2021 Honda Amaze Automatic First Drive Review

Honda's efforts in improving NVH levels show up with the diesel engine noise just being heard as a muffled note than a constant irritating clatter. Even on the run, the road noise is minimal. This CVT's biggest advantage is that there's no head shake, it masks the turbo-lag well, and is quick to accelerate while overtaking. A good mid-range and the additional torque come in handy for it to get going, whether in the city or out on the highway. There's even an 'L' mode if you wish to use up the torque more, and then the 'S' mode to allow you to rev till its redline at 4,000rpm. One may complain about the absence of paddle shifters, but as the engine gets noisy at high revs, you'd better stick to the 'D' mode and cruise comfortably instead of wringing out performance.

The petrol CVT model on the other hand is relatively silent with refinement levels way better than the diesel. That said, this four-cylinder motor does get a little noisy when revved hard. Keep it in 'D' mode and it will take its own sweet time to make progress with light throttle inputs. If you're not patient enough, you’ll end up accelerating more to take the revs more than 4,000rpm. This is when the engine gets very noisy and even the rubber-band effect of the CVT gets more pronounced. Nonetheless, this seven-step CVT comes with paddle-shifters to give you that extra control, and there's even an 'S' mode to let you pull till its redline at 6,600rpm.

If fuel efficiency figures are anything to Go buy, the Honda Amaze has always been termed as one of the most fuel-efficient sedans. And reasonably so with real-world figures achievable quite close to the ARAI-claimed figures of 24.7kmpl for the diesel manual and 21kmpl for the CVT version. Similarly, the petrol model isn't bad either with a certified economy of 18.6kmpl for the manual and 18.3kmpl for the CVT.

The Amaze is also not the richest in terms of feel and feedback from the steering, but quite manageable when it comes to driving it sanely. The steering feels light and yet weighs up adequately with the increment in speed. However, attack some corners with speed and you'll realise it's not the quickest to change direction and the car continues to understeer if you’re carrying too much speed than required. Nonetheless, it's quite predictable. Body roll is also evident and it’s best not to push around bends in the interest of all passengers' comfort. Still, there's sufficient grip from the Bridgestones on the diesel and even the MRFs on the petrol, as one can stop the car confidently even under panic braking.

Ingress/egress is again good for the rear seats with a good recline angle for the backrest, and more than adequate legroom and knee-room. But then again, for tall individuals, the roof might seem a little close for comfort. And though the floorboard is flat, seating three occupants on the rear seat will be a squeeze. Then, there are no rear AC vents/blowers which help in circulating the car better and quicker. Still, the car's USP remains the 420 litres boot space that will easily accommodate two big bags with a little more space to put in your soft bag-packs.

The 7.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay could have done better with its interface, response, and feel. Also, the Amaze was expected to feature a segment-first electric sunroof, but that's not the case. Then, giving an air-purifier and ambient lighting a miss is okay, but with customers getting tech-savvy these days, adding a standard wireless phone charger could have been practical. Also, many manufacturers have already moved from digital instrument clusters to one big long screen, so analogue meters feel outdated in this day and age.