After the launch of New Polo Hatchback in Indian Market Volkswagen has launched the sedan variant of New Polo to compete with the likes of Swift Dzire, Hyundai Verna & Fiat Linea. Outside India, Polo has a sedan variant called the Volkswagen Polo Classic, but for India Volkswagen has christened the Polo saloon as “Vento“. Production bases of the current Polo Classic are located in Brazil, South Africa and China. Australia receives the Polo Classic from the base in China, and the model is the first right hand drive Chinese-manufactured car to be exported to a “developed country”. The Vento, which means wind in both Italian and Portuguese, follows the VW tradition of naming its models after prominent winds. VW certainly hopes the Vento badge clicks in India, in fact, India is one of the most important markets for the Vento and the German company hopes to sell 25,000 units every year once production is in full swing.
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car maker launched it’s much awaited entry level premium sedan the Vento today. The Vento is be available to customers starting at Rs 6.99 lakhs, for the 1.6 litre petrol variant and Rs. 7.99 lakhs for the diesel variant, Ex. Showroom New Delhi. Speaking about Volkswagen’s market introduction of the Vento, Mr. Neeraj Garg, Member of Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd said, “The New Vento, which stands for best in class features and German engineering is poised to set a benchmark in its segment. Designed for the Indian market it will be a strong addition to our product portfolio. Adding further he said, “The New Vento is an extension of our commitment towards the Indian consumers of providing the best quality products at competitive prices.”
The petrol variant of the Vento is equipped with a 1.6 litre engine with an output of 105PS @ 5250 rpm and a Torque of 153NM @ 3800 rpm. It is paired with a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic gear box and boast of fuel efficiency of 15.83 Km/l and 14.4Km/l respectively. The diesel variant is also equipped with the 1.6 litre engine paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox, with an output of 105PS @ 4400 rpm and a Torque of 250 NM @ 1500-2500 rpm and has a fuel efficiency of 20.54 Km/l.
The interior is equipped with storage compartment in front doors for 1 litre Bottles, sunglass storage inside glove box, foldable roof handles with coat hooks, front and rear centre armrest, cupholders and “Livon” fabric upholstery are proof of the sure instinct of high design quality which interprets the classic elements of the Vento in a contemporary way. In exteriors too, the Vento offers Body colored bumpers, Chrome inlays in front grille, body coloured exterior door handles & mirrors (Highline), rough road package with increased ground clearance and partially zinc coated body with 6 years anti-rust warranty. With regards to safety, the Vento Highline is equipped with ABS, Front Airbags for driver and co-driver, Anti Theft system with interior surveillance and back up alarm. On comfort, the Vento Highline offers adjustable front co-driver seat from the rear, CD MP3 Player with 4 speakers, electrically adjustable outside mirrors, climatronic automatic air conditioning with rear AC vents, remote control for central locking. Multi function information display including door opening warning, height adjustable driving seats, a steering wheel adjustable for reach and rake which improves the drivability of the passenger are also available. The Vento will establish a leadership position in its class with category defining attributes of space, style, comfort and safety. It will be manufactured at Volkswagen’s Chakan plant with an annual capacity of 110,000 cars.
The front design of Volkswagen Vento is more or less same like the hatchback version like Tata has done with Indica/Indigo and Maruti Suzuki has done with Swift/Swift Dzire. The Vento is essentially the saloon version of the recently launched Polo and it shares a common platform with the hatchback. Both the saloon and the hatch are similar upto the B-pillar, except for a different grille and lights to differentiate it from its hatchback sibling. The Vento’s rear section or third box is well integrated with the body. The typically Volkswagen grille and stunning headlights only add to the appeal. All in all Vento looks awesome from almost all angles. The squarish tail lamps may not be very new in design but looks very good and suits the overall stance of Volkswagen Vento.
The VW engineers were aware that the Polo’s rear seat would be inadequate for saloon car customers and hence the wheelbase has been extended by an estimated 50mm for better legroom. Headroom too is better as the roof doesn’t taper down as sharply as in the hatch. Using the Honda City as the Vento’s benchmark, VW engineers hint at best-in-class comfort with the use of special seat cushions to withstand prolonged use without compromising comfort. Boot space is in the region of 500 litres with a split seat option on offer.
The top model (Highline) of Volkswagen Vento comes fully loaded with following features:
- – Power Steering, Power Windows, Remote Central Locking System
- – CD MP3 Player with 4 speakers, Electrically adjustable outside mirrors
- – Climatronic automatic air conditioning with rear AC vents
- – Multi function info display including door opening warning
- – Height adjustable driving seats plus steering wheel adjustment for reach and rake.
- – Dual SRS Airbags, ABS with EBD, Anti Theft System, Electronic Immobilizer
- – Alloy Wheels, Sunglass Storage Inside Glove-box
- – Front and Rear Seat Arm-rests in center
- – Livon Fabric Upholstery, Electronically Adjustable Outside Rear View Mirrors
- – Body Colored Bumpers, Fog Lamps, Body Colored Door handles & ORVM
Engine Options in Volkswagen Vento
1.6 Litre Petrol – 105 Bhp/153 Nm
1.6 Litre Diesel – 105 Bhp/250 Nm
The Vento has been initialy launched with two engine options – a petrol and a diesel. Both these engines displace 1.6 litres and both produce 105 Bhp. However, the diesel has a thumping 250 Nm of torque to the petrol motor’s 153 Nm and their driving characteristics will differ like chalk and cheese. Like in the Jetta, the petrol motor in the Vento is a naturally aspirated unit but it’s more advanced. While the Jetta’s 1.6 motor had two valves per cylinder driven off a single cam, the Vento has a four-valve head and double overhead camshafts.
The 1.6 common-rail diesel is brand new and comes from the same engine family as the 1.2 turbo-diesel that powers the Polo and the bigger 2-litre diesel under the hood of the Jetta. This engine comes with 90bhp and 105bhp power outputs and thankfully VW has decided to give us the more powerful engine. If the relatively lightweight Polo is anything to go by, then the Vento won’t be more than a 100kg heavier than the hatch, which should give it a good power-to-weight ratio. While the petrol Vento may not match the Honda City for pace, the diesel Vento should be a close match for the 110bhp Verna diesel. Both these engines, the diesel in particular, have been tuned more for fuel economy and driveability.
Safety Features of Volkswagen Vento
- – Front SRS Airbags for driver and co-driver
- – Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with EBD
- – Anti Theft system with interior surveillance and back up alarm
Safety features are abundant and combine to make Vento one of the world’s safest small cars. Included are the high quality, torsionally rigid bodyshell, advanced chassis design and standard features such as five three-point seat belts, front and side airbags, and ABS anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-pressure distribution (EBD).
Colour options in Volkswagen Vento
The trendline variant is available in 2 colours:
– Candy white
– Flash red
While the highline variant is available in 4 colours:
– Shadow blue
– Reflex Silver
– Deep black
– Terra Beige
Volkswagen Vento variants & prices
The variants & prices of the Volkswagen Vento are as under:
Volkswagen Vento 1.6 Trendline Petrol — Rs 6.99 lakh
Volkswagen Vento 1.6 Highline Petrol —– Rs 8.23 lakh
Volkswagen Vento 1.6 Highline Petrol AT – Rs 9.21 lakh
Volkswagen Vento 1.6 Trendline Diesel — Rs 7.99 lakh
Volkswagen Vento 1.6 Highline Diesel —– Rs 9.23 lakh
(All prices ex-showroom, New Delhi)
