[Debajyoti]

Maybe a bit off topic, Baleno Delta and Ameo Comfortline are priced very closely. At around 6lakhs ex-showroom Ameo CL looses ACC, 4 pot engine refinement, parking sensors etc. but gains cruise control, fog lamps, slightly bigger boot, better build quality etc. Read somewhere that Baleno Delta and Alpha are the most selling variants. If some Baleno Delta customers go for Ameo then that would add some volumes.

[maddyguage]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Yes that I saw. Comment was more towards the poor marketing approach. Since everything about the Ameo is India focused, they should have done this with a little more style and bling with media invited like the others do as opposed to this cool efficient 'German' way. 😂

On the plus side. I went to carwale to look for Aspire price and see which add popped up.

Attachment 1514365

May be they thought with the competitive pricing they don't need any marketing. With german build quality and high end features are hard to find at this price point, especially diesel DSG. Those who wanted diesel DSG but pricing was high can go for this sweet Ameo.

I wonder who would buy vento now. With all the features (even more-reverse camera) available for less than 3-4 lacs. Vento needs a serious upgrade to maintain that premium feel over this tiny monster.

I personally feel Ameo sales will outcome polo/vento with this price point. Polo with a boot and under 10L enough said.

[sibot]

We are consider buying this car. But I've read a lot of criticism for the rear leg room. How bad is it?

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by sibot

We are consider buying this car. But I've read a lot of criticism for the rear leg room. How bad is it?

It is incredibly subjective, it depends on the passengers height, width and his/her perception of how space should be. Some like a lot of free room between the knee and the front seats as they like to sit low, some want headroom as they like to sit straight.

What I can guarantee, though is that the Ameo won't be anywhere close to as spacious as the Xcent or Amaze. It may come quite close to the Dzire. I'm about 5'10" and I'm not very demanding about space, I just like a couple of inches of room to move about in any direction when sitting in the back, but when I sat in the Polo I found that in both knee room and head room there was very little area to play with.. move even a little and they will brush softly with the seat/roof and that was a bit unrelaxing so to speak. The Ameo maybe a fraction better but I'd still feel a bit stifled in the back I'd presume.

To know for sure you'd have to try it out. Most often opinions are just that, personal views.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by sibot

We are consider buying this car. But I've read a lot of criticism for the rear leg room. How bad is it?

Looking at the pictures in this thread, It doesn't look very good, Just a bit better than the Polo, And after having owned a Polo, the leg room was really really poor, But since you are considering getting the car, I suggest check out the car in person before taking a call.

[YashD]

Have been reading a lot of comments on both team-bhp and other social media, all the folks are commenting regarding the lackluster 1.2 MPi engine and wanted a 1.2 TSi heart. Well, I think its the right move to launch Ameo with the 1.2L Motor. This way VW has priced it extremely competitively, it's a compact sedan for god's sake not a performance car that VW will plonk in a 105 BHP motor, the manufacturer is trying to target families with this car and not single auto enthusiasts.
Initially, even I thought the Polo Petrol lacks performance and it's not worth it etc. but then after driving one I realized, except the 3 cylinder engine sound things are quite good for the vehicle. The power on tap feels more than adequate, the engine is very responsive, overtaking in city driving condition is a breeze and the gearing ratios is well sorted. The car easily does triple digits up on the highway! A friend has clocked more than 70,000 kms in his 1.2 MPi Polo and doesn't have any complaints regarding the engine.
Another thing I have realized is a person who is out buying a Premium hatchback will buy that only and not end up with a Compact sedan! Though the opposite can happen.
When CS came in all were above 4000 mm (Swift Dzire, Etios) so consumers actually felt that they are going in for a bigger vehicle but now thanks to the laws all the car makers started saving costs which ended up in compromised space. A consumer spending around 6-8 lakhs now has got the perspective that it's better to get a premium hatchback instead of a Compact Sedan because of better equipment, performance and a better finished product.
For e.g if a person is going to buy Elite or Jazz won't end up buying a Xcent or Amaze because the former are much better finished products than the latter.
Now, all the 1.2L Petrol engines in India offered in premium hatchbacks and CS lacks overall performance but are good to drive in day to day city traffic and at the end it all zero downs to overall driveability in which department I feel the Ameo is one of the best in the lot as a package! Its a little more spacious than Polo, superior handling and build quality, pretty good equipment list and a decent petrol engine makes it a value for money product. The folks looking for a CS now has an extremely great alternative. Moreover, we don't have a proper diesel AT CS which now the consumers will get in the form of Ameo. A brilliant attempt by Volkswagen though just hope it doesn't ends up cannibalizing Polo because the hatch sits right in the middle of both budget and premium hatch mark as well as the Compact Sedan range.

[Ketan T]

Originally Posted by sibot

We are consider buying this car. But I've read a lot of criticism for the rear leg room. How bad is it?

I would suggest that you visit a VW dealership and take a look at the car and take a test drive as well. Do not make your decision purely on what people say. The decision should be made based on your requirements and priorities.

[deevee]

Originally Posted by maddyguage

I wonder who would buy vento now. With all the features (even more-reverse camera) available for less than 3-4 lacs. Vento needs a serious upgrade to maintain that premium feel over this tiny monster.

I sincerely hope there is a 'nice' upgrade planned for the vento. Have pinned my expectations to this. The LED lights and reverse parking camera is something I have taken for granted that it will get. Beyond that no clue sir

[balajisv]

Tata should be concerned that lot of people don't even consider Zest even though it ranks higher in power, efficiency, space, features and build quality.

[Ketan T]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Tata should be concerned that lot of people don't even consider Zest even though it ranks higher in power, efficiency, space, features and build quality.

I visited the Tata showroom yesterday. We are looking to replace my dad's Hyundai Accent. Tata has almost a lakh rupees discount on Zest. And like balajisv said, it has got the best features in the class. The on road cost for Zest XMS petrol variant is almost 6 lakhs. Still Tata is unable to sell it in huge numbers. I bet that with the Ameo launch, Zest will have some more discounts.

I am tempted to get Ameo for my dad as he is looking for a compact sedan. But two VWs in the family? Not so sure about that.

[MDED]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I would pick the Polo over Ameo anyday. Just like how the Swift, i20 or Jazz gets my vote. A little loss of space in the boot is totally manageable.

Great point made. Matured markets tend to understand the fine difference between a namesake sedan and a proper premium hatch. The numbers of elite i20, Honda Jazz and Swift stand testimony to that.
If I was a first time car buyer, i will not be perturbed by the fact that I am going to drive 3 cylinder vehicle as such technical details will not come across my mind. Having said that I would be knowing about only popular cars on Indian roads like a Maruti or a Hyundai. Hence, I feel the German car maker has made a big blunder by launching under powered vehicle, because of the plain fact that their target segment is well informed about the cars what they buy and they ain't first time buyers.
Considering the markets inclination for premium hatchbacks, it will be apt if Volkswagen comes with a powerful diesel option as soon as it's possible.
PS: Aggressive pricing will not cut much ice.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I guess it's a case of honest pricing from VW.

For one, Ameo should cost less than Polo to manufacture. Compact sedans save a bit on BOM compared to hatchbacks.

Very true. Ideally the compact sedan should be cheaper than the hatch cause a lot of components are not required. A hatch opening needs struts on both sides to lift the heavy hatch door, additional rubber beading and plastic cladding. The Hatch needs the rear wiper with spray as well.

The compact sedan uses a rudimentary spring closing system, only the boot lid needs the rubber seal and they usually skimp on plastic cladding inside the boot lid since the boot is separate from the cabin.

The Ameo IMO has no USP and I am very doubtful it will do any decent numbers especially with the current 1.2L 3 pot motor.

The diesel expected later might be a differentiator but with the diesel sentiments in the market currently this looks like a gamble that is not going to pay off for VW.

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by sibot

We are consider buying this car. But I've read a lot of criticism for the rear leg room. How bad is it?

Originally Posted by dark.knight

It is incredibly subjective, it depends on the passengers height, width and his/her perception of how space should be.

Well said, exactly what I would say too.

In addition, it also depends on the size (height particularly) of the people expected to travel in the car. Not just the rear, but the regular driver and front passenger as well, because they dictate how much space will then be available at the rear.

I dropped the Polo because I'm 5'11", and leg room behind my driving position would be too little for anyone over 5'5" tall to the point of knees touching the front seats.

If you rarely expect to travel 4-5 up, and/or the regular driver and front passenger are 5'8" or less, I'd say it should not be that bad.

While the Ameo is priced at par with the competition, the selling points will be the VW badge (outweighed most likely by the service worries), quality of materials, fit and finish, and a few segment first features.

I'm especially pleased that VW has set the standard with ABS and dual airbags as part of the standard equipment list. In my experience the 1.2 petrol is not that bad with acceptable in-city performance. It is certainly not sprightly, but the inherent fuel efficiency of a three cylinder motor should balance that a bit. Highway performance is never going to be brilliant, but then which 1.2 available in India is really. Other than the Polo/Vento TSI

[RavenAvi]

Taking into account the price differences between the Polo 1.2L petrol variants & the 1.5L diesel variants into the equation (taken from Carwale, Zigwheels, etc.), this could be the final prices of the Ameo 1.5L diesel:

1.5L Trendline = 6.69 lakhs,

1.5L Comfortline = 7.78 lakhs,

1.5L Highline = 8.55 lakhs,

1.5L Highline DSG = 9.71 lakhs.

All ex-showroom, Delhi.


Could end up being just a wee bit more compared to the competition:

Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire 1.3L DDiS is between 6.12 lakhs to 8.57 lakhs,
Hyundai XCent 1.1L CRDi is between 6.27 lakhs to 8.09 lakhs,
Tata Zest 1.3L QJ is between 6.10 lakhs to 8.53 lakhs,
Toyota Etios 1.4L D-4D is between 7.55 lakhs to 8.88 lakhs,
Ford Figo Aspire 1.5L TDCi is between 6.30 lakhs to 8.48 lakhs,
Honda Amaze 1.5L i-DTEC is between 6.54 lakhs to 8.32 lakhs.

Note that while the DZire has an AGS variant and the Zest has AMT variants in their respective lineups, the real competitors to the Ameo 1.5L TDI will be the Aspire 1.5L & the Amaze 1.5L due to similar engine sizes and (almost) similar power outputs.

Don' forget that the Ameo will come with a best-in-class 108PS 1.5L diesel unit. (link (VW's 1.5L Diesel: 108 BHP update coming up)) Also, the Ameo DSG variant, when launched, will be unique in it's segment by providing a 7-speed box.

[abhishek46]

This is simply great pricing.

No matter how ugly it looks, the pricing is attractive!
The mid variant looks VFM.