“A limousine under four meters? Is that even possible?” That was the first reaction of Tilo Klumpp, a senior designer at Volkswagen, when tasked with developing a sedan under four meters specifically for the Indian market. You can imagine him losing some hair over the design brief – after all, the Polo hatchback is barely a few millimeters under four meters to begin with, and now here’s he being asked to make a sedan within the same footprint. Poor Tilo.
Anyways he made it happen and the trick was in taking 35mm from the front. Look closely and you will notice the front bumper doesn’t protrude as much as the Polo or Vento; it’s a little squashed and the “holy 35mm at the front” was used to extend the rear overhang and get the space for a stubby boot. Thus was born Volkswagen’s first car designed only for India.
Rs 5.14 lakh
It’s not our style to start first drives with the price but, let’s face it, this whole compact sedan segment is driven purely by price. If it weren’t for the fact that these compact sedans enjoy the reduced excise duties applicable for hatchbacks nobody would bother buying them and living with the twin compromises of a smaller boot and tighter rear quarters (over a proper sedan). Pricing is everything in this segment and (the not very competitive) pricing is the reason why you don’t see too many Volkswagen’s on the road. Well VW finally seem to have cracked it.
With prices starting at Rs 5.14 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) for the petrol variant the Ameo is the cheapest compact sedan in the market today, cheaper than the segment leading Swift Dzire, cheaper than the Xcent, Figo Aspire and Zest, cheaper even than the Polo hatchback. Yes, you read that right, on a spec-to-spec comparison, the Ameo compact sedan is cheaper than even the Polo hatchback. Their cars may be better built and more sturdy than their rivals but VW have realised, the hard way, that Indians won’t bother paying a premium for all that and so, with the Ameo, they aren’t asking for a premium.
The Highline version you see pictured here, has an ex-showroom price of Rs 6.91 lakh in Mumbai and comes loaded with a parking camera (no navigation), Bluetooth, the gorgeous flat-bottom steering wheel, climate control, rear air-con vents adjustable front armrest, cruise control, cornering lights, cooled glove box and 15-inch alloys. All versions get airbags and ABS as standard.
Two and a half years
That’s how long development of the Ameo took, a very quick turnaround time according to VW officials (though Hyundai and Suzuki would probably do an all-new car in that time). It means the Ameo is very late to the party but like they say, better late than never. VW really need the Ameo to do well in India, neither the Polo nor the Vento have really taken off and it is only thanks to exports (the Vento is the second best-selling car in Mexico for instance) that the lines at the Chakan plant are humming through three shifts.
The Ameo didn’t start off as a compact sedan though. Tilo says the first designs were of a fastback, with an elegant tailgate sloping from the roofline to the trailing edge. It’s how things would have been done in a developed market; however that was nixed when the marketing people said Indians want a clearly defined three-box shape. And that’s such a shame! Yes, the marketing guys are right, Indians do want the traditional three-box shape, but imagine how lovely a fastback would have looked.
Make up your own mind
VW, particularly in this day and age, can ill afford to take risks with a fastback and so we get a traditional three-box that looks, deliberately, like the Polo up front. I still think the Polo is the smartest, most expensive-looking hatch on the market but that’s my personal opinion, much like, to my eyes, the backside of the Ameo isn’t very appealing. It’s an abrupt end to strong, neat, flowing lines but you’re free to draw you own conclusions on the styling front.
What there will be no dispute about are the tightly shutlines and precision engineering that the Ameo oozes. However a sore point are the huge gaps in the wheel arches to accommodate the raised ride height.
The Ameo is based on the Polo’s platform (not the Vento’s extended wheelbase version) and there are so many common parts it’s easier to list out what’s new – bumpers (front and rear), roof (it’s lowered by 15mm at the rear) and everything aft of the C-pillar. The extra sheet metal has added just 10kg to the weight of the Polo while the underpinnings remain unchanged.
On the inside
It’s familiar Polo insides but with a touch screen, rear parking camera, silver-finish centre console and scooped out front seatbacks to liberate more rear knee room. However sharing the Polo’s wheelbase means the Ameo has one of the tightest rear quarters in this business and that will prove to be a sore point. And with the rear air-con vent sticking into knee room the way it does, life become even harder for the middle passenger at the back.
As for the perception of quality the Ameo stands a step above its rivals. The doors shut with that most satisfying thud, the car feels rock solid, the flat-bottom steering wheel feels fabulous to hold and the precision and quality to the way all the controls operate is class leading.
Grown up manners
Unlike its rivals the Polo was never made to a price. Sure that’s the reason why it never took off in India but on the flip side you won’t find areas where corners have been cut – particularly in the way it rides and handles. And the grown-up manners and sophistication to the dynamics carries over to the Ameo. Despite using a five-year old platform the Ameo has the best ride and handling balance in this segment. Throw it on indifferently or even poorly surfaced roads and it just flattens everything. The ride quality is really that good. Chuck it into a corner and the nose bites sharply, understeer is kept at bay and body roll, though present, is well within control. It goads and encourages you to push harder and it really is a joy to drive – well it would be if only the engine had more power.
On the highway it feels rock steady. This is a car that was designed to be driven at well over 200kmph on German Autobhans and on our Indian highways, at whatever top speed the little engine can manage, it feels absolutely planted and stable. In fact the road manners are so good that it feels more underpowered than it actually is.
73.8bhp
Here’s where you will be in for a disappointment. The Ameo retains the 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that the Polo was launched with, the motor that came in for much criticism for being neither powerful nor refined nor efficient. At least the last part has been addressed with the Ameo now delivering a competitive 17.83kmpl.
In terms of performance the Ameo is leisurely at best with a claimed 0-100kmph time of 14.2 seconds. On the highway you really have to cane the motor in all five gears to get moving in a hurry, and when caned the engine sounds very hoarse and gruff. Where it does score is the strong bottom-end torque so if you’re taking it easy the Ameo will happily chug along in top gear, making full use of the 110Nm of torque.
Buy?
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.