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The first feeling is that the Vento is your regular German made mid-sized saloon – well sculpted, sleek, and designs that are underplayed that makes it look sturdy. While the road clearance is good the drawback is that the 15 inch wheels don’t quite utilize the arches making it look like having weak knees. Luckily, the Vento does make up with larger back tyres than its Polo cousin allowing for a large back space. Once inside, you get what you wanted. The designs are really underplayed with no nonsense flashy dashboard. The controls are easy on the eye and the interior quality comes as a surprise when compared to its Indian competition. The finer details are all taken care of like the front occupants seat that can be leveraged using a lever that too from the back seat, surely a smart move. The back seats are really relaxing with good height support allowing up to three passengers at the back. Like the trademark VW style all the seats are well cushioned and have a good finishing. In India the VW is available in a 1.6-litre 105bhp petrol and a 1.6-litre 105bhp diesel engine. These engines are accompanied by 5-speed manual gear or you can also go for a six-speed auto version in the spark ignition version. The auto version though might not rev up as quickly as you would like.
The gasoline version peaks with a torque of 15.8kgm at 3800rpm, which involves bit of gear work during the overtaking maneuver. Though the engine does make you zoom around the city streets and even cruise at 100+ speeds, there is a lot left to be desired in terms of raw power. When compared to other petrol engines the Vento starts rattling when it gets past the 4000rpm. As mentioned earlier the auto gear lacks the punch in the power department as they wanted to be cost efficient, the Vento has a normal torque convertor transmission. So if you want to just stroll across your journey, the auto transmission is what you need. The gear transmissions are silent and the delay ratios are a no fuss. But the fun part is really thrown out of the window as the shifts are pretty slow in tipronic mode and the engine starts panting when compared to the manual gears. The lack of dead pedal is surely a huge miss in an auto gear. The common-rail diesel seems to have all the right nodes to it. It has a 25kgm torque at a below par rpm of 1500, and is a lot more fast and fiery. Though you will manage to stay away from the bog-zone you can’t escape the lag. Rev the turbo and you will be in for a relaxing spin and simply zoom on the highways. The refinement is cool too- it’s diesel alright but its light years away from the old grandfather’s Pumps Duse engines.
The Vento is reliable, safe and a simple rider control makes for easy zig zag in the city traffic. The tyres are really gripping and though there might be a hint of body roll, it’s not too bad. The bull’s eye is the ride, where it takes every terrain in its stride. Though a few bumps did manage to sneak in, but that was when we were four up and fully loaded. All the brothers and sisters of the Vento comes with back AC and mid rear armrest. The dashboard sure makes for a dashing appearance with a CD player, climate control, electric mirrors, ABS, alloy wheels, remote locking, trip comp and a couple of airbags. The Vento surely is not the one to be overlooked for the solid build, the underplayed class and for a diesel version; it starts from Rs 6.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the Trendline petrol and goes on to Rs 9.23 lakh for the Highline diesel. Know more about, and Volkswagen Vento, Maruti Cervo and Honda Brio
