Rumour: Volkswagen Vento 1.6 AT gets the boot?

Volkswagen India is said to have discontinued the 6 speed automatic gearbox equipped, 1.6 liter MPI petrol engined variant of the Vento sedan. The reason for the discontinuation of the Vento 1.6 AT has to do with the launch of the 7 speed DSG dual clutch automatic gearbox equipped Vento 1.2 TSI variant. As the Vento 1.2 TSI variant is an improvement over the Vento 1.6 AT across many respects, the decision to discontinue the Vento 1.6 AT isn't surprising. 

The Vento 1.2 TSI engined sedan outputs 105 PS-175 Nm, a clear step up from the 105 PS-153 Nm output of the Vento 1.6 AT's engine. Also, the TSI motor is a turbo petrol engine that produces the major chunk of its torque at lower engine speeds, allowing for more efficient gear changes by the 7 speed DSG dual clutch gearbox. This makes for better fuel efficiency. Thirdly, the DSG dual clutch gearbox is a much faster shifting unit than the 6 speed torque converter unit, another brownie point in favour of the Vento 1.2 TSI. 

However, the Vento sedan will continue to be sold with the naturally aspirated 1.6 liter MPI petrol engine mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox. Therefore, it could still be a while before Volkswagen discontinues its naturally aspirated petrol engines for turbo petrol power. This change, which will eventually happen across Volkswagen's car range, has already begun with the 1.2 liter TSI turbo petrol engine available for both the Polo and Vento, the German car maker's entry level car models.  

The diesel variants of the car retain the 1.6 liter TDI turbo diesel motor that's paired to a 5 speed manual gearbox. The Vento's badge engineered sibling, the Skoda Rapid sedan, is yet to get the 1.2 liter TSI petrol engine-7 speed DSG automatic gearbox combination. Eventually, the Rapid is also likely to shift to turbo petrol power. Notably, in the next refresh (2014 or 2015) of the Vento and Rapid sedans, the 1.6 liter TDI turbo diesel engine is likely to be replaced by a more efficient, downsized 1.5 liter unit while the 1.6 liter MPI petrol motor could make way for the 1.2 TSI turbo petrol motor across the range. 

Source Overdrive