Volkswagen’s big bet in the unique ‘Compact Sedan’ segment is called the Ameo. But as Indians move towards premium hatchbacks, has this car come in at the wrong timeIJ We took the Ameo for a spin recently around the Sahyadri mountains
Getting out of the hustle and bustle of Pune is quite a pain even at 7.30 in the morning. The capital of India’s two-wheeler market, most Punekar riders seem to believe that it is their right of way on the roads, pavements and fields. Worse, helmet usage only seems to be limited to a few useful idiots who care about their cranium.
This is after all a city where politicians of all hues, a powerful rainbow coalition that would make the BCCI jealous, threatened riots if helmet usage was enforced. The Supreme Court be damned. No other city in India has such a blase culture with regard to helmet usage; little wonder that almost as many people died using two-wheelers in India in 2015 as died on the war-torn Syrian landscape.
But we digress, we were in Maharashtra’s second city to test drive the new Volkswagen Ameo; the German carmaker’s first “made-in” and “made-for” India car. This is the European giant’s first foray into the uniquely India “compact sedan” segment. Almost a decade ago now, the Union Budget gave small cars an excise benefit over larger cars. Small cars as defined by the finance ministry had to be under four-meters in length and have engine capacities below 1200cc for petrol and 1500cc for diesel.
And while Tata Motors was the first carmaker to take advantage of this segment with the Indigo CS, the ‘CS’ standing for ‘Compact Sedan’, the segment only really took off when Maruti launched the second-generation Swift DZire in 2012. This allowed Maruti to offer a lower price point for consumers who looked for what automakers call a “third box” that is an opening boot. The second-generation DZire, despite its ungainly looks, became a massive sales success. When consumer sales started to dry up, the DZire formed the bulk of the fleet of new Ola and Uber drivers. Sales exceeded 15,000 units in a month, the DZire crossed 20,000 units in a month a couple of times and even dethroned the Alto as the top-selling vehicle from the Maruti stable.
Understandably, Maruti’s success with this awkward looking car inspired rival manufacturers as well. This led to the addition of what can best be described as “truncated trunks” on their small car platforms. Honda gave us the Amaze based on the Brio, Hyundai the Xcent based on the Grand i10, Ford the Aspire based on the Figo and the originators of the concept Tata Motors gave us the Zest based on the Bolt. Ford even ventured into making compact SUVs with the EcoSport which has now been emulated by Maruti with the Vitara Brezza.
But while these compact sedans have as a segment been successful on the sales front, most of them are aesthetically ugly. Most of what we would call smaller sedans such as the Volkswagen Vento or Honda City are between 4.4-4.5 meters in length. The additional length allows designers to gently merge the rear pillar of the car into the boot, which itself is longer and all such sedans are, therefore, more proportionate. Compact sedans, on the other hand, seem like the designed ran out of paper, had to take an eraser and hastily redraw the vehicle. Unable to play too much on the front end, the rear of most compact sedans look like they were designed in a butchery rather than a design studio because most of them have the finesse of a meat-cleaver. The Ford Figo Aspire and to an extent the Tata Zest being rare exceptions.
And obviously that is the first place you look when you see the Ameo. And it is not an exception to the rule, indeed the meat cleaver seems to have been used here, and the squarish tail-lights make matters worse. Volkswagen India tell us that they have cut 35mm from the front end, and a slightly squashed nose profile is evident when you park the Ameo beside her siblings, the Polo and Vento. There is a little notch under the Volkswagen logo for example on the Polo and Vento as it merges with the front bumper. However in the Ameo the logo is flush against the bumper, which itself is smaller. The rear-pillar is also sharper, and on the whole while you can believe the work put into the car, it does not feel proportionate.
But as the Swift DZire and to an extent the Hyundai Xcent have proven, looks really do not matter in this segment. Performance, economy and value for money do. The Ameo is enticing at the entry-level “Trendline” specification which costs Rs5.24 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. We, however, tested the fully-loaded “Highline” specification complete with alloy wheels, keyless entry and a touchscreen infotainment system that costs Rs7.04 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi. Volkswagen India does have to be complemented though for giving front airbags and Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) as a standard feature on the Ameo.
But, it is when you take the Ameo driving that you discover a slight issue. The Ameo does not have a diesel option as yet as Volkswagen is making changes to its 1.5-litre diesel motor. It is, therefore, fitted at launch with the three-cylinder 1.2MPI petrol engine which produces 75 horsepower, about eight less than the next least powerful petrol cars in the DZire and Xcent segment .
And while the Ameo is only around 11-12 kilograms heavier than the Polo, the car feels underpowered. With three adults and a bit of luggage the lack of power and even torque is evident, even when you get to a slight incline on the highway. Play with the gears, and yes you can get moving but the Ameo is uncomfortable at very high speeds and you are better off cruising at 80-90 kmph. While none of the Ameo’s petrol competitors are stunning on the charts, performance is not its strong suit.
Ride and handling though, the Ameo feels planted, the steering responsive and it does the hilly stretches very well indeed. There is no wobbliness, and the design compromises have not spread to the suspension. This, coupled with a fuel economy of 14 kilometers per litre on a combined city, six-lane highway and two-lane state highway drive, was the Ameo’s strong point. But rear legroom is not as great as some of the competition. Yet the boot does not feel inadequate at all.
Volkswagen also claims several first in class features in the higher specification variants, anti-pinch windows, rain-sensing wipers and a central armrest. The last feature is not necessarily a good one in a narrow car and when the rains came, your writer started the wipers well before they detected rain.
So all in all, a conclusion for this car from VolkwagenIJ Well, we hope that Volkswagen comes out with a diesel engine option soon, which they say they will. Prices are pretty much par for the course, performance a bit below par. But the biggest problem the Ameo faces is the rejuvenated “premium hatchback” category — cars like the Maruti Baleno, Hyundai i20 and Honda Jazz are seeing increased sales as buyers move beyond the fascination for cheap sedans and are willing to spend more on a hatchback. Most manufacturers turned around their designs rapidly, Volkswagen took longer. Therefore this might just be too little, too late for the Germans right now. However one does expect them to bounce back pretty soon.