AMEO DIESEL MT HIGHLINE EXCELLENT MILEAGE N RIDE QUALITY

DISCLAIMER: The following review is based on my personal experience and my usage of VW Ameo driven 15000 kms and I do not promote or endorse any brand.

I purchased Volkswagen Ameo in the month of December 2016. And I must say it's worth every penny and I m cherishing every moment with it when BEHIND the steering wheel. My budget was around 10 lakhs and my main priorities were engine power, ride quality,steering response, build quality, safety, Highway stability and finally Mileage.Before finalising Ameo, I had test driven Elite i20, ford twins figo and aspire, ecosport, fiat punto, Honda jazz, Brezza, s cross and polo. The elite i20 steering felt disconnected plus there was not fuel economy indicator to check mileage per litre. The build quality was much better then maruti. However, I felt that elite i20 didn't match to my expectation.

Then when I test drove ford twins figo and aspire i felt the power was excellent. However the build quality was not like the old Ford's like fiesta or old figo. I was left with one option of ford ecosport. The trend plus 1.5 was within my budget. Ecosport build was excellent and far superior than the new figo and aspire. The only let down I felt was the engine was old school technology which was 2 SOHC FGT WHICH IS THE SAME AS IN MAHINDRA VERITO. Moreover there was a face lift coming in November 2017. So rejected the ecosport.

Then I checked out punto evo diesel. It's an excellent hatchback in terms of highway stability, build quality and steering response. But a big let down was after sales and service..i almost finalised it but at the last moment backed off due to poor After sale service. Then checked out jazz, amaze. Both were rejected outrightly seeing the bland, boring and old styled buttons and interiors. Quality wasn't up to mark interior wise.

Then in maruti I felt only two cars were worth to check out seeing it build wise. First Brezza. Driving brezza felt like any other Maruti. However I felt the Alto interiors were pasted in Brezza. The steering felt disconnected. Secondly it was s cross.. felt that the price was too much for a 1.3 litre engine which is SAME as in Brezza n other marutis. Finally I test drove the polo. Looking at it in showroom somewhere in my heart I felt it's worth the money. The interiors, fit n finish were excellent. The only turn off was the rear leg room,ground clearance and boot space of 250 lts. Then after test drive for few kms on various type of roads, the Polo didn't scrape anywhere and ride quality was excellent, steering felt connected.

Then during that period VV launched Ameo in diesel. Checked out the Ameo diesel highline. It was instant click with me in all departments like ride Quality, steering response , highway stability, city driving, build quality, safety and mainly the engine 4 DOHC VGT power of 110 ps, 250 NM torque which is SAME as in full length sedan Vento diesel was mind blowing. The power to weight ratio in Ameo diesel makes it more fun to drive compact sedan. Aditionally, the cruise control feature which is most useful on highways plus it has auto rain sensing wipers with electronic dimming driver mirrors which is useful during night drive.

I OBSERVED that NO OTHER car in the current market within 11 LAKHS offers CRUISE CONTROL, ELECTRONIC AUTO DIMMING MIRROR, AUTO RAIN SENSING WIPERS with 110 PS POWER TILL DATE. I PURCHASED VW AMEO HIGH LINE 1.5 manual transmission for 9.67 lakhs on road price bengaluru in Dec 2016 excluding insurance. I have completed 15600 kms without any issues and highway mileage I get is 26.6 kmpl when driven within 100 kms speed and having such a powerful engine I drive at speeds around 120 to 130 kms still I get 21 kmpl and above TILL DATE.

Overtaking on highway with Ameo diesel is effortless and quick, the 15000 service cost was 10500 rs including GST of which 4500 was for oil itself since Volkswagen uses Fully synthetic engine oil..which is bit costly. However synthetic engine is good for engine and the service intervals are every 15000 kms which is quite long. At the end of the day Vw Ameo ticks all the boxes of my requirement in all departments.

Thank you Volkswagen. Its indeed German Engineering with Indian heart.