Vento - beauty and performance

Exterior

I own a Highline diesel for more than 6 months now.  The car is phenomenal. It has an understated, subtle charm that one cannot realise until you watch it at peace and not in a hurry of online comparisons for features.  The car has a subtle basic structural resemblance to Audi if you watch it very carefully, if anyone got the taste for art!  It simply got the crisp and executive looks like other German premium cars...

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

The diesel highligne has got steering audio control, steering tilt and height adjust, phone bluetooth connectivity, space and holders for bottles, high quality plastics seen in premium cars, high quality leather seats, beige with darker two tones interior, vanity mirror, central locking with driver, remote locking, window locking, anti-pinch windows, boot opening button and remote boot opening, desmodronic keys, ignition auto lock, airbags in steering and for co passenger, lots of display features - mileage, km driven, time driven, km to service, fuel low warning, door ajar warning, handbrake warning, speedo, then we have speed adjustable wiper controls. rear side view mirrors control, window updown child lock, door opening child lock, spacious legroom, spacious cabin, rear ac vents, rear armrest, rear seat belts, height adjustable front seat belts, copassenger seat adjust from rear seat.  Also VW has optional rearview camera and touchscreen display provided by the showrooms (only VW recommended, local dealers installation not recommended and will void the 2 year warranty).

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

VW engine is simply amazing, it is highly refind and has got lot of torque.  Mileage i achieved in highways is 20 and in cities more than 15.  5 speed gearbox is butter smooth... not much noise in cabin with windows fully up.

Ride Quality & Handling

It has got abs, airbags and very highly stable at very high speeds, means you will feel the control of the car if you want to apply brakes at that speed and body roll is minimal.  Torque is amazing even after a speed of 140 / 150 kmph, the vehicle provides lot of buffer to pull further with much ease.

 Once I drove to a nearby place and all i could reach due to the traffic and road conditions was 130 kmph only and many hatchbacks were overtaking me at that speed, i got bit sceptical.  Then i went on a longer trip with my family (incl. kids), when i was at a 50km stretch of the national highway road which is usually with less traffic i really wanted to test the speed limits and i could see (forget the hatchbacks) Toyota Corolla, Honda City, Duster, Hyundai Verna etc almost many cars that i wanted to race with were all trying for their stint at that stretch.  My vento proved the winner, with me attaining a topseed of around 175 and there was absolutely no problem in handling, comfort, noise of the engine or stability of the car, applying brakes to reduce speed wasnt a problem either.  The verna guy tried with his car at certain points to overtake but when there were bends in the roads verna let him down as i know braking and stability in japanese or korean cars are not that rock solid like german VW. Duster couldnt manage more than 150, City could manage 160, Corolla was even lesser. Though i have to be honest that indian roads (even highways) are not designed for very high speeds, so continuing to test my vehicle beyond 175, i could feel that it was not safe.

shock absorbers do a very good job in our roads in highways.

Final Words

Thus its not only the speed, its also stability and sturdiness that is important in a car that we should look for.  And, Germans do have that rappo in providing stability and sturdiness along with performance.  Japanese and Koreans are pure copycats, either in design or any other feature.  All the extra bells & whistles they provide are just to attract ignorant customers who do not know the most basic things that they should be looking for in a sedan car.  With family i could test car to its limit, thank you VW for your engineering perfection.

Areas of improvement  

More bells & whistles maybe an added attraction.

Almost everythingMaybe a couple of bells & whistles required like other Asian cars to attract layman consumers