Volkswagen Ameo Sport compact sedan spied; To challenge Ford Figo Aspire S

Volkswagen is readying up a sporty version of its compact sedan – the Ameo. It’ll be called the Ameo Sport, and is expected to be launched in January 2018. The Ameo Sport will take on the Ford Figo Aspire S, the only other sporty compact sedan sold in the Indian market.

Cosmetic and feature changes to the car include body graphics, blacked out roof, boot spoiler, blacked out alloy wheels and black leather seats. The Ameo Sport is likely to command a price premium over the regular variants, but the engine line-up is likely to be unchanged.

What this means is that the car will continue with the 1.2 liter non-turbo petrol engine with 74 Bhp-110 Nm, and the 1.5 liter turbocharged diesel engine with 104 Bhp-250 Nm. Both engines get 5 speed manual transmissions as standard while the diesel engine gets a 7 speed, dual clutch DSG automatic option. It’s disappointing that Volkswagen has no plans of launching the 1.2 liter TSI turbocharged petrol engine even on the sporty version of the Ameo.

Volkswagen gave this engine a miss when it launched the regular Ameo in the middle of last year. It’s likely that the company feels that an Ameo TSI will eat into the sales of both the Polo GT TSI and Vento TSI models. The turbopetrol TSI engine puts out 104 Bhp-175 Nm and with the DSG twin clutch automatic gearbox, is a very good performer. It would have been ideal on the Ameo Sport, and the car would then have become the segment leader in performance.

The Ameo is Volkswagen’s second best selling car in the Indian market. The compact sedan’s sales have settled in between the Polo and Vento. The car is solidly built and looks quite proportionate despite having a truncated length of 3.99 meters. The Ameo is the only sub-4 meter compact sedan Volkswagen has ever-built, and the car was specifically developed for the Indian market. Notably, it’s also the first made-for-India car from Volkswagen.

Via Motorbeam