Honda to launch Amaze sedan tomorrow

Honda will launch the Amaze Sedan for the Indian market tomorrow. It is a sub-four metre compact sedan and will be the Japanese automaker’s first diesel engined vehicle for the Indian market. We have already driven the car and have discovered that the diesel variant is force to be reckoned with and will give good competition for the Swift Dzire. 

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 Amaze is expected to help Honda revive its sales which took a beating after petrol prices were deregulated around two years ago. Now, all that is left is for Honda to set the price 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 from the launch.