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</p><p>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.</p><p></p>