Volkswagen Ameo Long Term Review – Second Report

Mash the throttle and the Ameo will never disappoint. It picks up pace very nicely and before you know it, you’ve already crossed the ton. The DSG works hard in selecting the right gear and when you’re driving in traffic at low speeds, the gearbox gets a bit confused and this leads to some unwanted jerks. This usually happens between D2 and D3 but once you gather some speed, the shifts are as seamless as they can be. The driveability of the Ameo is awesome, no doubt, but it gets even better in S mode. The gearbox holds onto gears much longer and this results in better responsiveness from the engine. There’s this particular empty stretch on my way to work where I can easily let the car loose for a few kms and here’s where I exploited S mode the most. Most of the times, I drove in D and was pretty much happy. The S mode also comes in to be useful on ghats and sections of the highway where you want to make quick overtakes.

The punchy performing diesel engine mated to the slick shifting DSG is the perfect match for a fun diesel sedan

The body control of the VW Ameo is just fab and the way this car maintains its composure at various speeds is impressive. The steering is precise, though it doesn’t offer that great feedback. At light speeds, the steering on our test car felt quite heavy and this became a bit annoying while parking the car in tight conditions. The Ameo is always eager to dart into corners and the 16-inch tyres come in to be very useful, offering good grip. I didn’t face any issue with the ground clearance but there was this one instance where four of us were travelling in the car for a shoot and the boot was loaded with a lot of video equipment, the Ameo scraped its underbelly on what was a very poorly designed speed breaker. The suspension of this car is tuned to offer a firm ride and this also goes a long way in ensuring good stability.

With the BS6 norms looming in, the Volkswagen Ameo will soon be discontinued which is why our long term car is leaving the fleet. The Ameo impressed everyone in the team and why not, it offers a very engaging driving feel, the pull from the diesel engine is hard to match and the build quality is one of the best in the segment. As far as I’m concerned, the only major negative in the Ameo is the rear seat space and this is why I feel this car couldn’t fetch the sales it deserved. The Ameo never let me down even once in all these months and after driving it for over 4000 kms, it was hard for me to say goodbye to this trustworthy workhorse.