Took the Fraulein on her first long drive this weekend: Pune to Mumbai with the expressway. Man this thing can fly.
I was wary of the running in- still under 700km- but there are times when you just have to do justice to the 1.6 litre, 105 BHP, 153 Nm monster within. Most of the time I was Dr. Lightfoot personified!
Let's focus on the expressway part of the drive. 114km in 1 hour 40 minutes (including a 20 min stop to pick up goodies for the folks at home!) at an INCREDIBLE fuel efficiency of 16.6 kmpl! I have pics too but don't know how to upload them from my phone
The best stretch was Pune-Khalapur,
70km over which I *averaged* 18 kmpl. ![Cheering](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Cheering.gif)
This was totally due to the light foot and keeping an eye on the FE monitor at all times. I pulled off the road when it hit 16, 17 and finally 18 kmpl and took snaps. After that I just let it rip.
Khalapur- Panvel which is the best stretch of the e-way I managed to average 110 km/hr, even hitting 140 a couple times (shifted her to manual mode to get the juices flowing a bit) and which explains why the mileage dropped the way it did (to 14.7 kmpl, from my back of the envelope calculations). But that's totally worth it!
After we exited the e-way at Panvel, the nightmare started.
60km to home in the northern suburbs took 3 hr 20 min. The display by the time we reached home was 12.5 kmplfor the entire trip! By my calculations the city stretch consumed
8.6 kmpl!
How you guys manage to survive in this city is a mystery to me! (and this from a guy who spent the first 25 years of his life here)
This is all in D-mode. I am planning to do the return trip in S mode to see like to like what the difference is.
But enough about FE. I fear I am turning into one of those "Kitnaa deti hai" obsessive-compulsives! So let's focus on the other things:
Noise levels: What's that? I was zipping at 100-120 most of the time and could hear the stereo fine without having it to turn it up like I do in the Swift. I don't know how the Tdi performs at high speed but the petrol is amazing. I am impressed.
Handling: The Vento feels so
grounded, even at 140. The ride is impeccable. The steering feels good and provides enough feedback (no vagueness at all).
Tyres: I must confess I have been unfair to the OEM shoes on this thing (Appollo Acelere 185/65 R15). The only reason I hadn't already upgraded to 205s in Michelin or Yoko is that VW told me that would void the warranty. But the tyres performed amazingly- good grip, hardly any noise and overall felt just right.
Miscellaneous:- The radio reception was awful on the e-way. Regulars would know that thanks to Mumbai and Pune both having FM channels on the same frequency, there is usually a tug of war between the 2 cities on the way. But the Vento's reception failed quite early- score one for the humble Swift!
- Front windscreen is a virtual greenhouse. I haven't put front film (it's coming with leathers, hopefully next week). We were headed into the setting sun so got slowly cooked.
- AC performed very well. I was worried on this front since the Climatronic took some getting used to in Pune's blow hot blow cold (literally!) climes. But all I did was set it on 21.5 deg C, switch on Auto mode, let in some fresh air once in a while and change to Recylce mode in the city. It did its job fine.
- Reception committee at home was impressed. Dad got in, looked around and said "Fabulous" with a big satisfied smile. I am still basking in the glow. My nephews were thrilled, a few of their friends also got a ride this morning! Sis is over the moon and certifies the AC as good (she is very sensitive to heat and there is no bigger compliment!) Little one slept comfortably in the back seat throughout.
Return trip updates early next week!