Expereince for 6 weeks

 

Exterior A good looking car. One look is enough to convince that this is a German Engineered car.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) The climatronic A/C is very good. Cools (not chills) uniformly. Although a bit noisy at blower speeds above 3.  I could adjust the seat to ‘my’ ideal position.  Internal  space is quite good. My wife & kids are very happy. In my previous car, we were used to storing a lot of sundry items (files, purse, etc.) behind the rear seats; this is simply not possible in Vento. Anything you keep there is bound to fall on the seat due to it slope. Stereo sound quality is ok, but lacks many features (I am not just talking about Blue-5 which I really miss. But also about simple CD navigation / information features.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox The engine is very refined (as would be expected at this segement). Responds well. I got around 400Kms from my first tank-full (50 Ltrs), an average of 8 Kmpl. In my next one, it is about 12 kmpl. Could be because my initial driving was mostly in city (my workplace is around 3Kms away from home) & it is only in last week that have driven on highway

The gears are smooth & have a good feel. But needs to be changed fast, especially on lower gears. Arm rest is at correct height & really conformable.

 

Ride Quality & Handling Drive is really smooth. Absolutely no vibrations or sound in idling. Braking is great & very stable. Dead pedal is something I really miss. Sometimes, while over-taking on highways, I felt the power was lagging.  Overall the car is very stable, even at high speed (although I rarely travel at more than 110kmph). The steering wheel gives a feeling of being in command & responds very well in all speeds & road conditions. Suspensions are superb. Comfortable even on recently dug-up up roads  Strangely though, I have sometimes experienced a big ‘thud’ on relative small pot-holes. One probable reason could be suspension's bottom spring mount plate which is mounted pretty low.  Driving position is very good.

 

Final Words Over-all, in-spite of some minor issues, I am quite happy with this car! I feel I have got a good deal for my money.

 

Areas of improvement Need to provide Dead pedal, Blue-5, Steering mounted controls & a better stereo. Mileage could also be improved. In 2-3 days of taking delivery of the car I noticed that bonnet alignment was a bit out. There gap on one side was more as compared to other. When I took the car to showroom, initial reactions was that I am imagining it! (The difference was hardly noticeable), however on closer scrutiny, it was found that one of mounting bushing of the bonnet was missing. Was promptly replaced. Central locking is a biggest pain. My 3 years old can open the car from inside even if I engage the central lock (that too, manually). Locking only disables opening from outside.

 

Good overall quality, Good looks, German engineeringLack of features (Bluetooth, sterring mounted control), Bad Dealer, Central locking