Honda Amaze diesel: Review

Honda entered India with the City in 1998. Since then it dominated sales thanks to its reliability and affordable technology. But in recent times, Honda sales started dropping thanks to increasing petrol prices and a lack of diesel engine. Honda is now bouncing back with the Amaze, its first compact saloon with its first diesel engine.

Based on the Brio, the Amaze is under four metres in length (3990mm). The profile is simple and elegant. It looks like a Brio with a nicely integrated boot. It does not have the truncated boot look you get in the Swift Dzire.  Two sweeping lines along the sides masks the length. It gets a new “smiling” front grille. From all angles, the Amaze looks rather attractive. On the inside, the similarities with the Brio continue. The Amaze borrows it’s dashboard from the Brio. The front seats are also borrowed from the Brio but have better support. The seats are comfortable even during long distance drives. The similarities end there. Unlike in the Brio, Honda’s brilliant packaging liberates excellent legroom, both front and back, and large boot, which measures at 400 litres.

The Amaze is powered by a new Earth Dreams 1.5 litre, four cylinder turbocharged diesel engine developing a peak power of 100PS at 3600 rpm and a peak torque of 200Nm at 1750 rpm. It is connected to the front wheels via a five speed manual transmission. Turbo lag is negligible and a good amount of power is available from the peppy engine which will rev to 4000 rpm with ease. This makes overtaking a breeze. Gear changes are crisp though it is slightly heavy. The clutch is light and makes for easy city driving. The steering is precise and weights nicely. The well balanced chassis cuts understeer. But, the thin 14 inch tires which are used keeping fuel efficiency in mind offer less grip. Overall, the good handling package in combination with the peppy engine and crisp changes make for a very involving drive. This car will not disappoint enthusiasts. The ride quality is good. All bumps are absorbed nicely by the soft suspension and only the sharper ones are felt. Honda claims an efficiency of 25.8 kilometres per litre but realistically you can expect 22 kmpl on the highway and about 19 in the city. This makes it one of the most fuel efficient cars you can buy.

On the equipment list, you get turn indicator on ORVMs, power foldable and power adjustable ORVMs, driver seat height adjustment, trunk light, heat absorbing front windscreen and a 15.7cm Touch Screen Audio Visual Navigation system with steering mounted audio controls. On the safety front, you get front seat belt pretensioner, front dual SRS airbags and ABS with EBD which comes as standard in the diesel.

With prices starting from 6.42 lakhs (ex-showroom Bangalore), it looks like Honda has a winner on its hands. With a brilliant new engine married to a brilliant new car, Honda has made a fuel efficient yet fun to drive car. This is exceptional considering the fact that it is tough to get the best of both worlds. Without any doubt, this is one of the best cars you can buy at this end of the market.