As with most of the exterior, interior is similar to Polo. Polo has one of the best interiors in its segment which is also seen with Ameo. Not only the fit and finish, but the craftsmanship and quality of materials are also impressive. Ameo has adjustable inverted L-type headrest for the rear row which provides an all round unobstructed visibility. Its chrome door handles give a feel of a car higher than its segment; plus they're standard. Also with leather wrapped steering wheel, gear stick and handbrake come as icing on the cake. It also has Mirror Link Connectivity for GPS which in layman language means it transforms infotainment system into smart phone. The interiors may not look as fresh, but have aged very well and still look contemporary. Large dials dominate the instrument panel which makes them practical and legible, very good balance between form and function. Notably its Multi-Function Display is crystal clean unlike many rivals. Flat bottom steering wheel is great to hold and one can easily notice that money is well spent and further to that, the steering mounted controls have excellent look and feel. Piano black finish and leather wrapping further up the ante and first impression is quite positive the moment one holds steering wheel. Brushed aluminium finish on central console and chrome interior accents further help the car keep its quality quotient high in its segment. Infotainment system does look nicely integrated, but touchscreen could have had an integrated GPS system. Switchgear for power windows, lights reek quality and have a nice feel when operated. Lights are operated by a knob that looks and feels like a typical premium European car. All four power windows get an anti-pinch function. Glove Box is smartly sized with cooling function and sunglass holder. A/C vents do shut off complete and unlike most of its competition, they won't allow airflow when shut completely. Dual tone dashboard make the ambiance better inside cabin, it helps when long hours have to be spent inside the car. Beige floor looks very lively but is a dirt magnet and regular maintenance would be required in the longer run to keep it spotless. The solid thud when door closes makes a long lasting impression with impeccable build.

Ameo is a relatively low slung car and as a consequence, ingress and egress are slightly tough. But once seated inside, comfort levels are good. Front seats offer fantastic support all round and even long journeys won't hurt your back. Side bolstering is more than adequate and fabric seems good too. Considering the fact that Ameo has tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment, getting into a comfortable posture behind the wheel does not take long. Height adjustable driver’s seat has decent range and even shorter drivers will quickly find themselves well acquainted with the car. Front armrest is quite comfortable and shoulder room at front is more than adequate even with large sized adults. Rear seat has adequate under thigh support, but they aren't’ exactly low on comfort. This car is loaded with features and one of them is availability of rear AC vent, the only other car to offer the same in this segment is Xcent, but the more effective implementation is on this one. Rear armrest is missing and could have added to overall comfort. Width of the cabin makes this a very comfortable 4 seater than a 5 seater and a prominent floor hump at rear does make the middle passenger in rear seat a bit uncomfortable. The central console also does eats a bit in rear legroom for middle occupant. Coming to feature list, VW has loaded it quite well. Automatic climate control, reverse parking sensor and camera, electronic day-night interior rear view mirror, automatic wipers and cruise control are part of standard features on the top-end variant. Suspension set-up is carried over from Polo, which already had a very well tuned setup. Upfront are MacPherson struts with stabilizer bar and doing duty at rear is trailing arm, coil spring non independent suspension. Ride is very absorbent with balance of ride and handling only a few can match. It does not lose composure even at high speeds displaying a well speced European nature. Only when sharp bumps are taken at higher speeds does the suspension make noise. Ride comfort is one of the best in its segment making Ameo a comfortable car to travel long distances. The impressive sound insulation also help the matters along with a reassuring solid build.

Currently, Ameo is available with only a 3-cylinder 1.2 liter petrol engine developing 74 BHP@5400 RPM while putting out 110 Nm of torque at 3750 RPM. These figures are modest by class standards and it does reflect on its performance. Suzuki and Honda’s 1.2 liter engines are amongst the best in segment and Hyundai’s 1.2 liter engine has exceptional refinement in city confines. What helps Suzuki, Honda and Hyundai engine is that they are 4-cylinder whereas Ameo’s a 3-cylinder. This does not imply that refinement is not good, but not the segment best. At idle there are some vibrations filtering through and engine is audible all the time. This is the only fly in the ointment in an otherwise well rounded package. Gearbox is nice to operate and hold, a well engineered thing as engine has to be given the stick to extract useful performance. Clutch operation is smooth and progressive and along with smooth, crisp gearbox does help Ameo get a few marks. With this engine, the car is a point A to B commuter rather than an engaging drive which is a shame because the excellent chassis can handle a lot more. A diesel engine is expected later which should make Ameo more competitive. Overtaking will require careful planning on single lane roads as the grunt is clearly lacking. It’s not all bad on performance front though, the safe, direct and predictable handling does improve the drive quality by a fair margin. It's not overtly sharp, but adequately direct and coupled with well sorted ride, even express highway runs feels safe and secure. Chassis shines through as the dynamics are quite good and a more powerful diesel should definitely make Ameo a more compelling package. Just the absence of petrol automatic option like in Polo and Vento would have been welcomed and would have given Ameo slight upper hand over rivals.

Build quality seems solid and doors close with a very reassuring thud. As is the case with all VW’s on sale in India, ABS and two airbags are standard across the range. Front and rear adjustable headrests are also standard across all variants. All four anti-pinch windows are segment first, so are the fog lights with static cornering lights. Rear fog light is standard while front fog lamps are unavailable only on the base variant. However, rear defogger is offered on top variant only. The diesel-automatic variant, whenever launched, will be equipped with Electronic Stability Program and Hill Hold Assist. What’s missing are the disc brakes at the rear. Not that any other car in this segment is equipped with it but we expect it from a brand known for the benchmark it sets in the safety department. Ford Aspire offers more safety features on top end variant, but VW’s sturdy build is best in its segment.

In another segment first, power windows can be opened or closed with key remote. Reverse parking sensor and camera are a big plus but sadly they’re offered only in the top-end variant. At the front, twin cup holders are present ahead of the gearbox area and doors are capable of holding 1.5 liter bottles while only 500 ml bottles can be tucked in the rear doors. Plus, there’s a Vento-like bottle holder behind the front armrest for the rear passengers. The dead pedal is much needed feature that Ameo offers standard on all variants; it's not wide but still usable. Automatic wipers and cruise control are segment first, while rear AC vents go in a long way to improve rear seat comfort in Indian summers. Boot space is 330 liters which is a small gain over Polo. However, the loading lip is slightly narrow, and it’s much less than the boot space offered by Xcent, 407 liters. We feel that a more spacious rear seat and boot could have helped Ameo gain strong foothold in its segment. VW has electrically operated and foldable ORVMs which can be operated by a single joystick and no other switches or knobs are needed like in rest of the companies. Though it’s a disappointment in few areas like height adjustable seat belts are not fitted and has no tweeters that further dampens the sound quality of the stock music system. Also just one cabin light is provided that too in the front, so rear passengers face a bit of an inconvenience. On the flip side, footwell lights are provided at the front.