Why Volkswagen Vento is still a 'great car'

The Volkswagen Vento is a great car when we look at its styling, build quality, driving feel and dynamics.

The Volkswagen Vento was launched in the Indian market almost a decade back and while the German automaker is still selling the same generation of the C-segment sedan, fact is that they've given it quite a few updates over the years.

The 2019 Volkswagen Vento gets some minor revisions while essentially remaining the same car as before.

We drive it to see whether it still makes sense in a market which is overloaded with various options.

The Volkswagen Vento comes with an understated design and we must say, it is still worth a look even after all these years.

The Vento now gets 16-inch alloys and our test car came in the Lapiz Blue shade which is shared with the Skoda Rapid Onyx Edition.

The blue shade looks funky and that coupled with the gunmetal alloy gives the car a sporty look.

The interior carries the same layout as before and gets a full black colour scheme.

The cabin is ergonomic and controls are easy to use and user-friendly.

However, the Vento does miss out on some vital equipment like a reverse camera, leather upholstery, etc.

Our test car came with halogen headlamps and the absence of projectors or LEDs was felt.

The Volkswagen Vento is offered with a choice of 3 engines in the Indian market - 1.6-litre MPI, 1.2-litre TSI and 1.5-litre TDI.

We had the diesel engined car with us that comes with a 7-speed DSG.

The diesel engine continues to impress like before but it does feel a bit noisy.

The engine has brilliant driveability and while there is some amount of turbo lag, the strong mid-rage more than makes up for it.

Performance is very lively, acceleration is strong & linear and the Vento munches miles very effortlessly.

The DSG works wonders, offering quick shifts and it does reduce the lag by maintaining the required RPM.

The car feels sober in D mode while it is an absolute beast in S mode.

The DSG does get a bit confused at low speeds where it keeps shifting between the lower gears.

The car also seems to have a feeling of jerkiness while driving at city speeds, especially in traffic.

While the Volkswagen Vento comes with a well-setup suspension, the ride quality feels stiff at lower speeds and sharp undulations on our roads get filtered inside the cabin to an extent.

The Vento's ride is very stable though and the way it maintains its composure at highway speeds is just something else.

The steering is very direct and precise but some more feedback would have been appreciated.

The Volkswagen Vento is a great car when we look at its styling, build quality, driving feel and dynamics.

However, its age can be felt now when we look at newer rivals but the fact is that the Vento is still the best car in its segment when it comes to driving pleasure.

It does feel a bit overpriced though and we think a reduction in price would be positive for the brand.

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