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The Volkswagen Ameo is the latest entrant in the hotly contested sub-four-metre compact sedan space. A rival to popular cars like the Maruti Dzire, Honda Amaze, Ford Figo Aspire, Tata Zest and the Hyundai Xcent, the Ameo is the German brand’s first car to be tailor-made for India.
Volkswagen has introduced the Ameo with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine – the same motor used on the Polo (not the TSI turbo-petrol), and will later add the option of a 1.5-litre diesel engine with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The pricing for the Ameo ranges from Rs 5.24 to Rs 7.06 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), and bookings can be made for Rs 11,000. However, before you head out to your nearest Volkswagen showroom, take a look at how the petrol-powered Ameo’s specifications compare against those of its rivals.
Dimensions
Given the inherent four-metre constraint that these cars are built on, they are closely matched in terms of length, with five of the six cars – the Ameo, Dzire, Xcent, Aspire and Zest – being 3,995mm long. The wheelbase could give a better idea of the cars' interior space, and here, the Aspire leads the pack, spanning 2,491mm between the axles. It is followed by the Zest and Ameo, sporting a near identical 2,470mm and 2,469mm. The shortest wheelbase is that of the Amaze (2,405mm).
Spanning 1,760mm, The Zest also has a clear advantage (a 100mm lead over the Xcent) in terms of width, an indication of having the broadest cabin in the segment. It is distantly followed by the Figo Aspire, Dzire, Amaze and Ameo, with the Xcent being the narrowest at 1,660mm.
The Zest also leads in terms of overall height, which is likely to mean better headroom when compared to rivals. Meanwhile, the Ameo, based on the relatively low-slung Polo hatchback, is the shortest here.
When it comes to boot space, the Xcent with its 407-litre boot, leaps ahead of most of its rivals by a fair margin. Only the Honda Amaze comes close with a 400-litre boot. The Ameo’s 330-litre boot is slightly bigger than that of the Dzire’s 316 litres, which is the smallest here.
| Dimensions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Ameo | Maruti Dzire | Honda Amaze | Hyundai Xcent | Tata Zest | Ford Figo Aspire | |
| Length(mm) | 3995 | 3995 | 3990 | 3995 | 3995 | 3995 |
| Width(mm) | 1682 | 1695 | 1689 | 1660 | 1760 | 1695 |
| Height(mm) | 1483 | 1555 | 1505 | 1520 | 1570 | 1525 |
| Wheelbase(mm) | 2469 | 2430 | 2405 | 2425 | 2470 | 2491 |
| Boot Space(litres) | 330 | 316 | 400 | 407 | 360 | 359 |
Engine and transmission
The Ameo’s 75hp, 1.2-litre petrol engine is the only three-cylinder motor in the comparison and is the least powerful motor on paper. Though the motor is the same unit powering the Polo, it has been tuned to deliver an ARAI-rated fuel efficiency of 17.83kpl over the hatchback's 16.47kpl.
Like the Ameo, all cars in this comparison are powered by 1.2-litre petrol motors. Of these, producing 90hp and 140Nm, the Tata Zest’s 1.2-litre turbo-petrol unit is the most powerful and torquiest, but delivering 17.57kpl, it is the least fuel efficient of the lot.
The 84.3hp Dzire on the other hand is the most frugal car in this comparison, promising an ARAI rated 20.85kpl. The Xcent’s engine, producing 83hp, comes in second in terms of fuel efficiency, delivering 19.1kpl. While the motors of the Amaze and Figo Aspire produce an identical 88hp, at 18.16kpl, the Aspire is marginally more efficient than the Amaze that delivers 17.8kpl.
While the manual versions of all cars get 5-speed gearboxes, the petrol variants of the Amaze, Xcent, Dzire and Ford Figo Aspire comes with automatic gearboxes as well; the Xcent and Dzire getting 4-speed automatics, the Amaze using a CVT and the Figo getting a 6-speed dual-clutch unit. However, the automatic Figo is powered by a bigger, more powerful 112hp, 1.5-litre petrol motor.
| Engine and transmission | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Ameo | Maruti Dzire | Honda Amaze | Hyundai Xcent | Tata Zest | Ford Figo Aspire | |
| Engine | 3 cyl, 1198cc | 4 cyl, 1197cc | 4 cyl, 1198cc | 4 cyl, 1197cc | 4 cyl, 1193cc | 4 cyl, 1196cc/4-cyl, 1499cc |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual/ 4-speed automatic | 5-speed manual/ CVT automatic | 5-speed manual/ 4-speed automatic | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual/ 6-speed dual-clutch automatic |
| Power | 74hp at 5400rpm | 84.3hp at 6000rpm | 88hp at 6000rpm/90hp at 6000rpm | 83hp at 6000rpm | 90hp at 5000rpm | 88hp at 6300rpm/ 112hp at 6300rpm |
| Torque | 110Nm at 3750rpm | 115Nm at 4000rpm | 109Nm at 45000rpm | 114Nm at 4000rpm | 140Nm at 1500-4000rpm | 112Nm at 4000rpm/ 136Nm at 4250rpm |
| ARAI-claimed fuel efficiency | 17.83kpl | 20.85kpl | 17.8kpl | 19.1kpl | 17.57kpl | 18.16kpl/NA |
Pricing
Given the competition in this segment, pricing plays a crucial role when deciding which of these cars to buy. Although the Dzire, Amaze, Xcent and Figo Aspire can be had with automatic gearboxes, here we will only consider prices for the manual variants.
Priced at Rs 5.24 - 7.06 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Volkswagen Ameo has been positioned aggressively, and its base variant undercuts all its rivals, save for the Tata Zest and Ford Figo Aspire. Prices of the cars in this comparison have been listed below in the increasing order of prices for the base variants.
| Prices | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tata Zest | Ford Figo Aspire | Volkswagen Ameo | Maruti Dzire | Honda Amaze | Hyundai Xcent | |
| Prices(in lakh) | Rs 5.07-6.53 | Rs 5.21- 7.38 lakh | Rs 5.24 - 7.06 | Rs 5.32-6.98 | Rs 5.35-7.25 | Rs 5.36-7.13 |
All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi
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