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-   -   VW's Polo-based compact sedan, Ameo unveiled! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/163200-vws-polo-based-compact-sedan-ameo-unveiled-16.html)

From OverDrive's Bertrand D'Souza's Twitter:



In addition, the first-look video of the Ameo by Overdrive:

I think the tyre spec is only for show right now. Considering that the polo and vento are sold with 185/60 R15, they wont give such big sizes to the ameo. R16 is fine, but 215 sections for such a tiny engine is an overkill.

So the boot trumps the Polo's by a mere 35 litres? That's hardly noticeable, plus you've lost the practicality of a hatch where oddly shaped items can be accommodated better.

I may be wrong but it doesn't look like rear legroom has increased either.

You might be right.

Overdrive states this in it's Ameo positives/negatives list:

It could be changed to 15-inchers for production cars purely for the fuel efficiency factor alone.

Let's wait and see if Volkswagen compromises on this when the Ameo is actually launched, around 5-6 months down the line.

Overdrive

Vw Vento meets Mahindra Verito, that's what my initial impressions are about the ameo. Also just like Mahindra, it seems like VW is also obsessed with adding "O" as the last alphabet in their cars be it polo, vento or the ameo, guess they are going to the same Pandit Ji for naming their vehicles.

When I see the Ameo, 2 contrasting trains of thought keep coming up

1. Good Job Volkswagen

• Decent looking compact sedan as compared to the segment. Not going to win any beauty contests, but not ugly either.
  
• Since it is heavily based of the Polo and Vento right down to the tyres, and based on the pitch from Volkswagen, a compact sedan that feels as well built as the Polo/Vento. Not a characteristic common to the segment.
  
• Airbags and ABS standard. Surprisingly none of the competition have both as standard across the range.
  
• Several segment first features and a lot of features not common in segment. Auto IRVM and wipers, Cooled glove box, Touchscreen HU with Mirror link, Reverse cam and sensors. A feature Rich Premium compact sedan
  
• The 1.5 TDI with 7 speed DSG. The segment has only the Zest and Dzire Diesel AMT’s. The DSG will be leagues ahead. A great addition to the segment.
  
• A little of Polo and a little of Vento. A good option to have.

2. Why do this Volkswagen?

• So late in the game, when the customer is moving heavily towards compact SUV’s and cross overs hatches.
  
• Neither the sportiness of the Polo nor the Elegance of the Vento, No real distinguishing factor visually.
  
• Based on the Polo, hence the same wheel base, which will translate to lesser space at the back. A major deal breaker for buyers in this segment. Instead of basing it on the polo and adding a boot, should have based on the Vento and chopped the boot .
  
• With the Polo and Vento getting new features, absolutely nothing to distinguish feature wise or engine/transmission wise. A 1.0 TSI would have been welcome.
  
• Buyers are going to be due to cannibalization of the Polo and Vento, and maybe a little bit of Aspire/Zest customers. That’s not a lot of volume.
  
• So a 720 crore investment just for ~50 liters of boot space over the Polo? There does not seem to be anything else to differentiate.

Overall on one hand seems to be a nice option to have and on the other hand seems totally pointless. Only time will tell which side will win. Also, the time to market launch seems to be a big one. Expected in the first part of the 2nd half. With the GTI coming in September, I would expect this to launch in August.

Also would be interesting to see the tune of the 1.5 TDI. I think it will be the 90HP tune for the MT and maybe the 105HP tune for the DSG.

Edit: Autocar's first look video.

My vote for most ugly is Xcent.

Is it normal 1.5L or 1.5 TDI in Ameo?

Many questions to be asked here, but let me try and have a conversation with myself :

1) Why announce February as the month of unveiling the Ameo when release is 5 months off? - Maybe because they wanted to use the Auto Expo occasion and also garner advance bookings so that they can go into production with near-accurate demand estimate.

2) Why unveil the Ameo today i.e 2nd February than wait for the actual Auto Expo which is hardly 3 days away? - They knew an apology is due, and this is the first since the scandal broke out that they are taking the spotlight for a launch in India and they didn't want to do it in front of other competitors in Auto Expo. Better to get the apology out of the way and use the Expo to show off the car to visitors.

3) Why buy an Ameo when the difference in boot capacity is hardly 35 litres over the Polo? - Well the plan is to have segment twins for the first time in India, Polo's strengths are the looks, the badge and the features, Ameo will have that marginal bootspace, comfort features (rear ac, front centre armrest etc). The difference is in no way worlds apart, yet variety is the spice of life and customers love that.

4) Why 215 section tyres for a compact sedan? I'm clueless on this one, I thought 195 for a 1.2 litre i20 petrol was overkill, but for a 3 cylinder 74 hp petrol - 215 section? Hope that's not going to be reality. 185 for a normal hatchback and 195 for a sporty car (under 4m) is the perfect size. Of course opinions might vary so lets just call it my opinion.

5) Should you buy Ameo over Polo just for the added bootspace : Yes & no, yes if you've already tried to fit in your usual airport/travel haul in a Polo and it just misses the mark by one medium size suitcase, no if you mostly drive 2 or 3 to airport or long journeys in which case the suitcase can sit in the back comfortably.

6) Should you buy Ameo over Polo just for the rear-aircon vents : No, usually the front blowers should do their job just fine in cooling all over the cabin. In very hot climes if you want cold-air to hit you in the face in the back then yes.

7) When should you pick Ameo over Polo definitely : When the need is for a VW car under 4m with a diesel DSG, then the choice is a no-brainer.

I was ignoring this ugly 4m car until today when I saw few interesting bits in it. Things which can be quite possibly be retrofitted on to (< 2016) Polo/Vento/Rapid. Eager to know if the touch screen HU can be fitted on my Polo.

Was also amused to see 16" wheels on a compact sedan. The sporty GT siblings don't get it and neither the more expensive Vento/Rapid. Can't really understand what VW is trying to do.

And here's a screen grab from the quick look video by Overdrive:


Looks like VW has finally ditched the traditional wipers in favor of these frameless ones. :thumbs up

A very clean design and they made the most of what they could with the reduced length.

Great work to get the 1.5 Diesel with DSG. Hopefully they can price it at Polo GT level of pricing + 50K.

The main thing of course is to get the A.S.S sorted. When you sell a 'supposedly' cheap car, people would expect it to be cheap to maintain as well. Can't sell at Dzire prices and expect people to pay Passat level of maintenance.

A lot more cars being offered in Automatic version. Hope the trend continues and it becomes an optional addition across variants, soon.

The TDI DSG is Ameo's USP along with segment first features like rain sensing wipers, cruise control etc.

There are people who love the TDI-DSG combo, but will have to spend > 14 lacs to get the top spec Vento, now they can choose the Ameo top spec at say 11 lacs tops.

The GT TSI retails @ 8.5 lacs ex showroom, keep the standard 1 to 1.25 lacs lac premium for diesel over petrol variant - the Ameo top spec diesel AT can be priced at 9.5 to 9.75 lacs tops. They can't price the ex showroom cost beyond 10 lacs since they would lose the cost advantage.

Vento @ 14 lacs, the Ameo at 11 lacs. That savings of 3 lacs is substantial. Agreed, a serious compromise on aesthetics, but the CS target segment won't mind.

But the all important question, will the Ameo diesel AT be launched in the highline variant????
Because the currend trend in the market is AT should be launched in the mid variant :Frustrati barring the Zest and TUV of course

Keeping fingers crossed on the pricing.

BTW I wonder why few people are bothered about why VW wants to launch a CS, how this would not succeed, how this won't sell. These are things that VW would have thought of and thats their worry. I'm happy we have another competent choice in the sub 10 lac price bracket :)

Exactly my thoughts - Ameo will hit mainly Zest/Aspire within the segment since Ameo has almost all the USPs as these two have and some more - with Dzire, Amaze, Xcent seems mostly undisturbed. Likewise, Ameo may also lead to the cannibalization of Vento/Polo within the same manufacturer.

The rear legroom should be same as Polo, since it is based on Polo and will have the same wheelbase.

I think Dzire AMT too is available in its top trim - ZDI. Surely Ameo might break the Psychological barrier of 10L on road price if it is offered in the Highline variant.

1. I guess everyone wants a piece of the CS action, why would VW wish to left out?

2. While purists might balk, the CS segment offers a very practical product to a family with just one car.

3. Hyundai is pushing its Xcent for the Uber cars in the UberX segment. I found it quite comfortable when I got it today. On the way back I got the Etios (which is not a CS from what I understand) and the Xcent seemed eons better finished. I expect the Ameo too will snake its way into UberX

4. At the end, it boils down to what the end user prefers in terms of practicality rather than looks. By VW-Skoda standards, I expect the car to do average business. It is not a game changer like the Kwid or EcoSport. Rather it wishes to get on the CS gravy train.

Just saw a Tata Zest and IMO feel Zest has got the proportions better than the other competitors followed by Aspire. Didn't quite like the side profile and rear of the Xcent and Amaze.

I think VW launched it one day in advance to grab all the attention this can get from the market. :)

And, even VW cannot make a compact sedan based on a large hatch look good. To be fair to them, it was a hard ask to begin with. But they could have buckled the industry trend and gone in for a notchback like many have mentioned here before. The overall proportion wouldn't have looked so bad and the usable space would also have been higher. This is going to be a huge misfit among the very elegant looking cars in the VW showroom.

Anyways, coming back to this one, the most surprising bit is the kit on the offer. And I do not think that 215 cross section tyre will be part of the standard package, it is just a little too much for that 3 pot petrol engine. The circumference is almost the same as the current stock tyre for Polo/ Vento but the ride is going to suffer.