re: My Shadow Blue VW Vento TDI. EDIT: SOLD after 8 years, 80000+ km! 10k coming up! 10k coming up!
I have seen so many fellas out here passing that landmark, some taking their own sweet time, reaching this mark in a few years; and some doing it in a zip, not even pausing to celebrate that landmark while they work around their beauties to reach figures that I doubt I'll ever reach in my lifetime.
As for me, let me give a few more "facts" : My dad's Alto, after 12+ years is still puttering around 20k. He's been postponing an upgrade since ages quoting various reasons. Current one is that he'll do it once he passes 25k, which I doubt he'll ever do it without me helping in! Even his Padmini & M800 before that hardly crossed these numbers. If I tell him about my car's kms, he's sure to have a heart-attack!
But I digress.
So what has worked and what hasn't in the last 4 months and 10,000 kms? Pros- The engine. The turbo. I could go on and on about it. But I won't. Get a Vento and drive it. You'll understand.
- The European touch. The way the door closes. The option to press the lock button before you get out and then the car locks once you close all doors. And so on.
- Jack of all trades aspect. The handling isn't the best, but it works. The suspension isn't the best, but it works. The brakes aren't the best, but they work. The design, isn't one of the best lookers, but it'll last. The A$$, far from being reliable, but it'll work. The features, not the complete list, but it'll suffice. The music system, far from the best setup, but it'll work. You get the idea.
- The gear setup. Smooth as silk.
- The arm-rest. It rocks. Seriously. Pity there is only one. Irrespective of the person(s), the driver & and passenger always end up fighting for it.
- The color. Scratches, swirls, whatever. I still drool at it, as much as I did at the ladies on Walking street, Pattaya.
Cons- The clutch. I'd say this is expected of diesels. Well, I keep getting to drive a Punto & a few Hyundai(s), they sure don't have it that hard, do they.
- Lack of a dead pedal.
- Tight suspension. Seriously, it'll do for the average Joe. But then at times, you do want a more better setup.
- Better dealers. So far, BUB Pune has scored full marks on all aspects. But from what I hear on the forum, the rest are far from close. Plus with the thin service network across the country, they sure need to gear up.
- Niggles. I'm nitpicking here, but the car does have a few of them. Time for them to pull up their socks and start working on these.
- Open attitude. Toyota found a problem in few of their Etios batches. They came out open about it. So does VW with a few of the Vento batches. Being hush-hush about it is not going to help them. Trust goes a long way in the Indian market.
- Labor rates. Spare parts. Now this is VW, not Maruti. But still the prices need to be reasonable. Alloys that cost the moon. Plastic logos that are inexplicably expensive. And so on.
- The Automatic Climate Control. Weirdly most of the time, it switches to outside air. Not the best option for our choked up city roads. Also having rear vents isn't really helping for the people in the rear seats, especially on sunny days. In addition to the existing air-flow options, I wish they had given one more where the air is circulated only to the rear vents.
- A remote control for the stock ICE. Seriously, a lever for the saab to adjust the passenger seat, but no remote?
- Rear-view camera. Yes, one can get it done in the after-market. But they could have provided it, considering they seem to be increasing the prices at a drop of a hat.
- Better stock headlights. Come on, even my M800 had better headlights.
Overall, I'm glad I opted for this relatively unknown beauty over the more popular Hyundai and Maruti options. It's been a delight over the past few months, and I hope to do a lot more with the lady. Like a Leh trip maybe?
Also, did a short trip to a small, sleepy town called Shrirampur, a few kms shy of Shirdi. Most of the drive on four lane roads, except for the last odd 40 kms which was done on a tight two lane village roads. I should definitely be putting up a travelogue, we hit some excellent foodie spots on the highway, took a wrong turn and got lost in interior Maharashtra, but enjoyed every part of it while we roamed around going in circles ( literally - somehow with google maps, empty roads and 4 level-headed blokes, we landed up a few kms from where we started after 30 odd kms & 1 hour!), and almost got killed on the road. Ah, but I still need to get to finishing the Thai travelogue first!
As of now, I'll let these few pics give the idea. Yummy breakfast at 7.30 a.m. The mean machine taking a break Colorful sights on the road Ah, the beautiful lanes of Maharashtra. S'Pity we found our way back within an hour. Wouldn't have minded getting lost for a few hours more! Part time business, maybe? Lol Once I get the funds ready, my daily drive to office. Top speed on this beauty was 30kmph. As it is the Hinjewadi traffic hardly lets me go over 20! Green fields. A younger me would have gone stealing 'cane. Ah, what a pity! Loved these trees. Again, a younger (& fitter) me would have gone climbing. *Sigh*
Ah well, I was kidding about the getting killed part. But we did have a scare or two. Maybe I'll get it up later sometime!
Last edited by ninjatalli : 29th January 2012 at 01:02.
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