German car-maker Volkswagen launched its first compact sedan offering in India in the first week of June. The Ameo was launched only in the petrol variant, with the diesel powered model expected to make its way to the market soon. Now it looks like Volkswagen has started testing the Ameo diesel on Indian roads.
ThrustZone has shared images of what is believed to be the diesel version of the Ameo. The prototype is currently undergoing testing in Pune and according to the original publisher, the car wears TDi badge on the boot. While the diesel-powered Ameo compact sedan will remain unchanged in terms of style and features, under the hood, the variant is expected to get upgraded 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine. The engine is expected to be re-tuned to churn out 108bhp of power.
The current 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine that powers models like the Polo, Vento and Skoda Rapid churns out 103bhp of power and 230Nm of torque. The Ameo diesel is expected to come with five-speed manual gearbox and seven-speed DSG transmission. Previous reports had said that the Ameo diesel is likely to be launched in Indian in August.
The Ameo is the company's made-in-India, made-for-India compact sedan. It competes against the likes of Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire, Honda Amaze, Ford Figo Aspire, Tata Zest and Hyundai Xcent in the country.
The Ameo, which is currently on sale in India, comes powered by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder MPI petrol engine that develops 74bhp of power and 110Nm of peak torque. It has been priced starting at Rs. 5.24 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The compact sedan offers some of the best in-class features, such as cruise control, infotainment system with CD/MP3/USB/AUX-in/SD card and Bluetooth connectivity, reverse-parking camera, reverse-parking sensors and touchscreen MirrorLink system.
[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]
