Not a long ago, Volkswagen launched Vento sedan with automatic gearbox and minor tweaks, now, The German car maker has launched Vento facelift in India with prices starting from Rs. 7.85 lakh. This is the second update to the Vento within 12 months, which has been a slow seller and losing its market share against competitors. The new Vento gets a few comprehensive styling updates along with some added features and improved fuel efficiency. Let’s see what new Vento has in store for us.
Price:
2015 Volkswagen Vento is available at a starting price of Rs. 7.85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the base 1.6 petrol MT variant and top MT variant cost at Rs. 9.42 lakh. The automatic starts at Rs. 9.87 lakh to 10.42 lakh while the entry level diesel variant has been priced from Rs. 9.10 lakh to 11.87 lakh for the top end variant.
Engine Details:
Power continues to come from same set of petrol and diesel engines as before. The 1.2L TSI turbocharged petrol engine churns out 103.5bhp power@5000rpm and 175Nm of torque between 1500-4100rpm and it comes mated to a seven speed DSG automatic gearbox. The manual petrol variant is powered by a 1.6MPI engine which produces 103.5bhp power@5250rpm and peak torque of 153Nm@3800rpm and paired to a 5-speed manual unit.
The diesel variants are powered by a 1.5L TDI engine which was introduced last year which is rated to generate 103.5bhp power@4400Nm of peak torque and 250Nm of maximum torque. The engine coupled to a 5-speed manual and a 7-speed DSG AT gearbox.
Volkswagen has tuned all three engines in order to better the fuel efficiency and as a result of it, manual petrol variants are now 7% more fuel efficient, 2% and 1% more frugal on the diesel manual and automatic variants.
| Petrol | 2014 Vento | 2015 Vento |
| MT | 15.04 KMPL | 16.09 |
| AT | 16.93 | 18.19 |
| Diesel | 2014 Vento | 2015 Vento |
| MT | 20.3 KMPL | 20.64 |
| AT | 21.21 | 21.50 |
Space and Dimensions:
The new Vento is now 6mm longer and 1mm taller than the 2014 model and it also offers 8 liters of more boot space (494 liters). The ground clearance has gone down by 2mm to 163mm from 165mm. The new Vento now measures at 4390mm in length, 1699mm in width and 1467mm of height along with the wheelbase of 2553mm. It will be interesting to see if these minor changes in dimensions would help in improving the cabin space or not.
Exterior and Interior:
The new Vento preserves the overall silhouette from the outgoing model but it gets some noticeable changes. New Vento gets larger three slat chrome grille like ongoing Passat, revised bonnet with deeper creases, new front bumper, redesigned air ducts with horizontal slats, new headlamps with smoked effect and fog lamp units with cornering light function.
The side profile remains unaltered except for the new alloy wheels, chrome touch on door handles and electrically foldable ORVMs with LED indicators. At rear, there is new bumper, revamped boot lid, exhaust pipe and new Tail lights with 3D effects and a soft touch release button for the boot lid.
On the Inside, the cabin boasts a new color theme; highline variant gets a walnut beige theme while Trendline and Comfortline variants get a Cloud Titanschwarz interior theme. Apart from the regular features, new Vento is equipped with some new features such as new Sporty flat bottom steering wheel, cruise control, cooled glove box, power folded ORVMs, silver surround on central console, revised instrument cluster and a dead pedal.
Height adjustable driver seat, rear parking sensors, MID, audio system with bluetooth, AUX-in, USB connectivity, climate control, foot well lights, speed sensing auto door locks, rear AC vent and central locking system are some of the other features of new Vento.
Colors:
The 2015 Volkswagen Vento is available in six colors– Titanium Beige (new), Carbon steel, Candy White, Toffee brown, Reflex Silver and night blue.
Safety:
The 2015 Volkswagen Vento comes with same safety features as before such as dual front airbags one for driver and front passenger, front disc brakes, electronic engine immobilizer with floating code, height adjustable 3-point seat belts, high mounted stop lamp and 3-point rear seat belts with lap belts as standard equipments.
While features like power windows with pinch function on all doors, front fog lamps with cornering functions, ABS (Anti-lock braking system), ESP (Electronic stability program) and hill hold control come as optional on new Vento.
Conclusion:
With all these minor updates, New Vento certainly looks a good prospect against the competition but the only area of concern is the after sales and the service cost. In the coming months, the company will launch the compact sedan which might prove to be a game changer for the car make in India.
