After a fierce battle in hatch segment, car manufacturers are gearing themselves for cut throat competition in sedan segment as well. Recently we had few interesting launches in Sedan segment as well (Corolla Diesel, Etios, Vento, upgraded Verna are few to name)
Volkswagen introduced Vento (Sedan version of Polo) only in Indian and Russian market. German Manufacturer designing a car specifically for Indian desires shows that the Indian automotive industry is the centre attraction these days.
Volkswagen decided to make a hit on bread and butter of Honda by targeting the market leader (Honda City). In the month of November 2010, VW has beaten Honda in total sales. This might come as quite a shock for Honda. I strongly feel that it is high time for Honda to unleash Diesel powertrain to stay competitive in this battleground.
From the exterior Vento is sophisticated. Though Vento is sedan version of Polo, still it doesn’t look like a boot pasted on the back of the hatch. The longer wheelbase and neat job on C-pillar give a clean profile to the car. From front, Vento is identical to Polo (except there is small design change in lower air dam). Quarter glass in rear window is like a cherry on the cake. Polo’s crisp lines around the body are taken forward in Vento as well. VW could have given the Vento the same bootlid opening as the Polo, where you depress the VW logo to release the hatch. But here, to open the boot, one can use either the button on key or on door trim, and to delight the user the boot will open completely without any human assistance!!!!
Overall the car has got contemporary styling and the stance of car will make the Vento presence felt on the road.
I noticed an amazing thing on boot. There is a Volkswagen Name badge on the boot which is missing in its smaller hatch. Probably Volkswagen wants to brand itself as a big car manufacturer in India.
I could feel the sophistication even inside the vehicle. The build quality is excellent. I tried my best to find uneven gaps inside the cabin, but failed miserably. The front dash is similar to Polo. Combination of dark color on top and beige gives a beautiful practical dash panel. The car is sufficiently loaded with features and one will not miss the absence of any feature. All the four power windows are auto up with anti pinch feature. Audio quality is best what one can get in this segment.
Few good and innovative are also there. The rear passenger can slide the co-driver seat using a lever provided at the back of front seat. This is a clear indication that VW has an intention of “chauffer driven car” while designing Vento. Front and rear arm rest are quite good. Infact Vento has widest rear arm rest (in this segment). VW has also introduced amazing security feature inside. After locking the car, the alarm will blow up in case of any control operation inside. (Kudos to German thinking)
But there are few points that may irritate the customer. The tunnel height on the rear floor is so high that I was tempted to call Vento a four-seater. I was surprised to notice that VW hasn’t given an option of locking doors to its passengers (only driver can do so). Even the direct rear visibility is quite poor. In terms of comfort the seats aren’t that comfortable. The seats don’t provide enough thigh and lower back support and even the head restraints were rated as hard. The major reason of underrating of Vento in Comfort department is: “I was pampered by the comforts of Honda city in the previous evaluation”.
The Vento comes with two engine options and the petrol has an automatic gearbox option as well.
On the test track when I turned the key, I was welcomed by huge clutter noise of 1.6 Litre diesel engine. I can not understand that how come a common rail engine was producing so much noise even during idle. The 1.6-litre four-cylinder DOHC 16-valve common-rail turbocharged diesel motor also develops 104 bhp and it churns out 25.4 kgm of turning force between 1500 and 2500 rpm. The engine is more powerful then its figures. The turbo-lag is also not very evident in Vento. The taller gear ratios offered freedom of touching 100 kmph in third gear. Acceleration while outstripping any other car on highway is quite good as well. Engine and I both were relaxed even at the driving speed of 130 kmph. The car is so good that it will always respond to the smallest taps on accelerator pedal.
Steering the vehicle was fun. Vento has got a light and precise steering wheel that gives adequate feedback to the driver. It has got softer suspension system. The advantage of this suspension system is that one can easily glide over the cobbled street without much disturbance in cabin and the disadvantage is on potholed street where the car will shake like a mixer grinder. Initially I was little skeptical about the ride quality because of increased wheelbase (as compared to Polo) but ride is definitely better than Polo.
November sales figures of Vento are close to 2500 units and Honda City sales dropped to mere 3000 units in November. The fight is tough and we can only wait for few more months to get the clear verdict.
Why Buy: Volkwagen Brand, Powerful Diesel Engine, Features inside and German Engineering
Why Deny: Less Comfortable and Rear Tunnel Height, Rear visibility.
