Soon we will witness new diesel automatic in mid-size sedan segment which currently has sole contender Hyundai Verna 1.6 diesel automatic with an 'ancient' 4-speed AT unit. Volkswagen Group in India is coming with a diesel revolution in the country with VW Vento and Skoda Rapid facelifts. By the end of this month we will be having two sedan with a new 1.5 liter diesel mated to a modern dual-clutch DSG automatic gearbox. 2014 VW Vento facelift is coming on 24th while Skoda Rapid is coming on 30th of this month. Both the sedans have ditched their existing 1.6 liter TDI unit and adopted a new diesel along with an optional automatic box.
We all know diesel variants accounts for the largest sales share in the mid-size sedan segment and this fact has been well proven by the new City. Diesel debuted for the first time in the current City, has taken the segment leader to new heights. Furthermore, demands for automatics have rose lately, launching Vento and Rapid with dual-clutch automatic will certainly be major plus point in their favor. It will be the most advance automatic in its segment, DSG – Direct Shift Gearbox from VW features dual clutch automatic which features easy and quick shifts while helps in increasing the fuel efficiency. The prices of the diesel automatic sedan are expected to be in the vicinity of Rs 10 lakh.
The new 1.5 liter TDI diesel engine in Vento and Skoda gathers a healthy 103.5bhp of max power while the torque stands tall compared to most of the competitions at 250Nm. A five speed manual will also be available on both. Apart from this both the sedan will feature subtle changes inside-out.
Source : CarDekho