Volkswagen Vento India, A Test Drive report. . Review on Volkswagen Vento

Test drive report - Vento 1.6 Diesel

Amaaaaazingggg!

I walked into the Elite showroom on Hosur road in bangalore around 2:30 PM on Saturday. I had talked to the executive the day before and had confirmed that I would be walking into the showroom for a test drive. The guy promised me that the vehicle will be ready. As expected the reception was not great. Lack of professional approach and inexperience of the staff was very evident. I waited in the showroom for 3 hours to get behind the wheels of the VW Vento. I was frustrated and angry.

All my anger and frustration vanished as soon as I got behind the wheels. My excitement was back and I was all charged up.

Today a few hours ago I took a test drive of the Diesel variant. This is what I felt.

Superb, amazing, incredibly powerful.

The pickup and control is amazing. I couldn’t count the seconds, but 0-140 it took only few seconds. NO rattling sounds, no jerking, very much under control, firm on the track. The 1.6 Diesel engine is a powerhouse. Step on the accelerator pedal and it shoots up like a rocket. I tried the best available ‘bad road’ in Bangalore. This is just behind the VW showroom. Thanks to the authorities for keeping it broken and almost impossible to drive. It was a good test drive terrain. The road had everything. Gutters, mud, slush,  sharp curves. The executive asked me to keep the accelerator pedal in the same speed ratio and ride on the gutter without reducing speed.that means do not move your foot to the brake pedal. I did it. Wow what an amazing control. I could hear muffled thuds from below the vehicle. Inside the cabin only a slight turbulence. The gentle Vento handles the abuse on its on stride. There was no throwing or shaking. The cabin was quite. Not even a sign for the passenger that it was moving on a tough terrain. The engine, the suspension, the brakes.all are amazing.

Now that being said, there are quite a handful of defects as well. As I have already mentioned in my earlier post, the arm rest for the driver is a complete flop. It was designed to give more comfort, but in fact it is hindering the free movement of your left hand and a big obstruction. A big design error. The rear view mirror hanging on the windshield is too small. It hardly gives any view of the rear. The parcel tray is too high towards the part where it joins the rear glass. You look over your shoulder to get a view of the rear and you can see nothing behind. So many blind spots. The back seat inclination should have been a couple of degrees more. The bump in the middle of the back cabin is too tall. The back seat should have been completely foldable. The seats are not foldable at all. There are no steering mounted controls. Highline being the top end model, it lacks these small items like no steering mounted controls, no USB or Bluetooth connectivity, no option for leather upholstery. There could have been a parcel tray under the co-driver seat. The arm rest in the back seat should have been placed an inch or more below. It is very wide and lacks aesthetics.

I would recommend,

1. Redesign the driver seat armrest -This is a must

2. Introduce steering mounted controls and USB(Bluetooth connectivity being optional)

3. Bigger wider rear view mirror - This is a must

4. Reduce the height of the parcel tray behind the back bench

5. Increase the rear bench back rest incline

6. Reduce the height of rear seat arm rest.

I will surely buy this car if VW will introduce solutions for point nos 1, 2 and 3

I was told that VW appreciates and accepts customer feedback and acts accordingly. Let me wait and see. I request every reader to put in your comments after reading the review. Please write to VW as a feedback if you also feel that points 1 through 6 are valid from your point of view. Thank you for reading this review.

Good Job VW, waiting to hear from you guys.