[bala80]

Thanks samarijtdhar - I still see no correlation between fuel filter and ambient temperature. If anything, diesel engine should breathe better in winter due to colder air for intake and therefore acceleration will also be better.

Ofcourse, I agree it will take a little longer for the engine to warm-up as both of you have mentioned below. Better mileage can also be attributed to the above fact.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Not sure this was about engine njoise but I had also told them the car felt sluggish when started in the mornings.

As far as the ebay thingy goes - I see some very good deals on car accesories there. I picked up a 2 Ton hydraulic jack, 8 piece spanner set, a car washing hose with spray recently at very good price. And yes, the HU for my ICE setup (JVC AVX646) was also picked up from there with manufacturer bill and warranty for atleast 2.5k less than the market retail price.

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

Its relatively chill in Bangalore also these days. After 10 minutes of drive from home I encounter the first signal where I turn off the ignition and turn it on again. Car gets super smooth and the clatter is very minimal post that. Am planning to visit VW Downtown sometime this week to activate the speed lock. Will check with the SA for the fuel filter update.

Need to buy a good cover for the car. Is it better to get one from eBay?

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by bala80

Thanks samarijtdhar - I still see no correlation between fuel filter and ambient temperature. If anything, diesel engine should breathe better in winter due to colder air for intake and therefore acceleration will also be better.

Thats true. However the fuel filter is for filtering out dust and dirt from the fuel and probably water too in case of diesel. As per the engineer a better filter would improve the acceleration. Maybe I should have picked his brains more but for lack of time. You are right though about ambient temperature shouldn't logically have anything to do with the fuel filter given its function. I will observe its behavior at various times of the day to see if it makes any difference though as I said earlier the acceleration seems to have improved.

[samarjitdhar]

Ok folks. The ownership thread is finally up (Thanks to GTO for moving it) http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-highline.html.

Was hard pressed with too much year end work but then there was this thing about doing proper justice to a TBHP membership . Hope you guys like it.

[mxx]

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

Dear Bangalorean TBHPians!

There is a new VW showroom (Apple Auto, seems like some die hard Steve Jobs fan) just next to the KR Puram flyover, towards Marathalli side. I went in their showroom today, very courteous staff, very polite sales guys! The best part is, the waiting period for Vento highline TDi is 3 weeks, and the trendlines are available off the shelf!!

There is one more good news for the people living in Indiranagar (nilesh), HSR, Koramangla area. They will be having a fully functional workshop in the next 1 week!

Originally Posted by krish11

Wanted to share with Blore VW car owners - I had called "VW Whitefield - Apple Auto Pvt Ltd" enquiring about their workshop and was told that it would take about 4 months before it becomes opeational. The VW India site shows them up as dealer only as of now.

Both of you are right actually. They have started a workshop somewhere near the whitefield honda showroom. This is a temporary one. 3-4 months later they are shifting permenantly to the new workshop which is coming up next to the showroom. The construction going on next to the showroon id for the workshop.

BTW, have to agree with evilshantanu, the whitefield vw guys are very professional and courteous. I recommend this place to everyone. Hopefully they will carry this good practices to their after sales and service too.

Disclaimer: I have not yet done any financial transactions with them

[prabhuferrari]

Had been to the VW Downtown 2 days back for getting some minor stuff done. At that time met the guy who sold me the car. He mentioned that Vento's price is going by 4 % in the next few days. Not sure if this hike will make the car even more expensive in Bangalore as the road tax for cars above 10L is too high!

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

Had been to the VW Downtown 2 days back for getting some minor stuff done. At that time met the guy who sold me the car. He mentioned that Vento's price is going by 4 % in the next few days. Not sure if this hike will make the car even more expensive in Bangalore as the road tax for cars above 10L is too high!

This is not a great move on part of VW. We have been discussing the same thing in the New car Price thread. At 12+ L the Vento will soon lose its VFM tag. A 4% price hike is too steep. Vento is not doing as well as expected on the monthly sales chart. Is VW soon going to go the Honda way?

[SR-71]

^^
+1 to that. Does the cost increase come with additional "useful" features ? A 4% hike bumps the price tag above the 10L mark and that spells trouble in both Karnataka and Tamilnadu at-least. The road tax is 17% and 15% in KA & TN respectively for the 10L+ bracket against the 12% & 10% in the current price bracket. Overall it would be like 80K to 1L+ price hike on road. More good days ahead for the Rapid & Verna if these manage to stay at the current price bracket.

[samarjitdhar]

Sad to see that VW is hell bent on pricing the Vento out of the market. The Rapid is already denting its share and with a whopping 12+ lacs OTR price it will land into the D1 sedan territory. Average car buyers even in the premium categories consider VFM and features being provided in a car. The Vento is hopelessly sparse in that department even with the refreshed version. Unless they can add some more features and reduce the engine clatter drastically I am not sure how they can hope to push sales in this market. Specially when both Rapid and Sunny have diesel options. Vento in the 10+ range is sheer optimism on VW's part. What happened to increasing localization to bring down costs?

[sparsh]

Hi GTO, Firstly amazing and detailed review. Can you please let me know if you get to hear the diesel clatter inside the car and how is the NVH and damping done by VW? When I drive my verna, I cant tell there is a diesel under the hood as its pretty silent though it makes a lot of noise on the outside. I think this is a 4 seater and a child can occupy the 5th seat given the hump is pretty huge in the car. How do you find the experience once the turbo kicks in? Do you get a similar feel that you experience in the old Verna/Optra Magnum? How is the fuel economy reported in your test drive?

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by sparsh

Hi GTO, Firstly amazing and detailed review. Can you please let me know if you get to hear the diesel clatter inside the car and how is the NVH and damping done by VW? When I drive my verna, I cant tell there is a diesel under the hood as its pretty silent though it makes a lot of noise on the outside. I think this is a 4 seater and a child can occupy the 5th seat given the hump is pretty huge in the car. How do you find the experience once the turbo kicks in? Do you get a similar feel that you experience in the old Verna/Optra Magnum? How is the fuel economy reported in your test drive?

Hi I would like to attempt to answer some of your questions here.
My answers are from my experience and reading some fellow vento owners experience.

1) This car is noisy period. I dont mind it as I like to hear engine noise while driving (I come from Indica Diesel background). There is cabin noise when the engine is cold, once the engine warms up it improves. I guess it is the same case for outside also. I am not sure about old verna's noise levels but new Verna is very silent as compared to vento.
2) The hump is definately there, but I guess for short distances it should not pose much problem. For long distances I am not sure.
3) I think if any car can be compared to the Old Verna for turbo kick, this is the car. It really pins you to the seat.
4) Fuel efficiency may vary on driving styles and conditions. I get around 15 in city and 19.5 on highways.

Hope it helps

CHEERS!!

[sparsh]

Hi Rachit, your feedback is very helpful pal. Its just a matter of getting used to I guess. From your feedback and also based on GTO's review sounds like this is a power stonker.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by sparsh

Hi Rachit, your feedback is very helpful pal. Its just a matter of getting used to I guess. From your feedback and also based on GTO's review sounds like this is a power stonker.

Make that a Torque Monster. More than the power its torque that is addictive. It gives you such a push that everytime you press the gas you will smile.

Take a Test Drive. That will clear most of your doubts..

[souravc]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

This is not a great move on part of VW. We have been discussing the same thing in the New car Price thread. At 12+ L the Vento will soon lose its VFM tag. A 4% price hike is too steep. Vento is not doing as well as expected on the monthly sales chart. Is VW soon going to go the Honda way?

There are 2 parts :-
1. Price Hike - bad move especially where there is the 10 lac hump - but for all that one knows this is a demand smoothening measure for Vento + Rapid combined demand . Just thinking aloud without much conviction.
2. Monthly charts - Whats the Vento + Rapid combined per month sales ? 3600 - 3700 , right ? How much would you think is the per month capacity of the Chakan plant for supplying power trains , etc ? Has Vento ever clocked more than 4000 per month sales , even when it quoted 3-6 months waiting ? Thus obviously there has been capacity diversion from Vento to Rapid and from VW group perspective its all hunky dory ( though severe under achievement ). I do hope that this does not result in insane waiting periods for both rapid and vento going forward .

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by souravc

2. Monthly charts - Whats the Vento + Rapid combined per month sales ? 3600 - 3700 , right ? How much would you think is the per month capacity of the Chakan plant for supplying power trains , etc ? Has Vento ever clocked more than 4000 per month sales , even when it quoted 3-6 months waiting ? Thus obviously there has been capacity diversion from Vento to Rapid and from VW group perspective its all hunky dory ( though severe under achievement ). I do hope that this does not result in insane waiting periods for both rapid and vento going forward .

To be very honest VW has left me a little perplexed at the moment mate. To sell the rapid they want to make the Vento over-priced? At the end of the day both the cars are very similar. Its not like the Fabia and Polo or Laura and Jetta which have there own personal personalities. I have always made exterior looks and built as a criterion in my buying process and given a lot of weightage to it too. As of today if I am looking at a 10L sedan I will just go for the Rapid. Its the same car for a lot less. Lets see how does this price rise work out for the car. I am sad to see a once VFM sedan going the wrong way so soon.

BTW is Hyundai also planning to rise the prices? Also with this price rise does the new Ford Fiesta cost less then the Vento now ( for the similarly spec model ofcourse) ?

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

At 12+ L the Vento will soon lose its VFM tag. A 4% price hike is too steep. Vento is not doing as well as expected on the monthly sales chart. Is VW soon going to go the Honda way?

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

The Rapid is already denting its share and with a whopping 12+ lacs OTR price it will land into the D1 sedan territory. Average car buyers even in the premium categories consider VFM and features being provided in a car.

Originally Posted by SR-71

^^
More good days ahead for the Rapid & Verna if these manage to stay at the current price bracket.

I find this a bit amusing - when was Vento actually VFM? To put it better how would you define VFM? Is it just the price tag? If so, the SX4 is VFM. The Linea is VFM. The Optra is VFM. And now the most VFM C-segment sedan has to be the Rapid.

But then if I know you guys right, or for that matter for most of the guys looking at a 10 lakh sedan, price is never the sole criteria for considering a sedan to be VFM.

And that's why this is classic pricing on behalf of the VW group. They have two almost identical products, but both are priced at extreme ends. Basically they aren't placing all their eggs in one basket.

Look at the below chart - even if we consider a 4% hike in the price of Vento, it is still cheaper than the Fiesta or the Verna. And that's what they are playing at.

Price differences are between Vento and other cars

The writing on the wall is clear - for a potential buyer having A$$ as the top criteria, he is never going to consider the Verna below the Vento. But the Rapid is their safe-guard against the other entry level sedans (Linea, Sunny, Etios, Manza, etc) for a price conscious buyer. The Rapid looks all the more a better option, because it is cheaper than the Vento by a huge margin.

Originally Posted by souravc

There are 2 parts :-
2. Monthly charts - Whats the Vento + Rapid combined per month sales ? 3600 - 3700 , right ? How much would you think is the per month capacity of the Chakan plant for supplying power trains , etc ? Has Vento ever clocked more than 4000 per month sales , even when it quoted 3-6 months waiting ? Thus obviously there has been capacity diversion from Vento to Rapid and from VW group perspective its all hunky dory ( though severe under achievement ). I do hope that this does not result in insane waiting periods for both rapid and vento going forward .

Excellent point. We need to start looking at Vento & Rapid together to understand VW strategy, not as competing entities.