks a lot guys..
@Akash - Yes, A.S.S is the reason why I didnt go for Skoda.

@CD - Cruze a bit big for road conditions in Cochin .Traffic here is very bad. No doubt that I will have to keep changing my ORVM each time. In my Swift, after using it for 1.5 yrs, I have changed 5 ORVM's ;-)

New accessories

Full Vinyl floor padding - 1200/-
3m Sun Film - 2000/-
Reg Plates - 850/-

More better pics coming soon.

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Nice pics Naveen. Please share some details about the ride quality, mileage and also take some pics from a distane (like full side view and front view). Btw, I love those mats.. looks really neat.
 
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hey man, good write up, good pics and good car. congrats!! i think this is second white car in your home after swift. [:)] keep us posted about VW ASS and other maintenance costs!!
 
Thread Starter #14
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Nice pics Naveen. Please share some details about the ride quality, mileage and also take some pics from a distane (like full side view and front view). Btw, I love those mats.. looks really neat.
Thanks a lot. Rice quality is superb. This is just the city conditions. Will be taking it to the highway tonight. The front seats are bit high when compared to the Fiesta. Also, a bit hard. But the suspension is really good and managed to drive smoothly on the bad roads of Cochin quite easily.

Yes, shall take some long distance pics in a few days. Will definitely post the mileage that I got. I had filled the tank up. Waiting to cruise the highway too so that I can squeeze the max out of her.

hey man, good write up, good pics and good car. congrats!! i think this is second white car in your home after swift. [:)] keep us posted about VW ASS and other maintenance costs!!
Thanks a lot.Yep, second white ride in my car. Will definitely keep you posted about the cost. But, the first service is only after 15,000 or 1 yr. But will definitely check her up in between. Will keep the thread updated with this.
 
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The Interiors are looking cool when lighted! Looks like you have gone in for the lightest of tints. Can that vinyl floor padding can be removed for cleaning? And Where did you get those IND plates?


Good choice of number![:)]
 

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