[Guna]

Originally Posted by amalji

Then comes Honda ( Honda City costs around 3,500 per 10,000 kms )

Honda city requires service every 3 months and requires oil change once in every 6 months. I remember my average service bill used to be 10000+ per year.
It will be interesting to see the service intervals for Amaze.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by Guna

Honda city requires service every 3 months and requires oil change once in every 6 months. I remember my average service bill used to be 10000+ per year.
It will be interesting to see the service intervals for Amaze.

Hmm, the service interval seems to be an issue. So I guess it's the same 10000kms/6 months even with the city?

Could you please post the approximate split up of costs for 3 months and 6 months service ?

[bulletboy76]

While most of the discussion on this thread is on Amaze Diesel (for the obvious reasons), I feel that Amaze petrol will also be making decent numbers and will dent into Dzire (petrol) numbers – if prized sensibly.

There could be different views on Honda’s expertise with diesel engines; how good or bad the Diesel engine will perform in on road / in real-life situations etc; however Honda’s Petrol engines are time tested. Add to that Honda’s build quality and reliability. With these factors, I somehow feel that Amaze Petrol too will too sell in decent numbers.

Swift DZire ex-Showroom price in Pune is listed as 6.54L (Source - Maruti Dzire's website). If Amaze top end is prized at around 6 - 6.25L ex-showroom (Pune), it will be a run-away success.

[Contrapunto]

Originally Posted by Guna

Honda city requires service every 3 months and requires oil change once in every 6 months. I remember my average service bill used to be 10000+ per year.
It will be interesting to see the service intervals for Amaze.

My Civic used to be a service cost monster as well. I would be interested to see the Amaze service costs as well.

[PSOPS]

Wow 25.8 Kms/l is an awesome mileage to lure a lot of people. Just saw a news article that there are aldready 2500 bookings a week before the official launch. Thats an awesome first impression Amaza has made.

But then its the overall package that matters. I feel that the Interiors are too Disppointing and would be a put off ( For Me Atleast ). I particularly dint like the below points in the Amaze:

1. The ICE is too basic
2. The Dash Board which is same as Brio is bad for this segment
3. The integrated seats give an image of "compromised car"

While some of the features are similar to the mistakes done by Etios. Honda will have to play carefully on the pricing.

[spinfreak]

Yesterday's Autocar show on Bloomberg carried video review of Amaze by Renuka. Some points I extrapolated-

+She was all gaga about excellent diesel driveability : low mid & high range good,only minimal turbo lag, pulls cleanly from 1200 rpm :-) that's the best news I guess! Pulls cleanly, city as well as highway driveability would be excellent. New benchmark after the MJD it seems

+Diesel promises best in country efficiency, New ultra low viscosity engine oil in diesel improves performance

+Steering is the best for such a car, precise & well weighted, points exactly where you want the car to go, steering wheel feels good to hold

+Quality of plastics and fit & finish top notch, seats are extremely comfy

+Awesome amount of driver seat height adjustability

+Attractive Instrument cluster, LED backlit, diesel also gets ECO economy mode indicator light

+Rear seat excellent place to be : ample & amazing room for head leg and knee, excellent cushioning in seat, airy colors used, and soft spring rear suspension for a good Ride, flat rear floor, center armrest with cupholders useful

+Excellent handling too despite soft suspension, would love to flick around bends, good braking behavior

+Petrol AT typically Honda : 5 speed, sluggish low gear shifts, but very responsive in terms of torque response & mid / high range driveability good. Best AT in the segment, since others 4 speed or not available

+Petrol MT as all Honda's - refined, free revving, good high end punch, seems to have better low end than Brio :-) and pulls away really neatly maybe due to tweaked ECU : best petrol in the segment by a long way. This is again very good news

+Immensely spacious boot of 400L : it's amazing how in sub 4m it's so huge without compromising interior space or exterior proportions

+Very proportional and exciting exteriors. Sporty and strikingly sharp side, wide City-ish rear stance & tail light, Front also gets good grille, painted bumpers making it look better than its hatch twin Brio. Overall smartest looking car in segment

+ Retractable Mirrors, HEAT ABSORBING WINDSHIELD (up to 6 degrees cooler cabin in Sun, now that is very significant in terms of AC performance 23 degree cabin vs a 29 degree cabin : wow) first in segment


But the car has its list of weaknesses too :

-the dash though good quality & borrowed from Brio, looks very basic in a car of this segment, a segment lower maybe (something we already knew here)

-No climate control creature comfort but does have HEAT ABSORBING WINDSHIELD (up to 6 degrees cooler cabin in Sun)

-diesel is powerful, but equally noisy, most in mid range, it really feels like a diesel in the cabin :-\. Now that's bad news.

-can feel vibrations through floor & pedals, seems due to the all aluminum setup :-\ that's terrible news

-skinny looking tires


Well, I'm all excited, just the noise & vibration part remains to be tested personally. Otherwise I feel it's a damn good package, with long list of most things going for it and a very few but significant things against.

Honda's first diesel in India seems a mighty good one, maybe the new benchmark in India.

Just a thought - Can a good looking, good performance, efficient entry sedan, beat the premium hatch back at their game ? Polo, i20 beware if Amaze is priced sensibly.

[Diesel lover]

Service interval of 10,000 kms / 6 months. Now that is something worth a second look. Servicing a Honda is costly and if it comes twice a year, it won't be easy on the pocket. Seems Honda is doubtful about the engine oil's viscosity/ filters durability. Most diesels require service after a year (Ford, Hyundai, Maruti).

[nkishore_007]

Excellent article, I must say. Detailed and exactly what we, car enthusiasts, want in order to decide the perfect fit. I wish a Diesel heart came out, maybe a year or a two ago, and could have saved Honda the 'No diesel engine' image. Things will over turn though in the next 1-2 years.

Cheers !

However, I do agree that Honda will really need to change the way they see Indian market to reach somewhere near Maruti Suzuki. They would have to plan models targeting Indian mass, which I am not sure if they are willing to in a big fashion (they started with Brio for the first time with base model).
So, drawing comparisons between Suzuki and Honda in terms of sales and service network is not something which would bring in any benefit for readers. :-)

This is the first time iDtech has come in, so I would eagerly wait fora review between iDtec and that of Fiat's MJT.

[sawnilrules]

Amazing review GTO, Was waiting for the review impatiently though. Amaze, definately is an amazing product, if priced well, can definately become an market leader in the segment, just like its elder sibling, the City. But again, Honda needs to seriously spruce up the equipment list it gives in their cars, (especially C1 and C Segment) the charm of I-Vtec is fading as the Koreans and the Europeans are catching up fast on technology front.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Diesel lover

Service interval of 10,000 kms / 6 months. Now that is something worth a second look. Servicing a Honda is costly and if it comes twice a year, it won't be easy on the pocket. Seems Honda is doubtful about the engine oil's viscosity/ filters durability. Most diesels require service after a year (Ford, Hyundai, Maruti).

This I do not agree with.

Toyota has 10,000kms or 12 months. Ford has the same for Figo.

Both are 10,000kms so how is it that Honda is doubtful about this engine?

In my Figo I did 10K within 7 months. Even though the service interval is 10K, due to extra running I still need to go every 6-7 months.

Another member Ampere finished 10K on his Duster in 6 months as well.

Yes, I agree that even if you don't run as much you will need to go for service twice a year compared to higher running which would also synchronize with months and kms.

It will cost more only if you do less than 10,000kms in a year but still have to go for service twice. But Honda may also say if the kms are less oil change can be after 1 year.

[dkaile]

Doing 10k kms in 6 months is more a rarity than a norm with most drivers. A 10k/12 month oil change interval would have been more prudent and confidence inspiring.

That said, I have few doubts that Honda seems to have struck a goldmine with this 1.5 diesel engine and would love to see it in better engineered cars like the City. The only fact to be proven by this all aluminum motor is real world longevity.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by Diesel lover

Service interval of 10,000 kms / 6 months. Now that is something worth a second look. Servicing a Honda is costly and if it comes twice a year, it won't be easy on the pocket. Seems Honda is doubtful about the engine oil's viscosity/ filters durability. Most diesels require service after a year (Ford, Hyundai, Maruti).

This is not a Diesel only thing. Honda does that with all their engines. And their Petrol engines are known to be the best. I still hear from an owner who owns both the City Petrol and Dzire Diesel, that the City is less costly to maintain than the Dzire even with twice the service interval ( every 5,000 kms ). I'm trying to validate this information from other sources. Will keep you updated.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

But Honda may also say if the kms are less oil change can be after 1 year.

This would be the best thing for Honda to do.

[sa_kiran]

Last two services for my City (25K and 30K) cost me 2,348 and 3,650. They included regular service, windscreen cleaner topup, oil and oil filter change, wheel balancing/alignment and cleaning. Wheel balancing/alignment and cleaning cost around 1,300. Servicing done at Linkway Honda, Chandivali.

Now, tell me that Honda maintenance is costly.

[sandeep108]

The way the services work with Honda is that though the services are more frequent, mostly alternate services are nothing but inspections, filter, etc. cleaning and washes and consequently much lower cost as well. I suspect Honda prefers it that way due to our harsher conditions and problems are noticed well before they actually arise.

The other alternate services are more comprehensive and involve changes of oils, fluids, settings, etc. and consequently lot more expensive than the inspection type of service.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by amalji

Hmm, the service interval seems to be an issue. So I guess it's the same 10000kms/6 months even with the city?

Could you please post the approximate split up of costs for 3 months and 6 months service ?

Yes, it is.

It was the same for my 2005 Honda City. But I only got it serviced once a year(10K Kms a year). In fact, my bill always came to be less than 2500 Rs on regular services.(Some times even less than 1500/-!!) Only when some parts like Spark plugs or other oils had to be replaced did the bill near 4000/- Rs.

So it doesn't kill to get the car serviced after its prescribed interval.

My family used the car for 7.5 years with no real mechanical problems.
Only major thing replaced were both the rear wheel bearings. Cost 6000/- a piece. Other than that it ran like a dream!