[rock75]

For those who have driven the diesel amaze, how noisy is it, like Ford figo or more?

Petrol could have been priced 20k lower as it doesn't have ABS. Still it is cheaper than Dzire LXi, feature wise, as it has all 4 power windows, central locking, tilt steering etc.

[NST440]

What ever is the case, whether people buy Dzire, Etios or Amaze one thing which i am happy about is the enhanced level of competition & availability of options (for both petrol & diesel fans) thereby, somehow benefiting the indian customer.

The cult factor of 1.3 MJD may soon be over & moreover , no offense meant but i somehow hate the way Maruti/Maruti dealership people have been treating the customers, be it postponing the delivery of Dzire/Swift or be it boasting about how lucky a customer is if he gets their vehicle on time & without any premium. I remember when i purchased my Swift Vdi, at the time of delivery the sales rep. said ''Sir Ji aap ko humne no. plate or mudflaps complementary diye hai, others are paying for them"

Whatever vehicle comes & challenges the other, competitions are generally good for the customers health so i say thanks to Honda. Eagerly waiting for increased ads & promotions of Dzire & Swift.

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by hellmet

I don't know about the internals, but just a visual look at Etios' interiors and exteriors, and after esp. looking at how Etios end up after an accident, I'd pick the Amaze any day over it.

Didn't quite get this. "Looking at how Etios end up after an accident". In case of a severe accident, do you think Amaze will look better? Or this can be a criteria while choosing a car?

After what we saw how a Merc looks when it ends up in a severe accident (sorry for reminding people of the death of Lady Diana), I have no faith about the "look" of any car after a severe accident.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by coolmel

Honda is here to ruffle a few feathers and do some sparkling business as well. Look at those variants. As many as 12 for the Petrol version and nearly 8 for the diesel, buyers will certainly face problems deciding which one to go for. Makes sense on their part as they engage in a fierce battle, but so much industrial waste.

But really, this is an epic return of the mighty Samurai .

It is all upwards for Honda from now on. Wait till the next gen city is here in 2014 in a diesel avatar. Here is a rendering i found at www.headlightmag.com.

[thiagust]

Originally Posted by NST440

The cult factor of 1.3 MJD may soon be over & moreover , no offense meant but i somehow hate the way Maruti/Maruti dealership people have been treating the customers, be it postponing the delivery of Dzire/Swift or be it boasting about how lucky a customer is if he gets their vehicle on time & without any premium. I remember when i purchased my Swift Vdi, at the time of delivery the sales rep. said ''Sir Ji aap ko humne no. plate or mudflaps complementary diye hai, others are paying for them"

Completely in agreement with what you have said. I felt so bad when I went to enquire about Swift last year , they were always boasting how lucky any customer would be to own a swift . The experience with Honda yesterday was quite different. The sales rep spent almost 45 mins with me , taking through all the positives , compromises etc (well we were aware of them before hand). Going for a TD tomorrow. The reason for ABS & BED not being standard on Petrol was that they don't expect braking to be an issue for the Petrol
variant, but for the diesel this would aid braking.
The vehicle looked pretty balanced to me , far better than the dzire in the looks department. The only sad point for me is that I will have to go for the top end Petrol model cause that is the only one which comes with all the safety features plus the heat absorbing windscreen

[girishglg]

Checked Amaze yest at Dakshin Honda, was overall positive about the package and surely a worthy competitor to the Dzire and these are some first impression after seeing it in flesh-

1. Amaze is strictly a 4 seater like its sibling and the middle person is a bit of a squeeze compared to Dzire. Dimension numbers should further validate this.

2. It is all but a carbon copy of Brio till 3 quarters (read rear) which includes interiors as well. The rear reminds you quite a bit of the new Dzire. Expected more styling differentiators than this.

3. Chrome grill is double bar vis a vis single bar in Brio and interiors have varying shades are the only major changes apart from equipment levels offered between them.

[rangarx]

@ rock 75 - Yes, It is noisier than Figo Diesel.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by hellmet

I don't know about the internals, but just a visual look at Etios' interiors and exteriors, and after esp. looking at how Etios end up after an accident, I'd pick the Amaze any day over it.

How many amaze have you seen post an accident?

May be you were hinting at thin body panels. Trust me all Japanese cars come like that ! Including Honda. Go check out amaze

But silver lining here is now we have more options. Ideally we would still want vfm, yet no built for a price, short waiting periods. Newer models launching frequently unlike those limited editions, and no compromise on safety.

With many manufacturers eyeing our market, its good news for all of us

[thiagust]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

But silver lining here is now we have more options. Ideally we would still want vfm, yet no built for a price, short waiting periods. Newer models launching frequently unlike those limited editions, and no compromise on safety.

With many manufacturers eyeing our market, its good news for all of us

Yes, definitely. Makes the competition think and act wisely and hopefully make the Maruti SAs to respect customers and not take them for a ride.

[ganesc]

Below price list comparison from our Team-BHP news article - If the pricing is up to date for other manufacturers too, then Honda Amaze is certainly value for money and hats off to Honda for pricing it bang on to Dzire's. Especially the Diesel, leaving the top-end.

Etios and Manza though are full sized sedans unlike these Compact sedans' will certainly be affected. God save Ford Fiesta Classic, Chevy Sail and Mahindra Verito.

Game on and it will be interesting to watch how Honda utilizes this and how Maruti Suzuki tackles it.

Click here for full size image:

[i74js]

Let's call it compitation and not war between the two Japanese Players which will surly put pressure equally on the customer as well as the companies.

It will not be easier for customers to make a choice either, simply placed between Honda and Suzuki

- Proven MJD, almost no waiting, better interiors. I do agree that Amaze looks balanced (from outside) as compared to Dezire, but once inside - Suzuki's feel, fit and looks of the dash are far better than what is offered in Honda. With almost zero waiting (car is available in less than 30 days of booking), it can still break decisions against Honda. I am told that Amaze has climbed up for a 2 - 4 months waiting.

- Though the i-DTEC engine has been operating globally (1.6 L), the FIAT 1.3 MJD is a proven workhorse, though I have no doubts on the credibility of Honda, I am not sure if the Honda Workshops are prepared for a surge in their workload. Maruti workshops are regularly catering to mass market and thus are at an advantage

- Until next year, Honda has to struggle with deliveries as its production capacity is just a fraction of MSIL.

- Niggles with a new product are bound to pop up, Desire is already out of that part and has beome a regular product, Honda will have to pass that phase, some upgrades like the seat with integrated headrest et. al. have been disliked and companies have to make changes in their product. Honda will also have to look at some such components in the car as well as issues that come up in the performance and allied issues around the machine.
-Sail will be lost in the compitation though its a new product and is copitatively priced, yet now when MSIL sleeves up for the compitation - either there could be discounts or additional features in desire at the same price tag is surly going to put sale of SAIL at rest. SAIL is vary basic and it seem that GM is deaf when it comes to listening to what customer wants; frankly speaking even after offering largest variety to Indian- GM has failed on almost all fronts.

- MSIL is already planning to phase out SX4 and I think that the new SX4 proposed for launch in 2014 would be competing with City Diesel and Desire has already a compitation now.

[9thsphinx]

Wow, Honda comes up with the prices yesterday and I already saw two Amaze's on the road today. A white one and a silver. The white one was unmistakably the diesel as was clear from the badge - what's surprising is that at ~35-40kmph speeds it hardly made any diesel like clatter from the engine. I rolled down my window and drove up next to the running car just to have a peek at the interiors, but I was rather pleasantly surprised by the noiseless engine. Interiors are nothing fancy from a quick peek but from the outside the front is quite dwarf-like for a sedan of this size. It's still better than the Dzire though!

I think Honda has a winnner here.

[ajay_satpute]

Pune prices (Ex-showroom):

Maruti DZire ZDi: 7,61,623/-

Honda Amaze iDtec VX: 7,78,907/-

So the Amaze is dearer by 17k than DZire ZDi, which in my opinion does not shakre and stir the DZire sales by much, at least initially. I feel that the DZire ZDi variant, if compared based on feature list, is the obvious choice. Only major factors in favor of Amaze are boot space and rear seat leg room.

[zenren]

Great to see ABS standard across the range of diesel variants. I think the 100bhp engine might have forced Honda to give ABS as standard to ensure safety. I hope Maruti wakes up to this and gives ABS at least as an option if not as standard in L/V for Swift and Dzire, especially since the lower variants are known to have braking issues. They've already done this for Ertiga.

Profit margins for Honda seems to be very minimal for the base variant when compared to higher variants. I doubt the easy availability of E variant (that seems to be the most VFM variant!) in the initial days, it could just be there for the marketing purposes with a lean rate of production compared to higher variants to force the users to buy at least EX.

Here is a variant-wise features (as per their brochure) for the additional price for the MT variants:

E to EX:
~25k extra.

Additional features:

• Body colored door handles/ORVMs
• 1-DIN stereo + front speakers

EX to S:
~35k extra

Additional features:

• Keyless entry
• Power adjustable ORVMs
• Driver seat height adjuster
• 2-DIN stereo + 4 speakers
• Steering mounted audio controls
• Rear centre armrest
• Mudguards, Wheel caps, Accessory socket, Seat back pocket(1), Vanity mirror (1)
• Chrome rings on air vents and Silver garnish on Steering wheel

S to VX:
~95k extra

Additional features:

• Dual Air bags + Seat belt pretensioner
• ABS (only for petrol)
• Alloy wheels
• Heat absorbing front windscreen
• Rear Defogger
• Turn indicators and power folding ORVMs
• Front fog lamps
• Dual horn
• Dual tone beige interiors and seat fabric, beige carpets, silver inside door handles, Seat back pocket(2), Vanity mirror (2)

The price difference between S and VX variants seems to be similar for petrol and diesel versions, though the ABS is an additional feature only in petrol! Is someone donating the ABS free of cost to Honda?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Pune prices (Ex-showroom):

Maruti DZire ZDi: 7,61,623/-

Honda Amaze iDtec VX: 7,78,907/-

So the Amaze is dearer by 17k than DZire ZDi, which in my opinion does not shakre and stir the DZire sales by much, at least initially. I feel that the DZire ZDi variant, if compared based on feature list, is the obvious choice. Only major factors in favor of Amaze are boot space and rear seat leg room.

Complete price list is available in this post. I feel that the rural market will still go for the DZire going by the availability of service centers in remote villages of India. Honda presence is miniscule in comparison. The urban market will possibly choose the Honda over a Maruti Suzuki.