German car-maker Volkswagen seems to have postponed the launch of the diesel–powered Ameo in India till further notice. The Ameo was scheduled for its launch in the country on September 27.
The Ameo diesel was to have been on the Indian roads for quite a long time since the entry of the petrol variants of the compact sedan in the country. Although the reason for the delay is not known, reports on the Internet suggest that the launch could happen in the near future.
The dealers of Volkswagen in India have already started accepting bookings for the model for a down-payment of Rs 10,000. The Ameo, the compact sedan tailored for the Indian market is pitted against Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire, Honda Amaze, Ford Figo Aspire, Tata Zest and Hyundai Xcent.
In the diesel avatar, the Ameo is expected to get an upgraded 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine, which is expected to be re-tuned to churn out 108bhp of power. Currently, the Ameo is sold with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder MPI petrol engine that develops 74bhp of power and 110Nm of peak torque. The engine comes mated to a five-speed manual gear box.
The Ameo diesel will be the same as the current model in the market except for the addition of the diesel mill. It will continue to house features such as cruise control, height-adjustable driver's seat, reverse-parking camera, reverse-parking sensors, electrically-foldable ORVMs, rear defogger and touchscreen MirrorLink system. On the safety front, the Ameo gets dual front airbags and ABS as standard.
