[benzinblut]

Congratulations. I've seen your detailing pictures on the other thread. Good job, I must say. I know what it takes! Keep her that way.

I see that the pictures are just off palm beach road. Do you stay in one of those buildings? I use the palm beach road daily en route office.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Pasted two Team-BHP stickers on my Dark Knight, Live To Drive on right hand side of rear bumper and Got BHP? on left hand side of front bumper. Waiting for someone to spot me.


Thanks! It's not a typo, my car precisely stands at 8 months 27 days with 2690 kms on the odo to this day. It's not a daily drive car but for household works or for long trips.
From mid jan would be driving it 30 kms a day to fro from Vashi to Chembur, so will see some improvement in abysmal usage.

Congrats on your pearl black beauty. Own the same myself and feel it looks classy from all angles. The only sore point probably I find is probably the engine clatter which is unusually high compared to the other diesels around.

I too am in a fix as to which stickers go where. I am not a sticker kind of a guy so ensured none of the car accessory shops could put anything on my car. Only TBHP stickers would be allowed and I should be putting them up soon, just trying to make up my mind which one goes where. Its like decking up a newly wed bride .

[Ricky_63]

Nice to see someone actually spending time to keep a Black car in pristine nick !! Once upon a time I used to do the same - but back then we never had these fancy swirl removers et al, hence out of compulsion now I buy Silver cars since 1999 (mostly) though the Black one's always beckon !!



Cheers

[el lobo 6061]

Today went for a short drive with family, Dark Knight was desperate for a good short drive. At certain point the road was clear and there was no one in my way. Was doing 70 Kmph in 5th cog and just felt why not have short burst of speed. Just depressed the accelerator and woah it just went from 70 to 160 Kmph in no time.
Car feels very much planted and you just don't feel like you are cruising at such high speed. German car are tight footed and have a solid feel to them. Vento TDi has a very short acceleration time as well as in gear acceleration.
But in the end drive safe.

Originally Posted by benzinblut

Congratulations. I've seen your detailing pictures on the other thread. Good job, I must say. I know what it takes! Keep her that way.

I see that the pictures are just off palm beach road. Do you stay in one of those buildings? I use the palm beach road daily en route office.

Many a times I feel did I make the right decision of purchasing a Black color car but seeing her every time in her pristine condition I feel I made the right decision. With you all appreciating it, it makes it all the more special. Thanks.
Yeah, you guessed it right, I do stay in one those bldg.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Congrats on your pearl black beauty. Own the same myself and feel it looks classy from all angles. The only sore point probably I find is probably the engine clatter which is unusually high compared to the other diesels around.

I too am in a fix as to which stickers go where. I am not a sticker kind of a guy so ensured none of the car accessory shops could put anything on my car. Only TBHP stickers would be allowed and I should be putting them up soon, just trying to make up my mind which one goes where. Its like decking up a newly wed bride .

Congrats to you for your Bagheera and have many safe miles with it. Vento looks at its best in Pearl Black and Shadow Blue shades. A small tip from my side, for car wash and cleaning use only MicroFibre(MF) towels as it keep swirls at bay compared to using any other type of cloth. Even if its washed by car cleaner do give him MF towels as swirls on a black colored car look all the more prominent compared to other shades. Even with MF there might/will be swirls but comparatively lesser to a cotton cloth.
Vento TDi clatter is on the higher side no doubt but once engine reaches its optimal temperature the clatter significantly reduces. VW has done a good job in insulation and with audio system switched on you would hardly hear engine clatter. But when turbo kicks in you do hear a swoosh sound which I actually like.
Regarding stickers you could paste two W3 stickers on the number plate at first, which would look subtle and any bhpian could easily identify another bhpian too.

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Nice to see someone actually spending time to keep a Black car in pristine nick !! Once upon a time I used to do the same - but back then we never had these fancy swirl removers et al, hence out of compulsion now I buy Silver cars since 1999 (mostly) though the Black one's always beckon !!

Cheers

Thanks. Sometimes I do have after thought whether it was right choice to go with black but after its cleaned and quick detailed it just looks best compared to other shades. On a black color car a small scratch, swirl or a dust speck gets easily highlighted, so maintaining it is a tough job.

[anand_hc]

Thanks for a great post. I bought my Vento in Nov 2011 and almost clocked 2500 KMs. I love the car. Mine is white ( I would have loved to get a Black or Blue ) Wait period was around 3 months. Hope you will drive more and enjoy your long drives. Please post on service experience when done!

[sandeepmohan]

Congratulations on your new ride. Till a short while ago, this was the pick of the segment among diesels. The new Skoda Rapid stole that crown. Even then, it is a car from the very same family.

I really wish you took a test drive of the Fiat Linea. It is a wonderful car. I bought one and enjoy the car very much. It is too early to comment on the ownership experience though. I am quite surprised you find the interiors dated on the Linea. It has a nice modern interior. It is far from boring.

[mnemonic]

Painstaking work has certainly paid dividends in your case EL. I am so tempted to pop by and take a look at the knight in flesh during one of my PB runs. I live on the same road as well, albeit on the other side, down the road at Seawoods 2.

Keep her gleaming!

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by anand_hc

Thanks for a great post. I bought my Vento in Nov 2011 and almost clocked 2500 KMs. I love the car. Mine is white ( I would have loved to get a Black or Blue ) Wait period was around 3 months. Hope you will drive more and enjoy your long drives. Please post on service experience when done!

Congratulations on your white Vento. Vento begs to be driven for long drives but for the want of time in my case. 3 months more before Dark Knight goes for its first service, will post the experience. Hoping it will be a good one.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Congratulations on your new ride. Till a short while ago, this was the pick of the segment among diesels. The new Skoda Rapid stole that crown. Even then, it is a car from the very same family.

I really wish you took a test drive of the Fiat Linea. It is a wonderful car. I bought one and enjoy the car very much. It is too early to comment on the ownership experience though. I am quite surprised you find the interiors dated on the Linea. It has a nice modern interior. It is far from boring.

Thanks. I wished if VW had given Skoda a detuned version of 1.6TDi than we would have had exclusivity, but damn VW. Spoiled the fun.
Linea is a good car no doubt but its 1.3L MultiJet heart is no match to 1.6TDi. Another problem was Tata handling Fiat's after sales which made Linea strike off from our list. Linea needs a 1.6L MultiJet to take competition to Vento.

Originally Posted by mnemonic

Painstaking work has certainly paid dividends in your case EL. I am so tempted to pop by and take a look at the knight in flesh during one of my PB runs. I live on the same road as well, albeit on the other side, down the road at Seawoods 2.

Keep her gleaming!

Thanks. Seawoods 2 is just 5 min from my place. Drop in any day, let know via PM. If you are free you could join in T-Bhp Mumbai meet in the Team-BHP Meet Section.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Linea is a good car no doubt but its 1.3L MultiJet heart is no match to 1.6TDi. Another problem was Tata handling Fiat's after sales which made Linea strike off from our list.

I completely agree with you. A bigger block would have been better. However, the existing multijet is no slouch. Given a little room, the car can build pace quite well. It is off course, no match for the VW engine in terms of power output. I can easily say that its refinement and noise levels are better than VW.

Service is a hit or miss with TATA Fiat. I will know soon. Honestly, VW are not all that better. I dropped my plan of buying a Vento petrol after talking to a gentleman/friend who owns one. His brand new car had a problem from the time of delivery and VW took 3 months to fix it. The 3 month delay was not due to non availability of parts. They were just incapable of finding out the fault. The problem was steering vibration felt at speeds above 60kmph. This gentleman knew what was wrong but kept quiet just to see how VW tackle it. This was a big mistake as. At the end, my friend ended up running up and down to the service center. VW replaced the entire suspension assembly under warranty. At the end, the problem was a defective tire. Something my friend had been telling them to check from day one. Towards the end, my friend forced them to remove the wheel and fix the wheel from a test drive car and the problem disappeared. The alloy/wheel rim was good. It was just the tire that was faulty.

Anyways, I wish none of this happens to you and you have a very good experience. Honestly, the ownership experience of just about any car in India is a hit or miss.

[el lobo 6061]

As many of the Vento owners may be knowing whenever you use the windscreen wiper you get a very divine smell like no other.
Well, the fragrance had reduced in my Dark Knight, so wanted to get it back. Don't remember but someone had written that we can purchase it from VW workshop. Called up VW Navi Mumbai KSM Motors workshop to inquire about the same.

The lady on the phone understands what I'm asking, very first time anyone at VW understood what a customers is asking otherwise most of the time they are always clueless. She checked up in the stock and said its available. Told her keep it billed I'm coming to pick it up.

Reached the workshop, now the surprise. VW doesn't allow direct sale of products from their workshop. The SA needs to open up a job card first for no reason and than can only they give any service to you whatsoever. That took 10 min, bill was readied in another 10 min. Total time wasted 20 min.

Surprising thing the workshop bay was quite empty and few of the cars were getting detailed by people wearing 3M shits and doing a shoddy job. Did a bit chit chat with the parts manager and SA, you need to have good friends at workshop level to get your work done.

Though of purchasing two, but they were having only one in stock which they kept for me as I had asked to keep it billed. The wiper fluid costed me Rs. 255 including all the taxes.

Another thing its actually called Windscreen Clear Concentrate with Frost Protection Upto -70 Degree Celsius. Its no ordinary windscreen fluid, its built for the purpose of frost protection also. The product is Made in Germany and imported by Skoda.

SA told to use 2 cups whenever the wiper fluid gets exhausted. Now whenever I use the wipers there is always a divine smell.

Few pictures.

[el lobo 6061]

Drive: Sanpada, Navi Mumbai to Club Mahindra Lake Pawna Resort

It had been 2 months since we went for a long drive. So out of the blue decided to go for a long drive. Being a Club Mahindra member we wanted to go to Lake Pawna Resort for a while but because of time constraint couldn't.

So after having our brunch yesterday, we set out for a drive of 90 kms from our house at 2:15 pm. The drive was butter smooth as it was through Mumbai-Pune Expressway with some twistiest ghats section encountered after entering Lonavala. For the first time took the car to its top whack of 186 Kmph at the expressway, it was effortless and didn't even feel like we were cruising at such high speeds. Kudos to German engineering.

There was no traffic while entering Lonavala all the way till Tiger point. Encountered some ghats section and after that it was twisting roads. The car never felt short on power anytime, some small engines cars were having troubles pushing themselves uphill but Vento 1.6 TDi heart was just munching those steep gradient like anything with ACC running all throughout.

The road to Club Mahindra Resort is same as that of Ambey Valley city but it separates at Cloud9 Hills Resort. The road after is not tarred properly but is fine. Even encountered a Green Wine Snake crossing road while going uphill towards the resort.

We reached the resort at 4:15 pm. Its a newly built property and is at its best. It it situated just at the bank of Pawna Dam and the view is superb. The weather was very cold. Ventured in and around the resort and checked it out thoroughly. Had some snacks, tea and pizzas.

Left the resort at 5:30 pm. While going towards the resort we had seen a nursery and dad is quite fond of plants. So dad wanted to check it out while coming back. You all wouldn't believe the nursery is spread around 2200 acres, its massive.
As it was Sunday it closes at 4 pm. Asked the security guard to let us to have a look. He called his superior and they allowed. Checked out the Rose plantations and many other plants. As it was getting dark decided to leave as didn't want to be late to reach home and don't like night driving in ghat sections. One requires at least 5 hrs to thoroughly have a look at the nursery. It is owned and maintained by Essar Agrotech Limited and they export in bulk quantities. But you can still purchase plants from them.
Because of upcoming Valentines Day on 14 Feb there was lot of roses of various kinds in the nursery.

Had a very nice drive covering a total of 195 kms in total. Now I will let the pictures do the talking.
First set of pictures.

[el lobo 6061]

2 set of pictures and the last.





















Happy Motoring.

[vkaul1]

Nice Pics... Especially loved the one with the flower in the grill

[Shome]

Nice trip Rohaan. Was at the other side of the lake on the 31st. Is a very pretty site.

[Lion_King]

hey El Lobo, Do Club Mahindra Lake Pawna Resort guyz welcome non-members for small lunches etc. ? Can you provide me some contact number where i can make the enquiry ?