[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by vkochar

Saw the Amaze in traffic yesterday for the first time. It was a blue car and had probably just come out of the showroom as it had ribbons on the door handles and a bunch of noisy kids at the rear seat.

I have to say that the car was not attractive to look at. The Dezire is a better looker IMHO ( at least from the back ) since I was following this car. The Etios looks better.

Where Honda may win this game partially is interiors and their brand name.

However I have a feeling Dezire sales are not going to be affected a lot with the Amaze. I would love to see the monthly sales figures after 6 months during diwali.

I'd like to TD this car for the sake of it and see what the hype is. Its been 5 days since I filled up the TD form and no response yet. Honda is on a high at the moment.

Are you sure that the Dzire (at least in current avtar) is better looker on the outside. I saw few on Sunday (I live not far from a local Honda Dealership) & it looked far more proportional from all angles & even more utilitarian too.

IMO it looks bigger than what it is, because of the better proportions.

[vkochar]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Are you sure that the Dzire (at least in current avtar) is better looker on the outside. I saw few on Sunday (I live not far from a local Honda Dealership) & it looked far more proportional from all angles & even more utilitarian too.

IMO it looks bigger than what it is, because of the better proportions.

Well to each his own opinion. I may be wrong. I will have to wait till I see another one.

By the way I got a call from honda finally and I asked them when will they have a TD car available to which they said not anytime soon.

They wanted to know if I can book one. I asked them what delivery dates - and they said september for diesel and july for petrol.

Thats it - my discussion is closed on this one. I do not want to TD one even.

And as far as dezire vs amaze looks go. I will go with the dezire for now. Maybe its just the fact that my little episode with the showroom has me biased towards maruti.

[SlowRider]

Originally Posted by rohit_dce

Indeed, if you would have needed a sedan Amaze would have made for a much better buy than the Ritz. How about you TD it? It offers a better performance than Ritz. Power is what I like the car to have and Amaze has it in it quite a lot.

It's the waiting list that's putting me off Amaze. For someone who has already been waiting 4 months for a new car, another 4 months (or even more ) is unthinkable!

[k2max6]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Are you sure that the Dzire (at least in current avtar) is better looker on the outside. I saw few on Sunday (I live not far from a local Honda Dealership) & it looked far more proportional from all angles & even more utilitarian too.

IMO it looks bigger than what it is, because of the better proportions.

Looks are purely subjective. The interiors are also nothing to be talked about but when you look at the overall package , amaze is surely a winner.

I have been using Maruti Suzuki cars for a long time including swift and would anytime pick a Honda Amaze over Dzire even though i don't like the former's interiors.

As far as sales figures are concerned maruti is already feeling the heat as they launched a Vxi limited edition within 2 days of amaze launch.

Generally limited editions are not good but this time at Rs.6000 approx over the VXi they are giving integrated stereo, seat covers and a few extras. This surely shows that Maruti is worried.

[amitk26]

Took back to back test drive of petrol and diesel Amaze at Whitefield Honda.
SA had a attitude problem and first he offered me only Diesel as many customers are waiting for petrol. I had to be bit harsh and chided him that I am not for joy ride but to compare petrol and diesel drivability and also efficiency of breaking with and without ABS. Got a very short drive but made full use of it.

Few observations.

1. Steering is very light and so is the car sheet metal.
Perhaps I have hang over of Safari
2. Boot sheet metal looks more solid then bonnet ,Bonnet is total tin can.
3. Interior space is good.
4. Diesel Engine was more sporty and derivable due to obvious 12 PS more and more torque.
5. I found AC more effective in Diesel version ,SA says it is same AC may be it was my mind playing games but my wife also had same observation.

I am looking to book a Car for my wife she is totally sold on Honda and does not want to look at any other option. Earlier she was building up funds for City but now OK with top end Amaze.

Confusion is between VX MT ( Petrol) vs S-MT Diesel as the difference is mere 13K.

Driving is not going to be more then 1500KM per month so from economy point of view Diesel does not make sense but from torque and power I liked diesel a lot.

Now a few questions to the Gurus here.

1. Does anyone know who is OEM supplier for Amaze Common rail and fuel injectors ?

Clogged Injectors are main maintenance cost in a Diesel engine ( apart from rails and HP fuel pump).

If it is Bosch then at-least injector maintenance will be possible and a lot cheaper outside but if it Denso /Siemens or another then Honda Diesel will pinch pocket due to bad fuel supply and I am sure Honda warranty will not be generous enough to cover adulterated fuel issues.

As in our case monthly running is not very high a high maintenance vehicle will be a strict no when a proven petrol engine is available.

2. Is there a real difference between AC of Diesel and Petrol variant ?

Whitefield Honda price sheet looks little inflated to me they have added 3000/- for essential car kit which looks strictly non-essential to me
Extended warranty and RSA are being clubbed together and shown as 11K.
Also they are unwilling to give cover note allowing customers to buy insurance from outside.

Did anyone tried another insurance option ?
Honda Assure looks quite on higher side to me.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by amalji

Are you sure it's metallic? Can be ceramic as well, right?

Think I said

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Normally means a metal coating on the glass.

Which is different from 'always'.

Which is why I had asked

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
Anyone checked out cellphone/ gps reception in the Amaze.

If you have checked out reception quality, please let us know your observations.

Regards
Sutripta

[amitdan]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

OFF-TOPIC:

It's the same at my local Honda dealership as well. Only Honda cars are allowed inside the dealership premises. I think it has more to do with safety than anything else.

This is not a safety issue (wonder what safety norm would be flouted). This is a purely branding guideline/decision. If you visit car manufacturing setups, especially Japanese, you will not be allowed to park inside the premed is, if your car brand is different. Helps maintain the brand/perception...similar to places serving coke do not serve Pepsi and vice versa

[dkaile]

On an off note - तुम घुमाओगे मेरे मम्मी पापा को!! is quite a sarcastic and morally retrograde Ad campaign being run by Honda for it's Amaze. I thought Honda had a good product in it's hand to stoop to such marketing tactics.

C'mon Honda, you are better than that...

[rangarx]

Originally Posted by dkaile

On an off note - तुम घुमाओगे मेरे मम्मी पापा को!! is quite a sarcastic and morally retrograde Ad campaign being run by Honda for it's Amaze. I thought Honda had a good product in it's hand to stoop to such low marketing tactics...

What does that mean? Sorry, could not read Hindi.

BTW, I did my second TD and booked Amaze Diesel S - Urban Titanium today at Olympia Honda at Chennai. Delivery is expected during Aug timeframe. The SA told the total bookings as of now are 182 and Honda committed a delivery of 20 cars a month to them. Beyond the hype I' say! Anyway I'm not in a hurry for a new car since this gap is good for testing the niggles of the car.

[ozzyrules]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Also they are unwilling to give cover note allowing customers to buy insurance from outside.

Yikes! But, will they apply any NCB on the new insurance? I have a 40% NCB on my existing car and don't want to lose that.
Well, Honda behaving like the Amaze is the best thing to have happened to the Indian car scene. I haven't done a TD of the AT yet, now wondering if I should take the trouble. Might be better off waiting for a few weeks and let the initial enthusiasm go down.

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by rangarx

Delivery is expected during Aug timeframe. The SA told the total bookings as of now are 182 and Honda committed a delivery of 20 cars a month to them. Beyond the hype I' say! Anyway I'm not in a hurry for a new car since this gap is good for testing the niggles of the car.

Good decision. Booking doesn't necessarily translate into actual sales. We've seen that several times.

[NST440]

Originally Posted by vkochar

Saw the Amaze in traffic yesterday for the first time. It was a blue car and had probably just come out of the showroom as it had ribbons on the door handles and a bunch of noisy kids at the rear seat.

I have to say that the car was not attractive to look at. The Dezire is a better looker IMHO ( at least from the back ) since I was following this car. The Etios looks better.

Where Honda may win this game partially is interiors and their brand name.

However I have a feeling Dezire sales are not going to be affected a lot with the Amaze. I would love to see the monthly sales figures after 6 months during diwali.

I'd like to TD this car for the sake of it and see what the hype is. Its been 5 days since I filled up the TD form and no response yet. Honda is on a high at the moment.

Looks are really a matter of opinion & i feel as far as amaze goes it sure is a beautiful looking vehicle from each angle as compared to the Dzire & etios, which looks hideous & their tail gates looks like an extra attachment. The amaze looks uniform and curvacious & almost everybody i know around my circle really loved the car.

Now at the Honda dealership, i felt like i am in a grocery store due to the sheer rush & curiosity people had & i must tell you , people sure looked happy. After a TD of both petrol & diesel & spending around 1 hr. in & out of the amaze i was not able to find any flaw in the car. The engine is very peppy & the power steering is phenomenal, i have not ( i repeat) i have not driven such a smooth power steering in recent times & same goes for the gear shifts.AC is a chiller & blower speeds are perfect at each level. The most amazing thing is how spacious this car is, i am 5'11'' & i sat behind my friend who is 6'1'' & amazingly we both still had ample leg room available. The chrome strip at the rear is standard across all models & really adds to the looks of the vehicle.

Experience with the sales guy was good, he made sure that my folks were served with tea & biscuits while i & my friend were checking the car with chilled coke under the sun.His explanations were crisp & clear, looked like he was well trained for the job.

I don't know what strategies MSIL or other companies would follow but i must admit that this car sure is a winner & for Dzires & the alikes-the days are limited.Good job Honda.

[rangarx]

My experience with the dealership has been good too. The SA was polite and unlike any other dealership quoted here, I could drive my Toyota right inside the parking lot. I could also see lot of Suzukis there as well.

Only dark zone seems to be the service costs of this new engine from Honda. Fingers crossed. However I expect a niggle free ownership experience

[rajshenoy]

Query to those who of you who have had a test drive of this car:

There is no doubt that rear seat leg room is pretty decent for the class and we can stretch our legs a bit more in this.

How about the rear seat width ? Can 3 people be accommodated on this ? or is it a comfortable 4 seater only ?

[Carb]

I took a test drive of both petrol and the diesel variants at Magnum Honda, Bangalore.

The power Honda claims, is sorely missed out in the petrol variant. Just doesn't take off from a speedbreaker in the second gear.

And the diesel: The power delivery is great. The surge is well noticed once the turbo kicks in. But the NVH? Its really bad. The clutch was pulsating. Gear shifting was a mess and the brake pedal was just vague and hard to operate.
Could be an one-off case though.
However, the SO did say that they r all in pristine condition and an exact experience can be expected if u buy a new car.

Seats were good (fixed headrests --> Eww)

Audio unit looks funky

AC effectiveness was fine too

But interior build was shoddy. The panel gaps need a design tweak (glove box especially). The plastics used are brilliant though.

It is a decent car. But doesnt live up to the hype provided prior to the marketing launch.

If one's looking for aen entry level sedan, I'd suggest u go for the Dzire or the Etios.

PS:

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Query to those who of you who have had a test drive of this car:
How about the rear seat width ? Can 3 people be accommodated on this ? or is it a comfortable 4 seater only ?

Rr seat can comfortable accomodate just the 2 passengers. If u try fitting a third, u'll earn an enemy for life.