Volkswagen Ameo Diesel Spotted Testing

With Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda and Ford battling for the undisputed leader tag in the hotly contested compact sedan segment, Volkswagen had to get into the same groove. The Ameo petrol was launched earlier this year with a very competitive price list for the three variants. Volkswagen knew that the Ameo is not going to take the cake unless there is a diesel option on offer. Good news for the VW enthusiasts now, as the diesel variant of the Ameo appears to be in its final phase of testing.

The Skoda Rapid and the VW Vento get the same 1.5-litre diesel engine under the hood. However, sales for both these models have been suspended in order to update the oil burner. This engine had shown irregularities during emission tests which were extensively carried out following the 'dieselgate' scam that the VW brand came under. Due to this, the launch of the Ameo diesel was delayed.

The Ameo's diesel motor will get an upgraded turbocharger, directly impacting the fuel economy and power delivery figures. One can expect 90PS of power, 230Nm of torque, and an average above the 20kmpl mark. It will be offered with the same 5-speed manual and 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmissions as in the Polo and Polo GT TSi respectively.

Nearly all visual aesthetics appear identical to the top-spec petrol variant. The only difference we could spot were the alloy wheels. They seem to be a size bigger (16-inches) and different in design as well. We can only hope that these 16-inch wheels make it to the final production version of the sedan. VW might go ahead and introduce the same wheels on its close siblings, the Polo and the Vento.

The Ameo diesel will go on sale in the month of August 2016. With a diesel motor under the bonnet, expect a price range which is at least Rs 1 lakh dearer to its petrol powered brother, when compared variant to variant. This means a starting price of Rs 6.5 lakh for the entry level Trendline and close to Rs 8.5 lakh for the top-spec Highline option.