Team-BHP - Review: 1st-gen Honda Amaze (2013)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rock75 (Post 3082788)

Amaze looks all set to give the Dzire a 'low blow'!

I am expecting Maruti to take some drastic action like a price cut and ready availability. As rightly pointed out by GTO, the other contenders (Manza, fiesta, verito and possibly sunny,scala,rapid, vento, I20 and polo)are in for a worse time as there sales will drop as the two Japanese Sumo wrestlers (Honda and Maruti)slug it out.

More than price cut I feel Maruti can play the value game.
They need to introduce a VDI/VXI ABS variant with wider tyres.
Some more goodies like Bluetooth connectivity and parking sensors can be made standard across the range instead of cutting the price.

The ZDI/ZXI variant can get the GPS navigation,auto folding mirrors, and rear camera with nominal increase in price maybe.

Maruti has already increased the price of Dzire by 25-30Ks since its launch. They do have the scope for adding goodies and make the car a better value proposition. Look how the sales of Polo and Vento improved after they VW added kit to these two cars.

There is no escaping from 2 more kilometers from 25 more horses with 2 extra suitcases. That too from Honda !

Only relief for Maruti will be the limited production scope for Amaze diesel in the coming time.

And yes the more powerful engines from Ertiga can be introduced as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel (Post 3082562)

Amaze diesel uses turbos supplied by Honeywell. For trivia sake, anyone know who supplies the turbo for Dzire's MJD, for both FGT and VGT?
As GTO rightly said, Honda can teach Toyota a lesson or two on giving pleasing interiors even if its built to a cost.

I think its by Borg Warner.
Hows the refinement as compared to the D-4d's?

Excellent review. Among all the reviews I have seen so far of the Amaze this has to be the best and most in depth review and that too by a fair margin.
Amaze looks like a great overall package.
Interiors : I woudnt say the interiors are bad, they look durable, just that the equipment level is not upto the mark. A climate control would have done the trick just to differentiate it from the Brio
Engine NVH : This is surely a cause of concern. A test drive is necessary to check if its acceptable for an individual. Not sure if the mileage advantage with an all aluminium engine outweighs the high NVH leves.
Price : Heard some rumors that it might undercut the Dzire. May be an introductory price.

Its a great a product and it will surely eat into Dzire sales but to match Dzire monthly sales would be a tough ask

Awesome review GTO.
Honda seems to have almost all the areas covered for the build to price sedan. Just hope they can get the price right. Seems like a very good diesel motor. Can't wait to get a test drive. Looks like a winner to me.
Btw, any news if Honda is looking to plant a oil mill under the hood of the Brio hatch anytime sooner?

Quote:

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb (Post 3082747)

Just wondering if Honda missed a trick by not introducing a CNG variant in the Amaze lineup. That would have definitely enabled them to steal a march over the Dzire & Etios. Or maybe they wanted to avoid the potential taxi cab sales that would have accompanied the CNG variant?

Cheers,
Vikram

How much of a cost/km difference would it be between a CNG fitted Amaze and a diesel amaze with ARAI FE of almost 26?

+ I guess it is easier to find a diesel fuel station than a CNG refill station.

Fantastic review! I wonder what’s not covered – got a superb feel of the car.

Need to see how much of a pinch the Dzire feels though.

Vis-à-vis Dzire, the Amaze

a. Is Significantly less refined
b. Has worse interior ambience (dashboard, fixed headrests, no ACC)
c. Is Under-tyred in the top-end version
d. Far lower A.S.S. options

While the Amaze wins out primarily on

a. Space
b. Engine performance and mileage. I don’t know if there’s a day and night difference between the MJD and Earth Dreams. Of course, Honda diesel reliability is still unknown vis-à-vis the national engine.

Would be interesting to see what the public would prefer – refinement and interior ambience versus space and better engine

This looks like a winner from Honda and if priced correctly could do a Figo/Duster for them. The car seems to cater to the taste of one and all with neutral styling and interiors which are acceptable. However, it would have been great if the top end version could have been loaded with goodies.

Why is there a worrying trend to not have a dead pedal ( I don't remeber a recent launched car having one) and cladding ( to reduce NVH ) missing from cars? Isn't this basic?

I think, we have a fierce competetion to Dzire and the others in the segment might well R.I.P ( Indigo/Etios/Sail/Verito/Sunny)

Quote:

Originally Posted by d_himan (Post 3083071)

Would be interesting to see what the public would prefer – refinement and interior ambience versus space and better engine

Well, the public always prefers a Maruti with good mileage :). Need to see how much more real world mileage the Amaze gives, and if its not significantly higher, its advantage Dzire (unfortunately).

Wonderful review, I have been smitted with Honda off late and the only reason i am not inclined to buy another car from their portfolio at this time is because of no Diesel options. Although i am not looking at this segment specifically but just the move into Diesels in this segment will mean others are possibly work in progress making customers take note and possibly wait for sometime.

We drove the BRIO and possibly will drive again soon, and loved it. I have no doubt Amaze will be a hit.

Thanks for the excellent review GTO, rated 5*. Finally dzire has some competition. Though it is not going to dethrone dzire in the near future with the evident production constraints, it is definitely a good contender. It has almost every thing, the car buyer in this segment expects.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami (Post 3082371)

One of the best reviews! Only Fortuner review was the one which excited me more.

1. Biggest thing against Amaze: Amaze is not built on a car which is tested by Euro NCAP. Swift Dzire is based on Swift, and it shows. The car feels pretty solid and not typically tin can like the earlier cars from Maruti. Brio is predominantly not sold in Europe. And I did not like its build either. Brio feels rather like a shortcut as far as the ride goes. This is an area where the recent Maruti's have made a strong positive mark. ( Not being into Amaze, but going by Swift VS Brio, I believe Dzire to be better than Amaze ).

Have driven my friend's brio, it is quite scary on highways. Nothing wrong from the engineering side, but its just the feel the car gives with the short front and a glass hatch. Do we have any way to tell which one would fare better on safety in terms of inherent build strength? (Dzire Vs Amaze)

Once again a superb and detailed review!

For me i never could understand our (Indian) thirst for these confused sedans, neither here nor there! Of course me included, since i had an iKON for 7 years. But i guess the sales figures prove that we just cant hold back on that additional boot space and higher pecking order feel that a sedan brings :) Evidently there has been some cost cutting, but definitely this jap has got it better that the Toyota's!

Honda should plonk in the same oil burner in a brio and add some fat rubbers, that would be really a fun car to have :D and i might just....

Thank you for the detailed report GTO.