[noopster]

^^ Hehe how come the Dilliwalas and Bombayites know more about Pune dealers' stock situation better than us?!!

@ajay satpute- don't remind me man! Anyway I am the first Vento in my apartment complex and that is enough for me right now!

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by noopster

^^ Hehe how come the Dilliwalas and Bombayites know more about Pune dealers' stock situation better than us?!!

@ajay satpute- don't remind me man! Anyway I am the first Vento in my apartment complex and that is enough for me right now!

Sorry for the late reply. Congrats bro! your white beauty looks amazing!

wishing you a happy and safe drive!

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by bison

I agree with you.
After reading GTO’s review I just wanted to do one test drive before I make the payment to dealer. I personally visited VW showroom three times for a test drive. They could not give me a Vento for test drive. On the fourth visit to show room I was lucky to get a Vento for test drive. I booked the vehicle same day. And then the long wait started. I knew that I will have to wait and was prepared for 4 months waiting. But as time passed dealer had no idea about when they can give me the vehicle. In between the sales executive quit and that made follow ups more difficult, I had to first explain to someone that I am a customer. I finally decided to cancel the booking. Called up Honda, they send me a test drive vehicle in next 30 minutes. ANHC was delivered in 2 weeks. I am happy with my ANHC.

So VW loses another customer, the state of affairs today is enough to scare away a lot of potential buyers. But I guess given the current production capacities VW is not going to be out of Vento customers for a long time to come and may be people like me who have decided to wait for the initial rush to get over may get a better product with the initial glitches and minor things which have been missed out as a part of the parcel .

[noopster]

@evilshantanu- thanks mate! Sympathies on your Vento getting delayed- hope you get to enjoy it soon.
@m_upreti- It's really sad how many customers are going to walk away from a perfectly good product just because the sales experience was so unsatisfactory.

[Naparajito]

Here are a few pictures of Voento trendline petrol.

[JJames]

Guys, I did a test drive of Vento TDI Highline at Elite Motors, Hosur road, Bangalore last week. Some observations:-

Good:
====
- Powerful & linear power delivering engine. Didn't blow me away (I did the TD of Linea TJet the same day , but very impressive for a diesel.
- Best Manual Gear shift in its class
- Good suspension (neither too stiff, nor too soft)
- Steering & handling: ideal for City driving, considering also its slick gearshift.
- Mileage (from what I heard on it, in this forum & elsewhere).
- No "attitude": The sales lady, was courteous enough & explained everything, from finance options to accessories. Offered me soft-drinks/tea (much better experience than at the Tata/Fiat showroom).

Bad:
===
- Ridiculous Music system: Only CD, no USB, not even AUX; it is an antique. Sound quality is not too good either. VW, on its part, are offering an optional upgrade to a 2DIN music system (no touchscreen though) & 4 speakers for ~22+3=~25k extra.
- No steering mount controls: Even a Swift, at about half its price has it.
- Lack of road presence / OOMPH factor: Looks too similar to Polo; in fact the Polo looks much better (Fog lamps in Polo is better looking). It lacks that X-factor in looks: Linea or ANHC are still the segment leaders in that respect. Vento, in fact, resembles a bit of the outgoing Ford Fiesta design-Vanilla plain, I'd say.

Ugly:
====
- Windscreen area & visibility: Poor, also considering the high dashboard placing. I am 5'9: but I never found the windscreen area satisfactory, even with the seat height adjusted to its maximum. Same needs to be held against the rear visibility via the Inner RVM.
- Rear space & comfort: There have been enough said about the biiigg hump (or wall - I'd say) at the rear. Seats & the sitting positions have been compromised to a large extent to accommodate leg space. Vento, though it has similar leg room to an ANHC, the seating position is too ERECT/ too upright, and uder-thigh support is poor. These factors makes it highly uncomfortable sitting in the rear seat in a Vento, for long drives. Also, only 2 passengers can fit in the rear. 3rd passenger is impossible, unless it is a <5 year old child. My wife, sitting at the rear, said its not much different from the i10 in our family.
- LOOONG waiting period: Vento, despite all the short comings, have captured the market share it aspired- or perhaps more. The waiting period in Bangalore, that I was conveyed was 7-8 months!!!! The sales-lady was keen to sell me the trendline variant instead, saying it can be delivered in 1-2 months time- but without ABS,EBD & all goodies, I didnt want to buy that.
So, it is back to square one for my search for a sedan: ANHC back on top, closely followed by Linea TJet & Vento TDI (put off mainly by the wait period, than the car itself).

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by noopster

@m_upreti- It's really sad how many customers are going to walk away from a perfectly good product just because the sales experience was so unsatisfactory.

You are right but given the fact that despite a less than satisfactory experience at the dealership still so many are lining up outside the dealerships has VW & its dealers laughing all the way to the Bank.

The Etios experience (even though it also has a long wait period) at the dealership seems to be much better. In am regularly getting calls from the dealer for a TD

[noopster]

. Check out member windsurfer's signature.



A more fitting indictment of VW's apathy towards their customers I have yet to see! Good job, windsurfer!

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by JJames

Guys, I did a test drive of Vento TDI Highline at Elite Motors, Hosur road, Bangalore last week. Some observations:-

Nice Review.
True the waiting period is the biggest drawback. 7-8 months is ridiculous. In Calcutta it is only 4 months.

If I were you I would either go for T-Jet or wait for VentoD. Honda city is just nowhere in the competition.
It does not have the ride and handling. Steering is lifeless. It does not have the mad torque of a turbo. Though it is awesome in the high rev range, how often does your tacho see the other end of 5000, specially in the city conditions. Interior quality is not upto the mark.And most importantly lack of some important features at such a price point is not justified at all.

Once was a time when Honda city used to be the best in business. But not any more.
Anyway good luck choosing!!

[windsurfer]

He he... I have been waiting for 3 months and the dealer still does not have any dates. I remember the Bajaj Chetak days. Book and forget

Originally Posted by noopster

. Check out member windsurfer's signature.

Attachment 488606

A more fitting indictment of VW's apathy towards their customers I have yet to see! Good job, windsurfer!

[vcx]

Good to see Vento's on road in Candy White, Red , Black and Silver Of which White does looks b est for Vento and so does Silver.

Keen to see Vento in other two colors set to be coming out this year (Terra Beige and Shadow blue).

Like to hear from others , as in which color the vento is real good!

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by windsurfer

He he... I have been waiting for 3 months and the dealer still does not have any dates. I remember the Bajaj Chetak days. Book and forget

Completely agree on that!

I have been waiting for three months as well, took the pains of calling the Volkswagen Head Office and after running around for 2 days got to know that I shouldn't expect my car before mid March 2011. I think you should try calling the VW HO in Mumbai, these dealers doesn't have any idea about whats going on.

By the way on a different note I got to know from somewhere that even the recruitment of sales persons is being done by VW, and the dealers don't have any say in that, they just forward the CV to VW employees and the rest (interviews, posting to a dealer location) is done by them. Not sure how true is this, but got this bit of info from a friend of mine who runs a job based consultancy in Pune.

I feel bad for the dealers, they dont have a clear picture of anything, the company is keeping them in dark and moreover I feel they are puppets in the hands of VW.

[noopster]

@VCX- No colour is really "good". The basic shades white, black and silver are OK looking- can't go wrong with those. But red is truly horrendous- suits the Polo but not its elder sibling (IMO)! A nice wine red/maroon a la Fiat Linea would have been wonderful.
Shadow blue promises to be the best looking of the lot (if it is in fact the same shade that the Jetta comes in), also terra beige should be interesting because the gold shade on the Passat looks dreamy. A dark grey a la the Polo may also make its way eventually. So the best is yet to come!

[Svis]

Originally Posted by noopster

@VCX- No colour is really "good". The basic shades white, black and silver are OK looking- can't go wrong with those. But red is truly horrendous- suits the Polo but not its elder sibling (IMO)! A nice wine red/maroon a la Fiat Linea would have been wonderful.
Shadow blue promises to be the best looking of the lot (if it is in fact the same shade that the Jetta comes in), also terra beige should be interesting because the gold shade on the Passat looks dreamy. A dark grey a la the Polo may also make its way eventually. So the best is yet to come!

Agree with Noopster, red looks sporty on the Polo, not on the classic lines of the Vento. I love the gold on the City/Accord, as well as the deep purple on the old Civic (color now discontinued) as well as the Linea deep maroon...sigh! I've gone for the Silver which I think is the best of the rest.

[vcx]

Agree Shadow blue could be a best of the available colors on Vento, on the flip side its closer to what Black appeals currently.

If Terra Beige looks like beige of Laura/sunbeam beige on Linea T-Jet (of same family) then its would certianly be a good one to look forward.

Agree deep wine red on Linea could as wel look neat.


Today in a shopping complex parking, I saw a Superb parked next to a Vento, the front fog lamp grill with chrome line is almost the same on both.