Volkswagen Vento Gets A Sportier Variant To Compete With The Ciaz S

Volkswagen is known to introduce limited edition variants of its Vento sedan every now and then. Now, the German carmaker has silently introduced a sportier variant of the Vento, christened the Vento Sport. Although the carmaker is yet to officially announce prices and its full range of additions over the standard Vento, the Vento Sport seems to be more of a cosmetic job rather than a mechanical one.

To set it apart from the standard variant, the Sport gets carbon-fibre finish ORVMs, chrome ‘Sport’ badge on the front fender, glossy black roof finish, new side foils and a glossy black rear spoiler. The Vento Sport will also get a new red exterior colour which is not available on the standard model.

The presence of LED headlamps with DRLs and 16-inch Portago alloy wheels suggests that the Vento Sport is based on the Highline Plus variant. And if that’s the case, it will be equipped with features such as electrically foldable/adjustable ORVMs, reverse parking camera with display on infotainment screen, automatic climate control, and touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, among others. For safety, it will be equipped with dual front airbags and ABS.

Under the bonnet, the Vento Sport is likely to get the same engine and transmission options as the standard car. The Vento can be had with a 1.6L MPI petrol, 1.2L TSI petrol and or a 1.5L TDI diesel engine. The 1.6L MPI and the 1.2L TSI are coupled to a 5-speed manual and a 7-speed DSG gearbox respectively, while the 1.5L diesel is available with both of the above-mentioned transmissions.

However, we expect Volkswagen to offer the Vento Sport with only the 105PS 1.2-litre TSI petrol engine and the 110PS 1.5-litre diesel unit considering the fact that it is supposed to offer good performance.

On the other hand, the Vento Sport’s arch rival, the Ciaz S is powered by the 1.4-litre petrol and the 1.3-litre diesel engine which produce produce 92PS/130Nm and 90PS/200Nm respectively. Both the engines are mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The petrol engine is also available with a 4-speed automatic transmission. Maruti has equipped the Ciaz diesel with smart hybrid technology, thanks to which the sedan gets idle start-stop, regenerative braking and torque assist functions. 

Last year, Skoda also offered the Rapid Monte Carlo edition with similar exterior equipment to the Vento Sport. Since Skoda had a copyright issue with that name the carmaker later renamed it to Rapid Edition X. Skoda is now calling it the Rapid Edition, and it is based on the Rapid’s Style variant and its prices start from Rs 10.96 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The Vento Highline Plus with 1.2L TSI engine and DSG transmission costs Rs 12.48 lakh and the one with the 1.5L TDI engine and DSG transmission costs Rs 13.87 lakh (both prices ex-showroom Delhi). We expect the VW Vento Sport to cost Rs 25,000 over the Vento Highline Plus. The Ciaz S is priced at Rs 9.59 lakh and Rs 11.62 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for petrol and diesel respectively.

Source: cardekho.com