TEST DRIVE: Volkswagen Vento 1.2 TSI Highline - There and Back Again....as well as a comparison!

Recently a bunch of Malaysian automotive journalists and I went up north to Penang recently courtesy of Volkswagen Malaysia. The reason for this trip was to try out the new Volkswagen Vento 1.2TSI. Now the Volkswagen Vento is actually the Volkswagen Polo Sedan. Volkswagen had decided the name needed to be changed for this facelift. According to them the reason for this was because they had done quite a bit of facelifting underneath the exterior of the car which gets a little bit more chrome trimming, new bumpers, new headlights, new taillights and new cosmetic bits inside (New, more upmarket looking steering wheel especially).

There are more mechanical changes in the top of the line specced premium Highline car where in place of the normally aspirated 1.6liter single camshaft engine and a six speed torque converter gearbox, a 1.2liter turbocharged direct injection unit is now coupled to a 7 speed dual clutch gearbox or DSG which Volkswagen likes to call it. It now makes 105ps and 175Nm of torque. The 1.6liter engine and gearbox are carried over from the Polo Sedan and are called the Vento Trendline and Comfortline respectively. Wait. 105Ps sounds like it makes the same like the older 1.6liter engine. Well it is but the more basic 1.6 makes less torque – 153Nm. This makes a fair bit of difference you will see.

So why did Volkswagen call it the Vento then? I have an idea. Imagine if you were working in Volkswagen and every week you have a meeting regarding the cars. Imagine if you were discussing the Polo. You'd be constantly having a small mix up that may go like this.

“The Polo is selling well over in Penang” said one. “Really? Which one? The sedan or the hatchback?” asked the other. “The Polo Sedan” replied the former. And then another guy from manufacturing may say “ The assembly of the Polo Sedan is going fine. The assembly for the Polo Hatchback is also fine.”

So everyone at the meeting will have to actually say the full name of the Polo being referred to. He cannot just say “Polo” because someone is going to say “Which one?” So folks, this is my actual theory on why Volkswagen decided to call the Vento, Vento. I mean, you'd be tired too. Of course, this is aside from the fact that it makes perfect sense since Volkswagen have always called the Golf sedan a Jetta (or even a Bora at one time). So why not keep with the tradition?

The Drive Experience

Right. The Vento. Everything is very familiar when you get into one. After all, it is a Volkswagen, where every cabin feels similar which the exception of the size of the cabin and the materials used as you go higher up the food chain. So this entry level Vento feels like any other Volkswagen with properly screwed parts, a nice steering wheel (nicer actually) and nicely laid out ergonomics. It is easy to get comfy in the Vento and all the controls are nicely laid out for you.

Anyway, back to the trip to Penang in a Vento Highline. We were paired two to a car. We took turns and it was good to try out the car as passenger and as driver. You get to feel a lot of the car's nuances this way. The route to Penang isn't a straightforward one as we were following the attached SatNav which took us on a lot of B roads so that we could try out the car thoroughly. We did. We had a scheduled stop at Tanjung Tualang for lunch and for some photo taking opportunities.

Belting the Vento on the B-roads

The Vento was quite a marvel to drive really fast. I think the high speed stability on the highway and the B-roads were exemplary for a B segment sedan. You see, the Vento Highline also comes equipped with larger tyres and wheels. Instead of the skinny 185/60/15 tyres you get fitted to the earlier Polo Sedan and the Vento Trendline and Comfortline, we get fatter 215/45/16 Continentals. This fills out the arches a little more and adds a lot more grip. I think the ride is a little bit busier than the 15 inch setup but I can notice the difference in grip in the corners and also on the high speed runs on the highway. It also allows you to take more advantage of the extra torque coming from the turbocharged 1.2liter engine.

The car now feels a little more alive with the extra torque. 175Nm against 153Nm makes a whole lot of difference. I think this is so much more beneficial than horsepower. Torque is what makes the car feel accelerative and makes overtaking easier. The bigger wheels allow you to carry more speed into the corners and the turbocharged torque from that tiny 1.2liter engine allows you to punch out of corners (or to overtake) with much more ease than before.

You have to add the very surprisingly smooth 7 speed DSG into the equation also. I was told that Volkswagen reworked this 'box a fair bit. They said parts have been modified and changed so that it is more robust than before. I think it is also smoother than before. There is almost no driveline shunt at all in traffic and no judder as you creep through traffic. The throttle pedal feels meatier and more substantial to press down rather than feel slightly hollow and empty. I am referring to the DSG fitted to most under 1.8liter Volkswagens here. I feel this iteration is the best to date. There was only one of two times where ti DSG decided to act like its old self, under very heavy breaking whilst doing a higher than usual U-turn in 'S' mode. There the gearbox decided to shift a tad bit too fast and there was a thump. So I think that in any normal situation you could be hard pressed to tell whether this was a DSG or a traditional sort of gearbox. So now the DSG is still fast between gears on the open roads, still responds faster than most of us would need it too and it now slurs between gears properly smooth in traffic.

The handling of the car is what I would claim as best in its class (which you will also find out right down below after this article). This could be the best B segment sedan out there to drive really fast as the engine performance seems to be a good match to the handling. The steering may not have much feel but it is nicely accurate.  It would allow a little bit of throttle adjustability and it also has a very obedient tail that follows the nose. This means that the chassis is predictable on the B roads that we drove very hard on.

Punt it into a corner and it does not get caught off-guard by a mid-corner bump. There is more than enough suspension travel if you're going truly ballistic on any stretch of B-roads in and around Malaysia. We found this out going into Tanjung Tualang town where there was one of those 'invisible' small and sharp sleeping policemen with the signboard covered by branches of a tree. The Vento flew and landed hard but there was no bottoming out. The car did not lose composure and we went our merry way. So aside from the better grip, the suspension setup is good too. Of course, the poser in me would have liked to see the Vento Highline with its 16inch wheels to sit about an inch lower so that it would look cool. No. This is the poser talking as the ride height and suspension travel seemed well optimised for our B-roads.

The brakes were more than adequate too. I do not have complaints of initial bite or brake feel. More than adequate even though the Vento has rear drum brakes instead of all round discs. Wish it did though. No brake fade too. And this was on rough, undulating B-roads. On smoother hillside roads which we encountered in Penang when we went through the hillside roads from Georgetown through Paya Terubong and onwards to Balik Pulau for dinner and back. It felt marvellously confident in the hands of one of us who was very familiar with the road. He gave it a work out on the trip back to the hotel after dinner and durians. The little engine carried four of us with ease up and down the hillside route. Could do with a bit more power, but it felt more like a 1.8liter car than a 1.2liter going up that stretch of road. 

The Highway Drive 

On the highway, especially on the trip back to Kuala Lumpur was where we tested the Vento's high speed capability. The Vento managed a flat out cruise of over 190kmh. Even the sweeping corners could be taken safely at over 160kmh. At the hills surrounding Ipoh, the Vento did not struggle going up and down those tighter uphill and downhill stretches at all. I suppose the torque from the tiny 1.2liter engine and the 7 speed DSG was adept in handling the inclines as well as the descent. I have no real complaints for something from this class of car. High speed stability was very good for a car this small. Small as it is a B segment car and not something higher up. You cannot find any B segment sedan with this much confidence bombing down the North-South Highway.

The high speed run back to Kuala Lumpur was excellent. The brakes again were up to mark. And you'd think you were in a larger sedan if not for the wind noise at the front pillars at speeds beyond 155-160kmh. Yes, this is where the small car roots betrays the Vento a little. No. Not as quiet as a C segment car obviously, like say the Vento's big brother, the Jetta at speed. But as a more affordable option, it seems to be able to do just as fine in the handling and long distance (by Malaysian standards) travel. If you do a constant 110kmh the car won't bloody break a sweat. This is in terms of performance, handling and even refinement. It is as good as it gets at that highway speed limit and at least up to 160kmh. You could do like what we did and had taken it faster, but you have to add more concentration to the mix which will eventually tire you out also. It makes a decent long distance cruiser due to its long legged feel - I put this pleasure on the engine's performance and the long legged overdrive sixth and seventh gears of the car. 

The Closing Bits

The Vento Highline is quite a good option to those that wish to downsize in terms of what they already drive. If you were one of those empty nesters (read, kids grown up but still want a respectable looking sedan) then this is the car for you. The level of comfort and refinement is good because even though it may be built in Pekan from CKD kits, the car is still engineered to cruise at speeds of at least 160kmh easily. Even from a puny 1.2liter engine. It is also good to those that want a bit of safety in terms of handling predictability and the features provided (ABS, EBD, ESC, Four Airbags). Legroom is also good for this size and so is the bootspace.

I suppose this car isn't really about all out performance. If it was, it wouldn't have a tiny 1.2liter engine inside it. This is basically a company offering the best in technology at a price they can afford to make money. The price offered for all of this slightly more than usual engine performance, high levels of safety equipment, and stable yet fun handling is unbeatable. Of course, one has to note that if you drove like how we did most of the time, you certainly have to allocate money for maintenance after the warranty or mileage runs out. Do keep this in mind at all times. 

The Vento could be the most all rounded B segment sedan you can buy out there today in these parts of the world. And whatever reason it is now called the Vento is totally immaterial as that name change does not matter.

Pros: Punchy performance from the 1.2liter engine 7 speed DSG surprisingly smooth and normal feeling (best so far by a 7 speed DSG), good grip and handling, very predictable till the limit, interior space, good build quality (for the price), economical – 8.9l/100km even after serious high speed driving, heck of a lot of tech for the price offered, nice long legged feel for highway driving, an argument to downsize to a smaller car if there ever was one

Cons: Wind noise at over 155kmh (well, it is a B segment car), ride a little busy with the larger wheels, radio reception issues on one of the cars, no built in SatNav (important to some, but not for me), a heck of a lot of tech for the price offered means some maintenance to look forward to in the future

(NOTE: A COMPARISON OF B SEGMENT SEDANS IS DOWN BELOW)

Specifications

VOLKSWAGEN VENTO 1.2 TSI HIGHLINE

Price From RM 93,888.00

Highlights

TSI 1.2L 105PS/175Nm turbocharged direct petrol injection

DSG 7-speed direct shift gearbox

Weight: 1178kg

Performance

0-100kmh; approximately 10.5secs

192kmh (tested)

Fuel Consumption: We managed 8.9liters/100km with a very, very very heavy right foot. Most can see 7.0liters/100km or less.

'Climatronic' air conditioning system

Multi-function leather steering wheel

'Syenit' alloy wheels 7J x 16" 215/45/16 tyres

Intelligent Crash Response System (ICRS)

Dual front and front-side airbags (4 in total)

Hill-hold control

_______________________________________________________________

Extra: The B segment Sedan Group test in a controlled environment

_____________________________________________________

The chaps at Volkswagen also prepared cars from a few of the Vento's B segment sedan competition. We had a go at Brand H, Brand N and Brand T's B segment competitors. I had a go at all of them as well as watch others take turns in all of them too. All of us had to navigate between cones simulating emergency lane change at 100-110kmh which can occur right after coming out trying to overtake.

We were asked to accelerate to around 70kmh and pass the narrow section of cones which veers to the right one time and then it veers off more to the right so that you make more steering correction which simulates an emergency situation.

The Vento 1.2TSI and the top of the range Brand H come with ESC or Electronic Stability Control (or VSC depending on brand). Brand N and Brand T does not come with ESC/VSC.

It comes to no surprise that the most predictable car amongst all of the above in simulated high speed lane change was the Vento. It is also surprisingly good too. There was little body roll and good body control. I say that Brand H's B segment sedan did pretty good in the handling stakes. It handles well and steered well. Very typically H. I wouldn't mind driving around town in this car actually. It does suffer from the typical Brand H's flaw of having a little too much tyre and road noise entering the cabin at most speeds and a very numb steering to boot.

It was very predictable and performed slightly better than Brand T's B segment machine which did pretty well considering it did not have any ESC/VSC. It suffered from more body roll than both the Vento and Brand H but it held the line pretty well. Brand T may be loved because it's a Brand T and it is super reliable and also loved by Ah Beng boy racers even though it is slightly bland in terms of what technology is given. You are essentially still buying Brand T's version of this car first made in the early 2000s and given a new set of clothes. So there is nothing really new about this current model and I think this shortchanges owners in the long run even though it does everything adequately. There should be more actually. Not just enough.

But Brand N. Brand N is on another level altogether. The car is the most 'fun'. It is also the car that killed the most traffic cones laid out on the course that day. Just check out the photo above. Never have I watched traffic cones being killed so often by one car on one session. Never have I watched journalists running for their lives trying to avoid becoming like the traffic cones too. The car here is unpredictable at higher speeds. You can lose its tail after it understeers. It would oversteer whilst understeering if there ever were such a thing. 

It flails around like a fish out of water. It looks like a fish out of water too if you know what I mean. The car is merely transport. Drive more carefully than the other cars here if you own one. Some of us could keep this car in line, but many spun the car. A lot of things are unsorted in this car from the lifeless steering, the lethargic power delivery and that 'incredible' handling. Buy this if you like to be entertained silly, especially if white knuckles, wet your pants stuff is your thing. And it's not even a 750hp supercar.

What this test showed us was that the Volkswagen Vento is the safest AND most predictable of the lot. It is somehow still a whole lot of fun too, That I have to give it to the turbocharged torque and super fast DSG gearbox. It also showed us that mere mortals would actually need stability control (ESC) programs to help them sort things out. 

(C) 2016 motoring-malaysia.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.