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-   -   Honda Amaze 1.5L Diesel : Driven (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/129439-honda-amaze-1-5l-diesel-driven-5.html)

Vid,

How is the build quality? Is it any worse for wear?

I read somewhere that the All new facelifted City is expected to hit shores in 2014 with the Diesel. No diesel mill on the current version of the city till then at least!!

Wow, Amazed at the AMAZE's Diesel Mill!!!! Good Grief, 1.5L Diesel Engine and 100 Horses for such a low weight car. Amazing. I can't believe the manufacturers' strategy here in India where Toyota offer an Old Gen 1.4 L diesel Engine on bestseller Corolla (albeit with turbo) and Nissan/Renault's entire car lineup can be summed up in one Engine 1.5 L DCI (with/Without Turbos), Honda Offering such a powerful engine in such a puny Notchback sedan before offering in CITY, while rest all manufacturers using FIAT/GM 1.3 Multijet/SDE engine. I guess everyone wanting to give a diesel car in India and putting whatever engine they can lay their hands on which is why such incoherent strategies by different brands..lol:

Nevertheless a Great Review and another feather in the CAP of GTO and Team-BHP community members.clap: Feel proud in being part of community. Worthy of 5 Star review.

The car doesn't look too great even when compared with Dzire, probably in the same language of design as dzire though the boot looks much better integrated. With the Straight 'H' badge and if offered in good pricing its a sure shot to success.

Same as Brio. Pretty decent and better than the Etios and Dzire for sure. Dzire interiors are good but this feels a tad more premium.

Amaze has been launched in Thailand with following prices:

Amaze S MT : Thai Baht 454,000 (Rs 8.17 Lakhs)
Amaze S AT : Thai Baht 493,000 (Rs 8.90 Lakhs)
Amaze V MT : Thai Baht 482,000 (Rs 8.70 Lakhs)
Amaze V AT : Thai Baht 521,000 (Rs 9.34 Lakhs)

Source: http://honda.co.th/brioamaze

I cannot digest one thing in this car & that is fixed headrest. Rest looks to be good for the sedan in its class. Seems.. no fog lamps even in the higher end.

I love the entire package but from the face, it is ugly. I would have preferred a bigger grill with not so round headlights. Looking at the lines on the side the headlights should have also been similar. But otherwise quite VFM

Super scoop Vidds and the first thing that comes to one's mind is that-

Thank God there would be an end to the monopoly of one particular entry Sedan in our country - The Dzire

Come to think of if it was just the Dzire and now Amaze that are modern and contemporary sedans to be available in our market (now shall we say duopolylol:)

Rest of the pack namely - Etios, Manza, Verito, Fiesta are either old or not well built and hence such a long waiting period for the good ole NEW Dzire.

Surely this is one car that the honchos of Honda might have targetted and for good reason.

With the available details in this report, the Amaze surely looks like a competent piece of machinery and with the D heart does any one have any doubt if it will sell?please:

Great report on the Amaze, Vid! Well done!

If priced correctly, this car will have the others in the competition licked! A big boot, decent space, efficient engine options and the Honda badge makes this a great package. The R&D team deserves laurels for managing to liberate more room for people and storage while keeping the overall length under 4m. That's something truly commendable.

The only problem with Hondas in general is the ride-quality IMO. If they've softened the unnecessarily stiff suspension, they've done everything they could, sans redesigning the entire body-shell (something they should have done in my opinion, like what they'd done with the Jazz / City)

The only qualm I have about the car is the way it looks. Cutsy from the front and not ground-breaking overall. It looks a bit bent when viewed from the side thanks to the weird roof-line / window-sill, but the inclusion of those strong lines that flow into the tail-lights reduces some of that possible metal-expanse you find in hatchbacks with boots slapped on (remember the new Fiesta)

Ideally, they should have designed narrower headlights and a grill that extends to the lights.

I do not like the painted plastic bit either. Hope it doesn't hit the showrooms like that.

Actually, the boot seems like it's much larger than the Dzire's. It looks like it's about as spacious as the Jazz's boot and the Jazz has a HUGE boot, even by entry-level sedan standards. Perhaps not on paper and volume (in numbers) but it's incredibly versatile given the design and layout.

In terms of interior space, I'm sure the Amaze will be as good if not better than the Dzire, as the Maruti is pretty cramped honestly.

Not sure about the Vento but I don't think it would be fair to compare the two, given that the Amaze is a notch smaller and clearly a segment below in terms of size.

I believe this is the petrol version. And yes, there is an AT petrol.

With engine being developed here locally, I wonder how this would effect the pricing.

Thanks for a wonderful review. Everyone is going gung-ho about this car.

Maruti camp has enough reasons to worry now. I feel most chunk for Honda sales will come from the Dzire customers who have been waiting for long.

Honda just needs to make sure they price it correctly. For everyone naming it a blockbuster, pricing is the key. I would love to see Honda undercutting Dzire by 20K while introduction, just for fun!! But I guess Honda might place this at a premium (over Dzire) given the class leading space, power & FE figures expected.

Another trump card for Honda will be the SD MT(O) with safety kit bumped against the Dzire VDi variant which doesn't have ABS even as option. I see Maruti prioritising the Dzire diesel production & a possible VDi ABS option too, soon.

And I second someone who said that the front doesnt look like that of a sedan. It still looks cute. Though the boot is well integrated, some how as a package, looks are still not there, for me. But then who cares, this is a terrific car for sure.

@Viddy,

1. Also, since this is meant for India initially (especially diesel), I am not really sure they are going to work on the suspension or GC. isn't it too late for those tweaks?

2. What's Honda's intention behind this media drive? Manufacturers hardly let people (especially media) touch pre-production cars. Do they really want to send some strong messages to the rest of the pack?

3. Also is this a marketing gimmick to retain customers from booking any other cars for the next 3 months? Hats off to Honda's confidence in allowing media to drive a pre-production model, this could also have brought a lot of negative publicity had something gone wrong (with the product & NOT the event).

Its clarified that the fog lamps will be added to the production version

Seeing the Thai prices, I fear the Amaze Diesel price will start around 8L in India, which will surely put it into C2 segment. DZire will be spared then, IMO.

Where will they position City then (when the diesel launches)? :-) Also its mentioned in many posts that the localization extent will be to the tune of 90% or above. So I expect the price to start atleast around 6.75L (for diesel base, ex. Showroom)

How I wish they would plonk this mill in the Jazz. Or a 1.5L petrol mill. Or an auto tranny. Do something for the Jazz, Honda!

Considering its being targetted against the Dzire (shudder!!) and the Etios, it does not have to do too much in terms of design, does it?! In my opinion the Dzire is a benchmark neither for aesthetics nor for space. The only benchmarks I see there are mileage and sales numbers, cannot argue with that.

The estimated price sounds what they would position it as. But would that be a C2 segment? I thought C2 sedans (in terms of fit/ features/ space/ snob value/ add whatever else) are priced around 10L+

Vid - any clues on what bells & whistles (safety & others) can we expect inside? I understand that this is a prototype but Honda was never very generous with features. Also, the GC looks ok but whats the impression in real?