Volkswagen Ameo @ Auto Expo 2016. EDIT: Starts at Rs. 5.14 lakhs!

[Rehaan]

Mod Note: Our Ameo Report has been taken live at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the new thread. Thanks!

Big shout-out to Anshuman & Eddy for their coverage and photographs.

Volkswagen Ameo:

• The Volkswagen Ameo has made its World Premiere just yesterday
• It's VW's first compact sedan, designed specifically for India (< 4 meters in length)
• Despite its sneaky unveiling just a day before the Auto Expo, the launch is still half a year away
• There will be 2 engines on offer (exact power figures not disclosed yet):

• 1.2L 3-cylinder MPI petrol
• 1.5L 4-cylinder TDI diesel

• A 7-speed DSG expected on the diesel will be the Ameo's real USP in the segment
• First in segment features like cruise control and rain sensing wipers are also present (unless someone beats them to the punch)
• ABS and Dual-Airbags will be standard across the range. Good job VW!

[Rehaan]

With the Polo having been around since 2010, Eddy mentioned that he found the 'new' Ameo to look a bit dated already. Some might argue that VW's designs are timeless though:


Personally, I did resonate with several BHPians who hinted at it being the "Vento Verito Vibe":


The paint quality is excellent, and the Ameo has a solid build quality, as expected and demonstrated by all the VWs:


A closer look at the added-on boot shows that it's rather flat and square:


Note the slight lip at the top edge of the boot:


Ironically, the triangular planes beside the numberplate make the rear end look more Rapid (crystalline design language) than Vento:


The rear end, while certainly inoffensive, doesn't carry the same proportional beauty as the rest of the Polo/Vento body does:


Plastic parts on the outside (grill, ORVM bases, B-pillars, etc) have a matte finish:


Shown here with very meaty 215/45R16 tyres. Expect to see a smaller size on the production versions:


Look closely; it gets a rear view camera too:

[Rehaan]

The Ameo interiors follow the simplistic and functional VW design:


Layout and feature wise, they are virtually identical to what's now offered on the Polo and Vento:


Eddy and Anshuman liked the flat-bottom steering, and said the switchgear quality was good. It can tilt & telescope too:


Instrument cluster is the standard, though as you might be able to tell, they only had the petrol on display:


The touchscreen multimedia unit has a CD player too. All the inputs are located on the front of the HU:


The head-unit supports Mirror link, iPod connectivity, and has a phonebook / SMS viewer:


The rear view camera display (the Ameo also gets parking sensors):


Climate control:


The 1.2L MPI petrol engine gets the 5-speed manual gear box:


A dead pedal is present:


Cruise control (another first in the segment):


The sensor for the rain-sensing wipers is located above the IRVM:


Electrically adjustable and electrically folding mirrors:


The IRVM is auto-dimming, but isn't very large:


The glove box is big and air-cooled:


Adjustable front armrest (for height), with an inbuilt storage compartment:


Scooped-in front seats help free up a little rear leg room, though it's still a tight squeeze. Anshuman & Eddy felt that the leg room was less than the Dzire and Amaze. Maybe just 10% better than a Polo:


No armrest for the rear passengers (the Vento gets one). Headrests at the rear are adjustable:


One reason people might consider the Ameo over the Polo? It gets rear A/C vents, while the Polo doesn't:


Eddy found the boot lid lighter than he expected it to be:


Boot space (330 liters) is ~50 liters more than the Polo:


Spare tyre is 185/60R15. Wonder if that's the final size tyre the production Ameo will end up with:

[Rehaan]

Lots of room in the engine bay on the petrol (Eddy notes that the paint quality is top notch, even inside the engine bay!). No sump guard was visible:


The 7-speed DSG on the diesel (not shown) might be the Ameo's real USP in the segment (Dzire & Zest are the only diesel automatic competitors, but mind you, they use cruder AMT gearboxes):

[volkman10]

German engineering. With an Indian heart. The Volkswagen Ameo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBokDGkAy-w

[Rehaan]

Here's a link to our report of the rest of the cars in the Volkswagen Auto Expo Stall

[anb]

I prefer Polo any day over this. Ameo looks ugly from side and rear while polo is handsome. I wonder why VW made this car in the first place. Looking at the current prices of polo and long list of features in the ameo, VW will find it difficult to price this car compatatively

[jay3sh]

Thanks for the detailed observations Rehan, Eddy and Anshuman. Looks like a good attempt by VW to catch'em young! They have plonked in the feature sets already available for the polo and enticed the amaze and Dzire customer to walk into the VW showroom, which is a good thing to grow volumes. They are banking on the VW image of robust built.

VW paint jobs will always be top notch, they focus a lot more on correcting minute paint defects (after the vehicle is painted).

[Rajeevraj]

Glad to hear that the build quality, fit and finish have not been compromised. A bit of a bad move to unveil now and launch after 6 months. Too long a wait.

So there are a few reasons to consider the Ameo over the Polo

• A little more rear space
• A little more boot space
• The big one-TDI DSG.

Assume it will be priced slightly above the Polo. Overall, I think they have managed to insert the third twin to the Polo and Vento quite well. The engines and transmissions also have been spread out over the 3.

• Want a small petrol MT. Buy the 1.2 Polo or Ameo
• Large Petrol MT: Only the 1.6 Vento
• Diesel MT: Polo and Ameo (assume it is the 90bhp variant) or the Polo GT TDI or Vento (105bhp)
• Petrol Automatic: Polo TSI DSG or Vento TSI DSG
• Diesel Automatic: Ameo TDI DSG or Vento TDI DSG

I do wish they had got the 1.0 TSI in the Ameo. Would have been a nice differentiating factor both within the portfolio as well as in the segment.

[GeeTee TSI]

Ameo seems to have Euro spec 'click' type flat wipers (visible from front three quarter angle). Neither the Polo nor the Vento had them, which were otherwise standard throughout VAG range of cars.

[jay3sh]

Though it would be a nice differentiating factor, it's not good business to keep inventory of a particular engine for just one vehicle. Same would apply for the Euro spec wipers pointed out. I would like to believe Ameo would use the wipers polo/Vento have when it goes into production.

[Ponkermania]

Originally Posted by csnanjappa

Haha .....Journalist asking whether the car would have an AMT gear box

That's not really as silly as it sounds - DSG is a type of AMT (twin clutch), just not the sequential AMT made popular by Maruti.

I hope that's what the journalist meant, though most probably it wasn't.

[RaghuSuresh]

So this is what happens when a vento gets rear ended pretty hard. I personally don't like the rear design, probably could have done better by making the C-pillar a little more similar to the vento than the polo. But then again, not being a car designer, what would I know?
I was expecting a little more proportion to the looks but I suppose the sub-4 meter bracket really doesn't allow for it.

[WindRide]

Oh my god!!!! Wish i had never opened this thread and had to see this ridiculous looking car. An absolutely ghastly looking boot=job!! Why on earth did VW impose this monstority on us unsuspecting folks.

[jayded]

Volkswagen just threw some mud onto their otherwise classy looking portfolio.

With the Polo already sitting at par or above the compact sedans from other manufacturers, which the Ameo is seemingly competing against, with respect to pricing, I'm puzzled as to how VW is going to price this competitively. It would automatically price itself out of the group.

I for one feel all the R&D that went into this could've been utilized for something more effective. Why not just bring a Polo TDi DSG instead? Baffles me.