Volkswagen Vento AT discontinued in India
Volkswagen has discontinued the Vento automatic which will be replaced by the Vento TSI. The Vento AT came with a 6-speed torque convertor unit that was mated to a 1.6-litre petrol engine. The Vento TSI, meanwhile, comes with a 7-speed DSG and a 1.2-litre petrol engine. However, because the 1.2-petrol gets both direct injection and turbocharging, it makes exactly the same power as the 1.6-petrol - 105PS. The smaller engine also has a more efficient torque spread that makes it more efficient and tractable.
The Vento AT, meanwhile, which was only available in only one trim level, never really caught the Indian mid-sized car buyer's fancy. Not only was it pricey, it also struggled in the performance and fuel economy departments compared to the competition, the Honda City (the production of which too has stopped) in particular. In OVERDRIVE's tests, the Vento AT only managed an overall fuel economy of 10.4kmpl, while the new Vento TSI returns 14.4kmpl, clearly showing the shortcomings of the older car.
[Read our Vento TSI road test here]
Volkswagen will nonetheless continue with the 1.6-petrol engine for the manual versions of the Vento. The Vento 1.6-petrol will now be available in three trim levels and only a manual gearbox. The Vento is also sold with a 1.6-diesel engine, which again only comes with a manual transmission, and is the main stay for the Vento range. It too is available in three trim levels.