Sub-4 Metre Sedans Spec Comparo

  • Oct 3, 2016
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We place the newly launched VW Ameo diesel against its rivals in India

Sub-4 Metre Sedans Spec Comparo

Sub-4 metre sedan segment is one of the most hotly contested in the Indian automotive industry. While every carmaker has tried to outgun the competition in one respect or another, everything finally boils down to the overall recipe that the customer experiences. Last week, Volkswagen launched the diesel-powered Ameo and we stack it up against all its rivals from Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford, Tata and Honda.

Dimensions:

Car

VW Ameo

Honda Amaze

Ford Figo Aspire

Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire

Hyundai Xcent

Tata Zest

Variants

TL/CL/HL

E/E-O/S/S-O/SX/VX

Ambiente/Trend/

Titanium/Titanium+

LDi/VDi/ZDi/ZDi AGS

B/S/S-SE/SX/SX(O)

XE/XM/XMA/XMS/XT/XTA

Length (mm)

3995

3990

3995

3995

3995

3995

Width (mm)

1682

1680

1695

1695

1660

1706

Height (mm)

1483

1505

1525

1555

1520

1570

Wheelbase (mm)

2470

2405

2491

2430

2425

2470

Ground Clearance (mm)

163

165

174

170

165

165

Fuel Tank Capacity (litres)

45

35

40

42

43

44

Boot Capacity (litres)

330

400

359

320

407

390

Wheels (mm)

175-70 R14/185-60 R15 (CL/HL)

175-65 R14

175-65 R14

165-80 R14 (LDi/VDi) /185-65 R15 (ZDi/ZDi AGS)

165-65 R14/175-60 R15 (SX (O) only)

175-65 R14 (XE only)/185-60 R15

The new entrant from Volkswagen sits comfortably in the mix of its rivals. However, it does fall down on a couple of fronts. First is the ground clearance, which is the least amongst all the contenders. Roads in our country aren’t the best in the world and the Ameo is bound to scrape its belly on the move. The other issue is the boot space which is only slightly better than the DZire. We know the DZire isn’t the most spacious car in this segment but it is a Maruti Suzuki product, which is why it sells in India regardless of anything else. VW, on the other hand, doesn’t have that hold in the country. On the space front then, the Ameo isn’t going to win any battles.

Sub-4 Metre Sedans: Front View

Engine And Transmission:

Car

VW Ameo

Honda Amaze

Ford Figo Aspire

Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire

Hyundai Xcent

Tata Zest

Variants

TL/CL/HL

E/E-O/S/S-O/SX/VX

Ambiente/Trend/

Titanium/Titanium+

LDi/VDi/ZDi/ZDi AGS

B/S/S-SE/SX/SX(O)

XE/XM/XMA/XMS/XT/XTA

Displacement (cc)

1,498

1,498

1,498

1,248

1,120

1248

No. Of Cylinders

4

4

4

4

3

4

Tech

TDI

i-DTEC

TDCI

DDiS

CRDi

Quadrajet

Power (PS) @ RPM

110 @ 4,000

100 @ 3,600

100 @ 3,750

75 @ 4,000

72 @ 4,000

75 @ 4000 (XE Only)/90 @ 4000

Torque (Nm) @ RPM

250 @ 1,500-3,000

200 @ 1,750

215 @ 1,750-3,000

190 @ 2,000

180 @ 1,750-2,500

190 @ 1,750-3,000 (XE only)/200 @ 1,750-3,000

Transmission

7-speed DSG/5-speed manual

5-speed manual

5-speed manual

5-speed manual/5-speed AGS

5-speed manual

5-speed manual/F-Tronic AMT (XMA and XTA only)

ARAI Fuel Economy (Km/l)

21.73 (DSG)/NA

25.8

25.83

26.59

24.4

22.95 (XE only)/20.65/21.58 (XMA and XTA only)

This is where the Ameo just annihilates its competition. With 110PS of power and 250Nm of torque at its disposal, it is the most powerful sedan in this category. Moreover, the German car is the only one that has a 7-speed automatic box on offer which is lifted straight from the GT TSI variant of the Polo hatchback. The only figure that doesn’t work in its favour is the fuel-efficiency which sits second from bottom, only beating the 90PS diesel mill powering the Tata Zest.

Sub-4 Metre Sedans: Rear View

Features and Comfort:

All the cars offer features like ABS+EDB, airbags and music system. But every car tries to outshine the others with its own unique features. For instance, the Ford Figo Aspire offers six airbags and MyKey functionality, which helps in limiting the top speed of the car and the max. volume the audio system can reach, in the top-spec Titanium plus variant. Similarly, the Hyundai Xcent tries to lure customers with its spacious cabin and the biggest boot in the segment, and the homegrown automaker Tata equipped the Zest with an eight-speaker brilliant Harman infotainment system. 

The DZire might not have ground-breaking tech in its recipe but it does come with the rock-solid service network of Maruti Suzuki. This itself acts as a feature for peace-of-mind for all its potential customers. Honda has a similar case-in-point; while it doesn’t have the service network to match that of Maruti’s, its cars seldom go wrong and fetch good resale value. VW has its own mantra of gaining some presence in the market and has introduced first-of-its-kind offerings in the segment with the Ameo like, cruise control, automatic rain-sensing wipers, all-four power-windows with one-touch operation and opening/closing of windows with its key remote. At the end of the day, it all boils down to what you can and what you cannot do without in your sub-4 metre sedan.

Price And Warranty:

Car

VW Ameo

Honda Amaze

Ford Figo Aspire

Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire

Hyundai Xcent

Tata Zest

Variants

TL/CL/HL

E/E-O/S/S-O/SX/VX

Ambiente/Trend/

Titanium/Titanium+

LDi/VDi/ZDi/ZDi AGS

B/S/S-SE/SX/SX(O)

XE/XM/XMA/XMS/XT/XTA

Price Range (MT) in Lakh (ex-Delhi)

Rs 6.33 - Rs 8.16

Rs 6.59 - Rs 8.38

Rs 6.37 - Rs 7.89

Rs 6.15 - Rs 8.07

Rs 6.27 - Rs 8.09

Rs 6.16 - Rs 7.81

Price (AT) in Lakh (ex-Delhi)

Rs 8.50 (CL)

Rs 9.31 (HL)

NA

NA

Rs 8.57 (ZDi AGS)

NA

Rs 7.79 (XMA)

Rs 8.58 (XTA)

Warranty (Yrs/Kms)

2/Unlimited

2/40,000

2/1,00,000

2/40,000

2/Unlimited

2/75,000

Volkswagen has done a tremendous job in pricing the Ameo diesel competitively, especially the variants with manual transmission (MT). They fall right in the mix of the price tags that its counterparts has pasted on their offerings. While the top-spec MT variant is priced Rs 8,000 more than the top-spec MT variant of the DZire, the Ameo stands Rs 22,000 less expensive than the top-spec Honda Amaze. The Germans have gone so aggressive on the pricing front that the Ameo even undercuts its hatchback sibling Polo by a noticeable amount.
Volkswagen has mentioned that the current price-list of the Ameo is just an introductory offer. The prices are expected to go up in a few months. If you have set your eyes on the Ameo, it is better that you go and book one right now before the German automaker revises its price-tags.
Recommended Variant : Ameo 1.5 TDI Comfortline

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