Volkswagen is putting together a facelift for the Vento sedan, the German car giant’s C-Segment offering in India. The facelifted version is a mild update of the current version, meant to soldier on until a more comprehensively facelifted model lands here next year. While the comprehensive facelift could see major differences to the top-hat of the car, the mild facelift that will be served up in a matter of weeks from now is similar to the Polo, the car’s hatchback sibling. In this light, the German automaker will continue to be exposed to the criticism that the Polo and Vento look very similar, save for the three box styling on the latter.
Today, a slew of spyshots catching the Vento Facelift in the nude have made it to the interweb. These spyshots reveal that the facelifted Vento is a mild nip and tuck job at best, what with the lightly updated front end with a revised front bumper and grille job. At the rear, the emphasis is on the car’s width. A styling strip running across the boot lid is a design element meant to highlight just this. The bumper at the rear is also new, with the exhaust tip now peeking out. Save for these design changes, the facelifted car is bog similar to the one sold currently. On the inside, the dashboard and instrumentation console design is unchanged while details on the equipment levels remain unknown.
The 1.2 liter TSI turbocharged petrol (103 Bhp-175 Nm) and the 1.6 liter MPI naturally aspirated (103 Bhp-153 Nm) petrol motors are expected to continue doing duty on the Vento Facelift, along with the newly introduced and locally assembled 1.5 liter TDI turbo diesel motor, with 103 Bhp-250 Nm outputs. The 1.2 liter TSI mill gets a 7 speed twin clutch DSG automatic transmission with the 1.6 liter MPI motor continuing with a 5 speed stick shifter. The diesel motor will continue to be offered with 5 speed manual and 6 speed twin clutch DSG automatic transmissions. Prices of the car are not likely to see a major upward revision keeping in mind the mild nature of the facelift.
Volkswagen India’s big new launch for the country will also be based on the Polo/Vento cars’ PQ25 platform. However, it will be a compact sedan measuring under 4 meters in length, with a completely revised top hat. Dubbed the Polo Stuffe, the compact sedan is expected to look quite different from the Polo/Vento while retaining the Teutonic design language and geometry. The car is expected to be launched in 2016, with 1.2 liter TSI turbo petrol and 1.5 liter TDI turbo diesel engine options. The Polo Stuffe will lead Volkswagen’s sub-4 meter attack on the Indian car market, which will be backed up soon by a compact SUV.
Spyshots courtesy AutoColumn
