Honda Amaze sedan revealed

The highly anticipated Honda Amaze compact sedan is expected to be launched in the Indian market in the next couple of weeks. We drove the new Maruti Suzuki Dzire competitor few days back and now with the media embargo lifted, we can now provide you with all the details of the car as well as our verdict on the first Honda diesel for India.

The Honda Amaze diesel sedan is powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre i-DTEC oil burner that produces 100PS@3600rpm and 200Nm of torque@1750rpm of which the latter is completely flat and does not drop until we get near the redline.  Where Honda is expected to score majorly over its rivals is fuel efficiency; an ARAI certified 25.8kmpl! the highest in the country.  It is almost certain that even in real world conditions, this number will drop to 23kmpl. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

Honda is also offering a petrol variant of the car. It is powered by a 1.2-litre mill producing 88PS and 109Nm of torque. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic. ARAI fuel efficiency figures are 18.0kmpl and 15.5kmpl for the manual and automatic respectively. This is the same mill that powers the Jazz and the Brio hatchbacks.

The variants that we tested were the top-end VX petrol and VX diesel. Both variants in addition to the standard features have been fitted with alloy wheels as well, ABS, remote locking electronically adjustable and foldable OVRMs and fog lamps.

Inside, they get two airbags, all four power windows, internal boot release of which the secondary mechanism is key slot on the boot door but no button on the key fob.  The driver’s seat is electronically adjustable. There is no climate control but the AC in the cars we tested was very effective.  As with Brio and the Honda City, the music system has no CD player but has a USB port and an AUX port. The boot has a useable space of 420 litres which is 100 litres more that the Maruti Suzuki Dzire. 

Now, all that is left is for Honda to price the Amaze correctly.  The compact sedan will compete directly with the Maruti Suzuki Dzire. This being a Honda, we expect it to command a slight premium over its competitors. Comparing variant to variant, the Amaze should cost around Rs 30,000 more with the prices for base variant are expected to start at Rs 5.5 lakh (ex-showroom). The top-end VX diesel will inch closer to Rs 8 lakh.  We are waiting for the car just as much as everyone else is, so stay tuned to CarWale for more details on launch and pricing.

Watch our video of the Honda Amaze

Read our first drive of the Honda Amaze

Read our preview of the Honda Amaze