Volkswagen's Vento has always enjoyed a good reputation in Germany, its birthplace. The Vento, though originally a people’s car from Germany, has received the kind of warmth from automobile enthusiasts that is usually associated with Audi and Mercedes.
Over the years, the Vento has come to be considered as a luxury car with a great brand value. Like all Volkswagen cars, the Vento too shares many parts with the Audi and that ensures a high build quality.
What’s special about the new Vento?
Unlike the updated Vento that was launched almost a year ago, the latest model has undergone a total makeover. The car has undergone key changes to keep up with the times, but prices have not been increased substantially.
Changes to the exterior
The main difference to the exterior of the latest Vento is its new grill. This grill, borrowed from its elder cousin Passat, gives the Vento a bigger look. The headlamps, fog lamps, bumpers and alloy wheels are all newly designed. Volkswagen has given the new Vento a lavish dose of chrome including on the car’s door handles. The wing mirrors are now electrically foldable while the 3D look alike rear lamps add to the car’s overall beauty.
Changes to the interior
The first thing that strikes you once inside the car is its racing-inspired flat-bottom steering wheel. The interior is done up in a theme of black and beige and the dashboard is in an all-black tone.
The seats are quite comfortable and the front row seats have hand rests with storage space under them. The new stereo does not have touchscreen, but comes with voice command and blue-tooth facilities.
Other changes
Airbag comes as a standard feature in all the variants of the Vento while ABS and ESP are available only in the high-end models. The automatic DSG model has the Hill Hold function. Cruise control is another attractive feature that makes highway driving an effortless affair. One just has to set the speed, put the car in cruise-control mode and enjoy the ride.
Behind the wheel
The engine remains the same old 1.5-litre diesel unit that churns out 103.2 bhps and 250 NM of torque. The car delivers a fuel average of 20.4 kilometres per litre. The bright spot of this engine is nothing but its high torque output while retuning of the unit has substantially improved the car's drivability. Like all German cars, the Vento has excellent road grip and inspires confident handling even at high speeds. The clutch is slightly on the heavier side and that could prove to be a bit of an irritation in city commutes.
The ride
The suspension has been retuned and the rear seat passengers can now enjoy a smoother ride as potholes and bad stretches of roads are well absorbed. While two adults can sit comfortably on the rear seat, a third one will cause discomfort to the middle passenger as the floor is not flat. However, a kid can comfortably fit in the middle.
Why Vento?
The prime reason one should go for this car is nothing but world-class German engineering. The Vento can give any mid-segment car a run for its money. The top end diesel model costs Rs 12.5 lakhs on road while the top end automatic model costs around Rs 14 lakhs. The same technology, when it comes in a premium package called Audi will cost at least Rs 15 lakh more than the Vento.
Test Drive: 9895764023