10 years with my Vento 1.2L TSI DSG: Recounting my ownership experience

There is not a day where I don’t congratulate myself for stretching and taking the call to go for the Vento over the Polo. That rear seat and boot space have been invaluable.

BHPian RajeevRaj recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

End of November, my Vento 1.2 TSI DSG completed 10 years. Thought it would be a good time to post an update and also look back at the journey with the Vento over the last 10 years. This is the longest I have held a car and it is the longest by a huge margin. The good thing is that I still enjoy the car tremendously and hence hope to retain it for quite some time more. First question on everyone’s mind maybe: How is the notorious DQ200 DSG? Yes, it is still on the original gearbox. Fingers crossed for this to continue.

Intent here is to do a recap of these 10 years, but at the same time keep it short enough to not bore the readers too much.

Where it all began

It was mid 2013. I had changed 3 cars in 6 years. Was driving an pre-owned SX4 and at some point decided I wanted an automatic car. That whole story is documented in this post.

Short version:

• Booked the hot hatch in town- the Polo GT TSI.

• Most people were horrified. Downgrading from a large sedan to a cramped hatch?

• I was not convinced myself-But I was blown away by the TSI DSG

• Volkswagen comes to my rescue. Launches the Vento TSI in Oct 2013 for INR 9.99L

• Was outside my budget, but decided to stretch. 2 dealers and 3 color changes later, the Vento TSI came home on November 30th 2013.

• There is not a day where I don’t congratulate myself for stretching and taking the call to go for the Vento. That rear seat and boot space have been invaluable.

Snap from the PDI

Delivered and ready to roll

2014-The First Year- Peaceful and exciting, the Honeymoon period

• Replaced the HU with Blaupunkt Philadelphia 835 on Day 1. Little unlike of me to do something like that on a new car. In retrospect was a great decision. Worked perfectly for the 9 years I had it without any glitches.
• 11,000 km done in the first year and the first service costed ~INR 11000.
• A year of automatic bliss with the TSI DSG. The TSI DSG was not mainstream as it is now, so it was hard to explain to people how good it was. The Vento 1.2 TSI was a niche product. Although the Polo GT TSI was also niche, it was more popular.
• Some ridicule on moving to an Automatic. ‘Can you not drive a manual?’ was a common question. I just smiled and said- ‘Wait and watch over the next few years’
• Looking back, I seemed to have been a little obsessed on mileage. Not sure why.
• Wanted to do a remap after 1st year, but was worried about warranty, DSG etc.. so that was postponed.
• Realized the full benefit of Hill Hold- Again, not a common feature in 2014. Already missed cruise control.
• The detailed year 1 update here.

The lovely reverse sensor indication with the distance in cm. Those were the days where the vehicle hardware from VAG pretty much had support for all these things.

2015- The 2nd year-23,000km

• More running than in the first year. Odo reached 23000km. Detailed Year 2 update here
• 2nd Service cost was ~INR 9000. VW service as always in the ‘Not too great, not too bad’ state.
• Couple of bothersome issues that would repeat. The Lock carrier cracked sometime during the year. Was replaced in 2nd service. Discs juddering when braking from high speeds. Again an issue that would repeat.
• The 3–>2 DSG mild jerks remain bothersome. Service Center has no solution. Everyone faces this, so did not worry much about it.
• Begin to appreciate the build and interior quality. 2 years and the interiors remain as is.
• First detailing job done from 3M Car Care at 18 months. It is a black car. Needed more love than usual to maintain. Detailed update here
• Everyone with TSI’s were modifying left right and center. I remain scared due to potential DSG troubles and related warranty issues. Decided to do it after warranty is over. Again, VW had other plans in store.
• Broke the myth that S mode dropped milage. Highway runs became exclusively in S mode.

On one of our trips- Mettupalayam-Kotagiri route.

Ready for an event. Became the ride for the bride and groom for a wedding in the family

Post the Detailing at 3M.

2016 and 2017-A Quiet Period and a realization that this car is here to stay

• First non standard expense. Finally had to replace the discs. Skimming may have done the trick, but replaced it

• A visit to 3M in June 2016 for a wash turned into another detailing with a paint sealant package. I don’t recall why I fell for it. But hey-Black car.

• Completed 30,000km in August 2016. A detailed update here

• The 2014 Refresh of the car introduced cruise control. Something I miss today.

• These 2 years were fairly quiet. Car performed brilliantly. Previously around the 4 year mark is when I got an itch to change. Slowly began to realize that this one can be a keeper.

• First tyre change. The stock Apollo’s were terribly puncture prone.

• From the 3rd Service, I started relying on Wheels Wisdom to manage the service. Main reason to start to use them was that it was always impossible to get a quick appointment at VW Service Centers. Also, I personally could not be there the whole day to monitor the work. The first experience with Wheels Wisdom was good and I continued to use them for managing the work on the car for 3-4 years. Detailed update on Wheels Wisdom is at this link

One of my favorite pics. At Muzhapilangad Drive in beach-Kannur, Kerala

Another Trip Pic. Somewhere near Jog falls, Karnataka

Got this Window blinds from Volkswagen Dealer itself. Still use it today.

At the 3M Center for the paint sealant

Finally got rid of the puncture prone Apollo Alnacs. Michelin Primacy 3ST was the choice of shoes. Moved from 185 to 195.

Continue reading BHPian RajeevRaj’s ownership update for more insights and information.

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