[undead]

Nice review. Seems the test vehicles arrived in showroom sooner than I thought.

[dkaile]

Excellent review GTO. This is a much needed diesel for the Honda stable. It will hopefully set the ball rolling once again for Honda in India. Though personally, I don't like the design, but then made for India, read made at cost, vehicles rarely do. Also severe competition already exists in the sub 1.5L diesel space. Market leading fuel efficiency figures are a revelation and may be the differentiator in the 'kitna deti hai' sensitive Indian market.

If priced in the 6~8L bracket, I expect it to do decent numbers but I doubt that it will become market leader any time soon.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by GTO

As opposed to the Honda petrols we know, this 1.5L i-DTEC focuses entirely on low-end power delivery. Simply put, in-city driveability is outstanding. Turbo lag is nearly inexistent, with the diesel motor responding well from idle rpms itself. Power delivery is linear in comparison to our national engine, the 1.3L MJD. That also means there is none of that sudden punch at 1,800 - 2,000 rpm. The engine has an incredibly tractable nature and within town, you only need to give it light accelerator inputs to potter about. The 1.5L moves away from crawling speeds in 2nd without breaking into a sweat, and even passes the 2nd gear speed-breaker test with flying colours. Throttle response at <2,000 rpm is good, unlike some of its competitors who are still waiting for the turbo to start spooling. Though it isn't recommended, I managed to pull away from standstill in 2nd with very minor clutch slipping. When driving in slow traffic, we are constantly shifting between the 1st & 2nd ratios, and this is exactly where the Amaze blows the Dzire away. In-city driveability is a highlight of the engine...the 1.3L MJD-powered competition simply can't compete in this area. When traffic conditions are less dense, you could use 3rd gear as an automatic from 25 km/h up all the way to 110. Though you feel the engine generating peak torque past 1,800 rpm, there is no turbo kick that the 1.3L MJD-powered cars give you.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The diesel engine looks like a rockstar of an engine with performance and FE to match. Honda have come late to the diesel party but what a way to join the party.

Truly enjoyed reading the engine part of the story. I was just wondering how fluently they fused the the characteristics of 1.5L K9K 85 and 110 of Renault into one!
And on top of it also managed to keep the FE so-so high!

Truly; a compact SUV with this engine and a Honda badging would blow every one away.

The other point was with respect to Al engine. Looks like the lighter weight of Aluminium is not able to keep the NVH levels low. Not sure what can be done on that front.

[A350XWB]

Excellent review GTO.
This looks like the first serious competition to the DZire, if Honda price it well. It has the brand, the engine and the overall size which matches the DZire and also the Indigo CS. Most of the other sedans in the comparison are a size bigger in my opinion. This could be the perfect city sedan, just like the DZire. But seeing the photo of ajmat sitting at the rear, I'm not too convinced about the overall space.

[coolmel]

Thank you GTO for bringing the review up so quick.( Psst wheres the video takes for the NVH and other bits??)

Anyway, the cash registers are all set to start buzzing again with renewed vigor for the Jap. And bookings will certainly be flooded. In fact people buying the Brio will stretch budgets and go ahead with the 1.5 i-dtec! I hope Honda copes up with the service stuff well.

Just hope the ride quality is reasonable and the trims live up to the Honda badge of sticking together for a while! Eagerly awaiting ownership reports .

[e2p]

I was waiting whole all day since I saw the note that the review will be up later today. This is an amazing review of the Amaze. Good that more competition is building up in the C1 segment. Hopefully the dealer/service network of Honda will grow which will in fact benefit all the Honda customers. My manager has already booked an Amaze, just relying on the Honda brand name. Now waiting for the pricelist.

[Turbokick]

Excellent review GTO for probably the most awaited car of the year. And the car actually lives upto the hype.
There is a saying in Hindi 'Der aye drusth aye'. It actually compliments the dtec engine very well.
Class leading figures and a well engineered car. Amaze can actually take the mantle for being the most practical car overall in its price range.

Space management can teach Suzuki a thing or two. 26 kmpl sounds just too good and I wonder how Honda managed to get it this high when establised competitors couldnt!

One thing I would like to add is that this is a bigger engine compared to mjd by 250 odd cc and pumps 25 extra horses. Extra grunt is obvious.
But how does it compete with the likes of Sunny's DCi engine which is also a 1500 cc unit and can be described as a strong and responsive engine with good efficiency.

1.4 CRDi which I feel is a class leading engine sans some turbo lag. Which is a better highway performer ?

For the pricing part, if Honda keeps it at par with dzire then god bless the competition. If Honda chooses to put some premium then Amaze will head to Sunny/Etios/Scala territory.

Dzire vs Amaze. Easily the Amaze.
Sunny vs Amaze. Which is a better choice ?

How is the dynamics compared to Dzire ? Swift I felt is a step ahead of Brio in terms of ride and handling. But Amaze seems to be improved over Brio.

VGT 90bhp Dzire can be the answer to Amaze ?


****** For the review

[nipcarlover]

Awesome review GTO, I agree to your point about the tuning boxes, a Honda with a 99HP diesel engine as stock is bound to be a tuner's favorite.

Also, how awesome would it be if they launched the Brio with the exact same engine, that would land it quite a few fans. Imagine a Brio 'Sport' with this engine, and a tuning box and stiffer springs.

[rpmx1000]

GTO as usual. Skimmed through this fast. The Amaze surely is a conformist from what is known as a non-confirmist confirmist.
Now please ignore the confirmed mist in your brain.

Can you please mention the safety package across variants? Someone said this would have ABS as standard across variants a la Ertiga. You haven't confirmed or denied.

You did say that pricing was lower than the Dzire. But you let a cat out of the bag that had'nt yet learnt to say meow. So what's the dope on the pricing - or were you made to sign an Omerta till April 11?

Thanks again for the fun review.

[Enigmatic]

Thanks for the awesome review

This is what Honda needed, a car to get them back in the race and HOW!!

The interiors to me look pretty decent. Yes they do lack bits here and there, however it seems to be made of good material and are good looking .

This car has left me "AMAZED"..

[zoom_vroom]

Excellent review GTO.
The only thing not upto the mark is the dashboard design, else its a perfect sized oil burner from Honda.
Having seen the car in person I can say it looks good and has lots of interior space.
Also it will be worth watching to see Honda diesel perform in Indian conditions.
Best of luck Honda !

[MotoNanu]

Excellent review GTO. As usual 5 stars.

Honda has some seriously insane talented engineers, both at the interior packaging and engine development division. To beat the national engine 1.3 MJD at the the first attempt not only one but all possible criteria is a crazy stuff!
The packaging is as always Honda exclusive. They can turn the matchbox into a 1BHK flat

The maroon and the blue color look fab on the car. I am waiting to hold that small and meaty steering wheel and check out this car ASAP. If the pricing of the highest diesel variant is somewhere around 8-8.5 lakhs, it is gonna be a super VFM with Honda badge packed with bullet proof reliability

[ajmat]

Great review, as a surprise car tester (I happened to be in the same hotel on business!), I was impressed with the cars packaging. It will appeal to the value conscious Indian motorist. Suspension was softly set up. I had a quick drive on a private road and found the 1.2 is okay for stop start traffic but not as a mile-eater. Of course, don't even try driving it like a diesel, (I got into the habit), it was pathetic, you need to rev. The clutch has a longer travel in my opinion.

Euro car fans might not like the many grains of sand approach to cost cutting - spartan interiors, layers of paint missed inside however as a long term ownership prospect, this car will not disappoint as basic hassle free transport!

[D'Artagnan]

Excellent review as always. Very detail oriented, specially when explaining the engine tech. This is Hondas first entry into the diesel market and it already looks good. I will test ride one and look out for the points you mentioned in the review. This car will eat into Dzires territory, it's time maruti met a good competitor. I guess for the price it's being offered at one can overlook its short comings.

One question: the stereo, is it possible to install an aftermarket double din HU ?

The car looks good behaves exactly like a compact sedan, I think the slightly short wheelbase (when compared to other cars) allows this car to easily climb potholes and speed breakers without scraping its bottom. Usually this length of a wheelbase will allow the car to be very agile and can easily dive into corners, I guess a suspension overhaul would be necessary.

The design looks very Japanese small and compact with bulbous eyes and big back lights.

Off to the show room for a test drive.

[Contrapunto]

The trick to long-term success will probably lie in consistent, good-quality post-sales servicing. I have owned a Honda Civic at one time. It was NOT a "high-maintenance" car, but boy, it WAS a "high-cost" maintenance car (I compare it with my Toyota). So, even now, choosing between the Amaze and the DZire is not an open and shut case. I for one, would still probably choose the latter unless Honda can convince me that they have managed to tame the demon of parts+ maintenance cost.