Volkswagen Vento

Volkswagen India unveiled its Vento sedan on July 6th in New Delhi. The Volkswagen Vento which would be pitted against the Honda City, Fiat Linea, Ford Fiesta and the Hyundai Verna Transform, could be priced between 7.25 to 9 lakh Rupees. The Vento’s pricing is likely to be announced by the 1st week of August while the car could reach showrooms by October-December.

The Volkswagen Vento is the sedan version of the Polo hatchback (very obvious!) and the Polo’s wheelbase has been stretched by 96mm for the sedan. The Vento has been developed for developing markets like India and Russia.

Vento positives -

> Vento’s styling looks smart, very neatly finished and crisply detailed. But the Vento cannot be called an attention grabber. The Vento looks beautiful.

> Looks solidly built and uniform panel gaps.

> Interiors of the car present a very good ambiance and reeks of quality, something extra-ordinary for a car in this segment.

> Powerful 1.6 petrol and diesel engines and the 6-speed automatic (which is offered only on the 1.6 petrol) is very sensible option for urban commutes.

> Adjustment lever for front seat travel from rear is a nice touch and is exclusive on the Indian Vento.

> Rear seat is a flat bench and not contoured hence can seat 3 comfortably.

> Rear A/C vents are a nice touch and has two adjustments for the blower to satisfy passengers on either side of the vent (unlike the Linea).

Vento negatives -

> From the front bumper till the rear door the Vento is exactly the same as the Polo and only the boot has been nicely glued to the rear. Volkswagen could have made the Vento look slightly different form the Polo hatchback. Even Tata has slightly tweaked the Indigo Manza to look different from the Vista and Ford’s Figo looks nothing like a hatchback version of the Fiesta. Though the Vento gets round fog lamps.

> There are only two trim levels, Trendline and Highline and we feel the the Trendline is under-equipped. Not even a music system is offered in the base version.

> VW India offers the Vento Trendline only in two colour options (White and Red) and the car comes with black rear view mirrors and door handles.

> Only a 14″ steel wheel is offered as a spare on the Vento Highline which runs on 15″ alloys.

> Though from the outside the Vento seems to have a spacious boot, in real the boot is quite small when compared to what the competition offers. The wheel wells and suspension struts eat into the boot space.

IAB first opinion -

The Volkswagen Vento is the only German contender in the upper C-segment after a long time since the Opel Astra and Corsa. So this means we have a solidly built German sedan as choice over the Fiat Linea and the Honda City. The Vento’s build quality is something what Indian car buyers in this segment are going to thoroughly enjoy. Engines on offer are very good and the 6-speed auto tranny would be a boon for city commutes.

Though the Vento is not exactly the perfect sedan, it should be a booted model with the least number of faults. The Vento would have the oomph of the Honda City, ride of the Fiat Linea and handling like the Ford Fiesta but should feel like a car from a higher segment.

Click here for IAB’s detailed look at the Vento’s specifications.

We would soon drive the Volkswagen Vento and bring you more about the car.