[Baddychat]

First up wishing you thousands of safe and happy miles on your Amaze !!

The good thing they did with the Amaze is the 10k service interval.
The mileage that you have extracted in the initial ownership phase is fantastic. I had a look at the Amaze when I visited the service center to get my car serviced and the boot space I must say is very impressive. The rear-bench legroom also deserves a mention.

I haven't driven it yet, not the diesel and the excellent urban drivability is getting me interested Also IMO Honda should be provided wheel caps/covers on the E MT variant.

[harry10]

Congrats Sid!
Was waiting for an Amaze review since the day we booked ours.

I guess i didn't see anything in your review about the headlights. Is the visibility at night good enough or you feel the stock bulbs need to be upgraded?
Also any thoughts about getting fog lights installed?

[saadat1992]

Congrats Sid_deb!

Really good write up there! I liked everything about the car except for the ORVM! They're an eye sore! :/

And regarding the cost , woah! 6.6L OTR? My Liva diesel with the same spec (GD) came close to 7L OTR Chennai!

The Amaze sure does look better than the Dzire.

How stable is it at triple digit speeds? Being based on the Brio's platform, it should be pretty stable I believe!

Does it spew out Black smoke under hard acceleration? I have seen many swifts , Fiestas and even Cruze spew out smoke under heavy acceleration! Only a few cars like the Etios/Liva and the i20 do not spit out black smoke!

Enjoy many more happy miles with the Amaze!!

Cheers

[rajneeesh]

Maruti has made it mandatory to use synthetic engine oil which costs around 4000 bucks.

Are you refering to the Diesel variants or the petrol as well. I recently got my SX4 serviced and was offered the choice of mineral, semi synthetic and fully synthetic lube.

Maruti offers all these options as a lot of customers demand it. When I got my SX4 over 5 years back most service dealerships did not stock synthetic oil. Well it would also make more sense for them as they would enjoy better margins.

Going on a tangent, the MSIL service rates differ according to the location. I am currently in Palampur, and the dealership here charges Rs 250 for wheel alignment for SX4 versus Rs 400 charged in Noida. Similarly, the hourly labour rates are Rs 235 versus Rs 325/365 in Noida. This maybe one reason why MSIL commands a huge marketshare in the smaller places ( the other being lack of competition.)

[Loud]

Congratulations for the Amaze, sid_deb!
It looks really amazing in white shade. My close friend is also looking out for a diesel entry-level sedan and has finalised the Amaze. But he feels S variant to be unfair for the price, since he can buy a DZire with better interiors IMO.
Well, he is going to book Amaze EMT Diesel White tommorow, since he feels it to be most VFM (I know, many may not agree). Just think on it, 1.5L diesel engine in 6L!

Few suggestions for accessories-
1. Get the ORVMs changed to SMT ones and paint them to body colour. Next, paint the wheels black and the door handles to body colour. Add wheelcaps of the SMT variant. This would almost complete the front look.
2. Get a decent 2DIN HU (1DIN doesn't look nice) and Components for front. Try to fit small 4" speakers at the rear parcel tray, if possible. If you are an audiophile, get a 12" subwoofer and a 4Ch. amp to power the sub and front speakers.
3. Get good quality leather seat covers (color depending on your preference, I would say beige and brown) from a reputed aftermarket shop. Also look out for Autographix Interior Wooden Finish. These are stickers which, if pasted neatly, improve the look of the cabin.

Do post more pictures!
Have an amazing experience on your Amaze.

[rajshenoy]

Firstly congratulations on your amazing new car. Wishing you safe miles for years to come.

I have taken a TD and have similar observations as you have made. City driving seems to be very pleasant and i dont need to use my foot to give acceleration for upto 40-50kmph speeds

My only concern is on the low GC and service aspects.

Are the dealers ok if we go with aftermarket Tyres such as 185/60 R14 ? 175/60 is very limited options.

Also Looking at your FE figures, i am guessing that the Traffic chocked Bangalore roads can help me get 17kmpl at least !!

[puchoo]

Congratulations sid_deb , sorry for being a bit late but been off the forum for 10 odd days now owing to work related travel. The Amaze is an excellent VFM proposition and i am sure it is going to give you miles and many years of pleasure! Do keep us informed and updated and would love to see some more pictures.

[sid_deb]

Sorry guys for not being able to reply to your queries. There was loads of work to do during the last week and had a marriage to attend in Chandigarh on the weekend. Leaving the Swift behind, it was time to check out the Amaze this time.

The i-Dtec is truly a gem of an engine. The car is an absolute delight on the highways. Since the car had run over 3000 kms and the running in limitations were over, I could check the performance of this beast for the first time. The pickup in the 90-120 range is phenomenal and overtaking is a breeze on the highways. There is ample amount of power available in the 5th gear and one rarely needs to downshift. As I said earlier, staying in this zone, you shall feel satisfied with Honda's claim of 100 ps of power.

Mileage:
The overall distance covered was 536 kms and the overall mileage returned was 24.2 kmpl (tankful to tankful method). A/C was on all the time but as far as the driving goes, I tried to reset the MID and check the mileage after following different driving styles

• Ultra sedate Driving: If driven in the 65-75 kmph zone with a steady foot on the accelerator, let the picture below blow you away
  
  
  
  By the way, who dzires a mileage rally now??
  
• Normal Driving: When driven in the 80-100 kmph zone, the MID indicated a healthy mileage of 23.8 kmpl.
  
• Aggressive Driving: The MID was reset again and when driven in the 90-130 kmph zone with frequent acceleration & deceleration, the mileage shown was 21.7 kmpl

ICE Installation

Head Unit: Pioneer AVH 2590 BT (costed 18k)
Front Speakers: 6" Rockford Fosgate components (costed 6.5k)
Rear Speakers: Yet to be installed (The installation is a pain and I wonder why Honda decided to shift their position from rear doors to the parcel shelf)
Reverse Camera: Night vision camera (costed 2k)

Some pictures of the ICE Setup





The look of the dash at night



The tweeters pasted on the dashboard with a double sided tape



Some more pictures

Honda has blackened the side pillars even on the base variant!!



Space at the back

Originally Posted by harry10

Congrats Sid!
Was waiting for an Amaze review since the day we booked ours.

I guess i didn't see anything in your review about the headlights. Is the visibility at night good enough or you feel the stock bulbs need to be upgraded?
Also any thoughts about getting fog lights installed?

Thanks!!

No, the visibility isn't great with the stock headlights and am planning to upgrade them with Philips extreme vision 55/60W bulbs. No plans as of now for getting the fog lights installed though.

Originally Posted by saadat1992

Congrats Sid_deb!

Really good write up there! I liked everything about the car except for the ORVM! They're an eye sore! :/
========
Cheers

Thanks a lot!!

Yeah, I feel that the car is indeed quite stable at triple digit speeds and handles pretty well. Regarding the black smoke, I can't comment on looking at my own vehicle, since I am always at the driver's seat. I too am on the lookout for an aggressive i-Dtec and would let you know.

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

Maruti has made it mandatory to use synthetic engine oil which costs around 4000 bucks.
======
This maybe one reason why MSIL commands a huge marketshare in the smaller places ( the other being lack of competition.)

That's a very interesting observation. I wasn't aware of such variation in rates across states.

By the way, yes I was referring to the diesel versions.

Originally Posted by Loud

Congratulations for the Amaze, sid_deb!
==========
Do post more pictures!
Have an amazing experience on your Amaze.

Thanks for your wishes and your wonderful suggestions!!

I have gone in for a 2-DIN setup and yeah, it does look much better than a 1-DIN setup. I am seriously thinking of upgrading the ORVM's and plan to do it on my 2nd free service.

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Firstly congratulations on your amazing new car. Wishing you safe miles for years to come.
=========
Also Looking at your FE figures, i am guessing that the Traffic chocked Bangalore roads can help me get 17kmpl at least !!

Thanks a lot for your wishes!!

The 165 mm ground clearance is pretty adequate for this car. I have driven close to 3800 kms and the car hasn't scraped even once. I haven't done a tyre upgrade yet since the manual mentions that using an inappropriate tyre size can result in a failure of the ABS unit. Yeah, 17 kmpl should be possible to achieve, I guess.

[DicKy]

Congrats on your Amaze and frankly wasn't hoping that the 'E' variant would be the first one to have a ownership review in Tbhp.
Me too feel that the 'E' variant is the most VFM, has got all the essentials plus surprises like tachometer and MID, also lifesaver ABS(with EBD). But the thing that baffles me is the ORVMs.
Was expecting a black internally adjustable ORVM. This one looks just like my '09 WagonR Lxi mirrors, but then looking at the number of times bikers have managed to break my ORVM, think it will be the practicable option.
My friend had booked the 'S' variant and got a 3 month waiting period, but due to unavoidable expenses in the family me have to wait at least an year before trading in the Waggie for the Amaze.
Cheers.
p.s- feels stupid and not relevant in real world, but still... have you managed to see if the 2k rpm limits at idle and also the rumour that it's restricted to 140km/h.

[infinitewheel]

Congrats Sid on your new purchase. Do you find any difference in NVH levels after driving the car for about 3000 kms? Is it the same as on day one or has it changed? How do you feel about the engine noise while driving in highways? Try upgrading to black alloys. I saw one Amaze with black alloys and it was really looking good.

[getsurya]

The tweeters pasted on the dashboard with a double sided tape

Hi Sid,

Great pictures and information there. Thanks for sharing!

You should try to get black color double sided tape done for your tweeters. Will gel well with the dash board back ground than the white ones which are standing out!

Good FE information and categorization('Ultra sedate driving' )

Happy Motoring!

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by sid_deb

Sorry guys for not being able to reply to your queries. There was loads of work to do during the last week and had a marriage to attend in Chandigarh on the weekend. Leaving the Swift behind, it was time to check out the Amaze this time.

The i-Dtec is truly a gem of an engine. The car is an absolute delight on the highways. Since the car had run over 3000 kms and the running in limitations were over, I could check the performance of this beast for the first time. The pickup in the 90-120 range is phenomenal and overtaking is a breeze on the highways. There is ample amount of power available in the 5th gear and one rarely needs to downshift. As I said earlier, staying in this zone, you shall feel satisfied with Honda's claim of 100 ps of power.

.

How about city drivability?
I have to take speedbreakers and U turns in first gear. Anything close to 1000 rpm in second gear in slow moving traffic just makes the revvs shoot up to around 1300 rpm. I have to brake to slow down or change to 1st gear in slow moving traffic.

Does anyone else face similar issues of revvs shooting up ?

[Reinhard]

Hey, hearty congratulations for the Amaze. At 6.6L OTR that really is a good deal. And I feel you've really taken a calculated decision of taking the lower trim and then loading it up with your custom upgrades in ICE etc which give more options than OEM fit-outs.

Great FE as well!
Just one point - the tweeters pasted on dash with DS tape. An hour's parking under the sun and the tape will probably call it quits. Anyway its not a long lasting solution. I'd suggest getting the tweeters properly fastened with some bracket / screws...Just a thought. I don't specifically have a suggestion as to how you can do it exactly.

Happy Amazing!!

[Top-Gear]

Hi sid_deb, That's a good, balanced review.Congratulations on your Amaze, and congrats too on putting up the first Amaze ownership review! Sorry, I am a little late in doing so - you see, I was busy with my Amaze (petrol) and then writing up my own ownership review .

The FE you have extracted is fantastic.

Enjoy your 'amazeing' ride!

cheers

[sid_deb]

Originally Posted by DicKy

p.s- feels stupid and not relevant in real world, but still... have you managed to see if the 2k rpm limits at idle and also the rumour that it's restricted to 140km/h.

I did try revving the car to around 3000 rpm at idle: so this isn't true

However, I have not yet been able to check whether the top speed is restricted to 140 km/h, since I couldn't find a tarmac safe enough. However, the maximum I have touched is 130 km/h, that too for a second. But trust me the engine looks very capable at triple digit speeds.

Now, whether Honda has programmed the ECU for an auto fuel cut off after 140 km/h remains a mystery. I personally feel that Indian highways are still not safe to drive at triple digit speeds, though the Yamuna expressway does look capable, but then we have the speed limit at 100 km/h. It feels stupid to ask, but if GTO or some other moderator could check this out on the BIC, I guess would be a safe and sound way to resolve this mystery.

Originally Posted by infinitewheel

Congrats Sid on your new purchase. Do you find any difference in NVH levels after driving the car for about 3000 kms? Is it the same as on day one or has it changed? How do you feel about the engine noise while driving in highways? Try upgrading to black alloys. I saw one Amaze with black alloys and it was really looking good.

Yeah, the engine is much more settled and the NVH levels have decreased now. On the highways, in the 5th gear, there is negligible sound inside the cabin.

Yeah, I do plan to add alloys to the car, but right now the financial budget is not permitting it. By the way, which brand would you suggest?

Originally Posted by getsurya

Hi Sid,

Great pictures and information there. Thanks for sharing!

You should try to get black color double sided tape done for your tweeters. Will gel well with the dash board back ground than the white ones which are standing out!

Good FE information and categorization('Ultra sedate driving' )

Happy Motoring!

That's a very valid suggestion. I was myself wanting to change the color and will get it done.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

How about city drivability?
I have to take speedbreakers and U turns in first gear. Anything close to 1000 rpm in second gear in slow moving traffic just makes the revvs shoot up to around 1300 rpm. I have to brake to slow down or change to 1st gear in slow moving traffic.

Does anyone else face similar issues of revvs shooting up ?

Yeah, the revvs do shoot up. But according to me, this isn't a problem, rather it is quite beneficial since it helps in accelerating the car without any throttle input and thus gives good mileage in the city.

If one looks at the torque curve of the i-DTEC, it is absolutely flat right from around 1200 rpm till the very end. Also, the turbo-charger activates from around 1200 rpm as well. Thus, with almost no turbo lag and loads of flat torque available, the car starts to glide the moment you slot it in 2nd or 3rd without any gas. This results in good drive-ability in the city. I do agree, that it might take some time to get used to it, though. Just press the clutch pedal whenever you need to slow down and it will be fine. I never feel the need to slot the car in the 1st gear.

You could refer to this video below which explains the working of the i-DTEC and the power and torque curve of the engine are also shown towards the end of the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ipnl-nGIvE

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Hey, hearty congratulations for the Amaze. At 6.6L OTR that really is a good deal. And I feel you've really taken a calculated decision of taking the lower trim and then loading it up with your custom upgrades in ICE etc which give more options than OEM fit-outs.

Great FE as well!
Just one point - the tweeters pasted on dash with DS tape. An hour's parking under the sun and the tape will probably call it quits. Anyway its not a long lasting solution. I'd suggest getting the tweeters properly fastened with some bracket / screws...Just a thought. I don't specifically have a suggestion as to how you can do it exactly.

Happy Amazing!!

Thank you so much for your wishes. I could also not think of a way to fasten the tweeters properly without much cutting or disturbing the getup of the car. So let's be lazy, its wait and watch for now.

Originally Posted by Top-Gear

Hi sid_deb, That's a good, balanced review.Congratulations on your Amaze, and congrats too on putting up the first Amaze ownership review! Sorry, I am a little late in doing so - you see, I was busy with my Amaze (petrol) and then writing up my own ownership review .

The FE you have extracted is fantastic.

Enjoy your 'amazeing' ride!

cheers

Thanx a lot for your warm wishes. And yes, congratulations to you too for the petrol sibling!! Amaze does look majestic in this cool shade of blue!!

By the way, I too am dissatisfied with the quality of the single horn. Any thoughts on what could be done? I had talked to the service adviser during the 1st service and he had asked me to stay away from installing after-market relays, and so the prospects of installing an additional horn look dim. Could the gurus, please suggest whether the existing horn could be replaced with a more powerful one without adding relays or disturbing the electrical wiring?