[Prafful_Rathod]

Finally VW India has put ex showroom prices on their website. In this digital world, it was the only company which had not put ESP on their website. (I think still not available for Polo and Vento).

Also why is there 10K difference between Non-Metallic and Metallic in case of Ameo ?, Hyundai and Honda generally charge 4K extra for Metallic

[mrbaddy]

Originally Posted by Prafful_Rathod

Also why is there 10K difference between Non-Metallic and Metallic in case of Ameo ?, Hyundai and Honda generally charge 4K extra for Metallic

Honda charged 7000/- for Mobilio. Not sure about Amaze.

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by Shashidl

The pricing strategy on this one is beyond me

I have a 6 month old Vento for which i payed 13.5 big ones
TDI with DSG - Comfortline

It does not have the following features which its cheaper sibling Ameo has
--
At this price point with all the features I think the Ameo is a steal. I can vouch for the comfort, safety and the overall quality of a VW having lived with one for sometime now.

This is exactly what VW seem to want now!
Compact Sedan sales are usually high in numbers, as demonstrated by Dzire, Amaze & Xcent, selling a total of roughly 25K vehicles or more each month. Though the profit margin would be less, this would be a good way to capture the market in a big way.
The features provided are ones that are not seen even in many C2 segment cars.
To top it all, the features that attract the buyers are cheap to manufacture in large quantities. Features such as rain sensing wipers, auto dimming IRVM, cruise control are cool, but does not involve huge cost for the manufacturer to do assemble them into a vehicle from factory.
So, with the buyers more and more getting attracted to the list of features provided, why not provide them!
Ameo will be strictly a Polo with slightly bigger boot & a lot of features for the top variant that would cost around 8-8.5L OTR.
On the other hand, Vento is a complete car with roomy & comfortable interiors. Yours is a 1.5L Diesel & DSG automatic. Even the Vento Petrol Comfortline Manual costs 2.5 lakhs ex-showroom (or 3L OTR) cheaper than your Diesel DSG!
Note also that Vento petrol is a calm 4 cyl engine, whereas Ameo gets a 3 cyl one - so the NVH levels will be slightly more in comparison.

So, I feel the pricing of Ameo is perfectly justified, and it is brilliant that they package such upmarket features in one product. They have really upped the game for the Compact Sedan space in my view - now the market leader has to do something for the Dzire - or upgrade their Baleno further to increase cross shopping!

[maddyguage]

Originally Posted by Shashidl

The pricing strategy on this one is beyond me

I have a 6 month old Vento for which i payed 13.5 big ones
TDI with DSG - Comfortline

It does not have the following features which its cheaper sibling Ameo has:
1. Alloy Wheels
2. Steering mounted controls
3. Touchscreen music system
4. Rear View Camera
5. Rain sensing wipers
6. Bluetooth connectivity
7. Dual tone interiors
8. Electrically foldable ORVMs
9. Auto Dimming IRVM

That's heart wrenching .
Maybe VW should start a modular upgrade program at reasonable prices from now on.

At this price point with all the features I think the Ameo is a steal. I can vouch for the comfort, safety and the overall quality of a VW having lived with one for sometime now.

Yes even I'm shocked by the price. They currently have merely 5 cars on sale out of which 3 cars have identical interiors and features. I guess it's the time now, VW should completely upgrade interiors of Vento or give some additional features.

I too have Vento diesel DSG but Highline variant. I don't understand why you have paid so much for Comfortline variant. Let me tell you my friend I got Vento Highline DSG diesel for less than what you paid for comfortline.

p.s - you can still sell off your vento and get a brand new Ameo Highline DSG diesel with that money (just a friendly advice). Don't worry brother even I feel like we paid a lot more, considering the price of Ameo.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by volkman10

ACI Test Drive review of the Ameo,

Skip the 1.2Petrol, await for the improved 1.5TDI Diesel!

Well, well, well.
The same Autocar reviewed the 1.2 MPI Polo years back.
Below is from the review.

The 1.2 petrol is based on the same three-pot motor that powers the Fabia but it’s been substantially upgraded (see box) to develop more power and torque. This three-cylinder motor now produces 74bhp and 11.2kgm of torque, which on paper are quite modest. However, the petrol Polo surprised us with its driveability and refinement. It’s still not a smooth as a four-cylinder motor and you can feel it rock on its mounts during idle but it’s not really obtrusive. Increase the revs and the engine instantly smoothens out and as long as you don’t rev it hard, this motor is pretty silent too.

As we can see, they were impressed with it's driveability and refinement back then.

[McLaren Rulez]

Looks aside, I'm left to wonder why anyone would buy the petrol Polo now. This extends to the diesel if VW follows a similar pricing strategy when they plonk the 1.5 TDI in the Ameo.

It seems like the Ameo offers more features for the money + there's more boot space.

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Well, well, well.
The same Autocar reviewed the 1.2 MPI Polo years back.

As we can see, they were impressed with it's driveability and refinement back then.

Well, that was around 6 years back and the competition has moved on a lot since then. And frankly speaking, this engine is getting too long in the tooth, so it's bound to receive some sort of criticism IMO which the Autocar aptly pointed out.

[Ketan T]

This is what Sirish Chandran from EVO India has to say :

Personally I am not a fan of this whole compact sedan formula. If you want a three-box buy a proper three-box with a decent boot and elegant styling, or else just stick with a hatchback. But, we love our compact sedans with their truncated boots and by the standards of this class Volkswagen are on to a winner with the Ameo. This is a car that feels properly grown up, has excellent road manners, great interiors and feels safe and solidly built. Sure it is not perfect – it is among the least spacious in this class and the engine is not the most powerful or refined. Also the volume-generating diesel engines are still a few months away – there's only the petrol for now.

Bottom line though is that this segment is all about pricing and VW have managed to undercut the competition without cutting corners on the Ameo. It gets a buy recommendation from us.

Source: http://evoindia.com/blog/2016/06/07/7456/

[volkman10]

ACI brings the details in Ameo,

Ameo 1.2L P weighs 10 kg> than Polo.
35mm from front bumper of Polo is shaved off and add to the rear.
Rear seat is a compromise.

Deemed as a city car but loses on the highway - Await for the improved diesel variant that is coming later!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP8ZThlUSUs#t=239

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

Well, that was around 6 years back and the competition has moved on a lot since then. And frankly speaking, this engine is getting too long in the tooth, so it's bound to receive some sort of criticism IMO which the Autocar aptly pointed out.

Yes, I thought about that as well.
But you see, the primary competition is still more or less the same that was there 6 years ago also.
Both the swift (1.2 K series) and i20 (1.2) are still using the same engines that were being used at that time as well.
They are basically the same engines today also, with some minor changes. (which made them a bit slower )

So, it is hard to digest how they were happy with the refinement and driveability then, and so unhappy now.
Because of reports like this, I stopped taking Auto mag reviews seriously.

Anyways, the fact remains that, they were better than the polo 6 years back, they are better today also. No doubt.

[Thumping Soul]

How does it compare against the Ford Aspire?

A friend of mine is out in the market to buy a new car. I suggested Vento, but he now wants to rethink if Ameo can fit the bill since most of the features are available on Ameo as well.
My advice was be it Aspire or Ameo or any other compact sedan, they are just hatchbacks trying to be a sedan (adding up a boot at the rear & cutting off a portion on the front, overall length <4m). So, if you got the moolah & you looking at a sedan, go for Vento / Linea / Rapid and you would be more than happy. These are all complete sedans, a proper 3-box design.

Please let me know your opinion.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

How does it compare against the Ford Aspire?

A friend of mine is out in the market to buy a new car. I suggested Vento, but he now wants to rethink if Ameo can fit the bill since most of the features are available on Ameo as well.
My advice was be it Aspire or Ameo or any other compact sedan, they are just hatchbacks trying to be a sedan (adding up a boot at the rear & cutting off a portion on the front, overall length <4m). So, if you got the moolah & you looking at a sedan, go for Vento / Linea / Rapid and you would be more than happy. These are all complete sedans, a proper 3-box design.

Please let me know your opinion.

The Aspire closely matches the Ameo both in having a lame petrol engine and an explosive diesel. No back up camera or cruise control options on the Aspire.

The Vento is also a paste job of boot on the hatchback though. Apart from aesthetic looks and a bit of legroom, the Vento is same as the ameo and doesn't justify the 3+ lakh difference.

[Thumping Soul]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

The Vento is also a paste job of boot on the hatchback though. Apart from aesthetic looks and a bit of legroom, the Vento is same as the ameo and doesn't justify the 3+ lakh difference.

I don't think so. Vento & Linea are not based on same platforms as their siblings - Polo & Punto. They are small sedans (C segment), but definitely not a boot on a hatchback job, which typically the compact sedan class is all about.

Mods: Sorry for going off - topic. No more of this discussion on this thread.

[abhishek46]

According to TOI's comparision, ameo, xcent and swift desire have 3 cyl engines.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/52648828.cms

Speaking of the petrol variants, the Honda Amaze and the Figo Aspire have 1.2-litre four cylinder engines which produce an identical power output of 88PS. All the other cars in comparison here use a 1.2-litre three cylinder motor.

[varunswnt]

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

I don't think so. Vento & Linea are not based on same platforms as their siblings - Polo & Punto. They are small sedans (C segment), but definitely not a boot on a hatchback job, which typically the compact sedan class is all about.

AFAIK, Vento/Rapid, Linea and City are sedans based on same platform as Polo, Punto and Jazz respectively. They are supposed to be compact sedans as per market dynamics outside India. Tata started off with trend of squeezing compact sedan between a hatch and sedan. Maruti reaped the largest profit by perfecting this art. Just my two cents before closing off on this topic.