Volkswagen Vento - Analysis

Maruti Suzuki Swift. When this ‘sporty’ little hatchback was launched back in 2004, the motoring world went crazy. Everyone hailed the Swift as a brilliant product, in fact, some motoring scribes declared it as perhaps the best Japanese compact car ever! Swift was, as a design activity, a departure from what was available in India at that time. It was radical and path-breaking.

The design was so ahead of its time that even now, the Swift sells like hot cakes owing primarily to the way it looks (and of course because it’s a Maruti!). I believe the design will not really become what you’d call passé even in the next five years or so.

So, when Maruti announced they’ll be doing a sedan version based on the same platform, all eyes were eagerly waiting to see how would a saloon version of this gorgeous hatchback look like. And then, in 2008, the Swift DZire was launched.

That year will be remembered as the year in which Maruti gave India one of the ugliest looking cars. The Esteem was already too long in the tooth and Maruti had to let go of it, hence there was a problem. What would fill the spot? They had to get something in place because Esteem was a high-selling product, if you recollect.

And then Maruti had a Eureka moment. They thought – hang on a second, we already have Swift which is selling rather better than we expected. Why don’t we simply stretch it from the back a bit, bolt on a trunk and make a Swift sedan?

That’s exactly what they did and the result is in front of all to see. And I hate it, not for its driving credentials, but because it simply looks appalling. It’s pig ugly. That notwithstanding, do you even know the sort of waiting period the DZire goes for, even in today’s time? As many as 4-6 months for diesel versions. Beat that! Ever since it’s launch, DZire has been a runaway success.

I think this makes for a great case study material for our friends at IIMs and whatever. In fact, this did prove as a good case study – for Volkswagen.

Now, we all know that VW Polo was launched a few months ago and has enjoyed a decent time till now, selling in moderate numbers. The company is buoyed by its sales figures which are bang on what Volkswagen had estimated. The Polo is a well sorted product with good dynamic ability, solid interiors and a very comfy cabin. The television commercials of the Polo too clearly mark out and are focussed on the sort of R&D the auto giant indulged in, while developing the Polo.

Polo is placed between middle-premium and premium level of the hatchback segment and battles it out with the likes of Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift, Ford Figo at the lower wrung and with Honda Jazz and Skoda Fabia at the higher end of the spectrum.

The next VW product to do business in India is almost Rs 10 lakh more – the VW Jetta. There’s nothing in between and this is pinching the company a bit. Volkswagen came into India with a clear intention of becoming a respected premium, yet a sort of mass producer of quality products. The products rolling out will, chiefly, be present at the premium end of the segments, but VW will surely have most of the segments covered, just so it can capitalise on the buying capacity of those willing to splurge.

Now, to fill the void between VW Polo and VW Jetta, the German auto maker is going to introduce the Volkswagen Vento soon. The Vento sedan has already been given a world premiere in Moscow, Russia.

I’ve been following the developments of the Vento and even caught a couple of test mules on the road, but when the sketches of the final design of the Volkswagen Vento were released to the media, it instantly reminded me of the classic Swift-DZire situation.

You see, I think, Volkswagen followed a similar philosophy to that of Maruti Suzuki. They had a capable product in the shape of VW Polo and so they took that as the foundation and made it into a saloon car. It works, especially when the platform has been tested thoroughly for a few years before being finally given shape of a proper car.

The Volkswgen Vento then – it looks smart and, if the Polo is anything to go by, will be quite a good drive as well. I’m expecting VW to be saner this time around and give us the 1.6-litre petrol engine that does duty in the Jetta. In the Vento, it will be good. The 1.6-litre motor simply isn’t cut out for a car like the Jetta. There can also be the 1.2-litre diesel that powers the Polo, albeit with a bit more horsepower and to slug it out at the bottom end of the entry-level premium sedan category, you’ll have a bit more powerful version of the same 1.2-litre unit of the Volkswagen Polo.

And now, the most crucial aspect of them all – the price. Well, Volkswagen is tight-lipped about it. I think the Vento will be priced in the 7 to 9 lakh bracket to take on the Honda City and the Maruti SX4. Let’s wait and watch.