[Vid6639]

Nice review anshuman. You've covered all the small changes done on the Amaze.

I was surprised to see even more beige on the door pads. The older dual tone looked far far better than this beige expanse now.

It's quite a decent update to the Amaze and the biggest improvement is the cabin now. The exterior changes make the Amaze appear more grown up.

CVT is a welcome move, as the Amaze will primarily spend it's time in the city. While the older 5 speed was a good box, I found it a bit too jerky on part throttle as it kept hunting gears up or down. It would shift up too soon and would need to downshift back, especially in 1st and second.

[adi_petrolhead]

I just drove the Amaze CVT today, it was the top trim. The subtle upgrades make a very strong case for the Amaze and for the price, around 9.35 lakh on road for the top end CVT variant, makes for a sweet deal. By the rush in the showroom I can just tell that the Hondas are selling like hot pies! All of them!

Drive ability was good, didn't feel like a 1.2, smooth speed gains and ride quality is sumptuous to say the least. That back seat(sofa) is so comfy, I envy it over my Octavia's rear seat. Of course comfort wise, not space wise.

The driving position set to my height(179 cms) left ample knee room behind me.

CVT is smooth. Bluetooth, auto AC, new instruments from Jazz/City, a more conventional overall dashboard, everything just adds up somehow. But, I wasn't expecting the price to be this high. May be at about 9.5 lakh, you're better off with a Jazz CVT even if you pay a bit more, or may be the SV CVT trim in the City.

Those who love the new blue shade, it's a stunner, will be attracted towards it.

The dealership was already delivering the new cars today on occasion of Shivratri. But when I asked for the prices, they said they just added 35K to the old price list, their head dealer has not given them the pricing yet! Unbelievable stuff sales reps tell you these days. Indicated a waiting period of about 1 month as of now.

The S variant gets ABS but no airbags so if you want them, you have no choice but to upgrade to the SV or Vx, since the CVT is only available in S or Vx, there's not much of a choice here.

[sandeepmohan]

I have spent a considerable amount of time in a Amaze and it is my pick from the segment. I am not a fan of the way it looks and this facelift does not really change my view about the exterior design of the car. Where I will give credit is the packaging. You just can't beat the Amaze at this. Passenger room at the back is better than some C+ segment sedans. This is a very comfortable car. I would say that it is the interiors where this car sees the biggest change. The dash board is a now more conventional in design, you get good quality and those new clocks do raise the overall appeal. Very well done Honda.

On to the engines, I have not experienced the diesel. The 1.2l petrol is a refined unit with just about enough power on tap. I have experienced the same engine mated to a torque converter in the Brio and its a perfect match. An automatic Amaze should seal the deal when it comes a practical, efficient and fuss free run about.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by quadmaniac

...Would it be possible to integrate the touchscreen system from honda into the E variant ?

Personally, I would go for a better brand like Pioneer / Kenwood / JVC if I have to retrofit a touchscreen system. Advantages will be lower cost, better sound output, and most probably, more features too.

[Thebat]

Once upon a time when I was still growing up as a kid Honda cars were the ultimate way to prove that a person has arrived, I used to drool on the previous gen City, Civic and the Accord. But of late Honda just isn't the same anymore they have cut too many corners and the cars just don't feel premium anymore, and coming to the amaze why oh why are all Honda dashboards so asymmetric. For me personally it looks very disjointed and doesn't give the feel that an aspire or a zest would give.Would never choose the Amaze over its rivals if I was on the market for a car.

[sathya.bhat]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The centre fascia with a piano-black finish looks much better now. Take a look at the base variant's center fascia here:

Is it only me or this centre facia looks too busy and asymmetrical? I understand that centre facia is little tilted towards the driver. Even keeping that in mind this does not feel correct. I am not able to point to one exact thing here. If the music system is placed on the centre rather than the left side, it might look better. Also I feel the buttons and music system shape is not matching to the place it is trying to fill.

[drive2eternity]

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

Is it only me or this centre facia looks too busy and asymmetrical? I understand that centre facia is little tilted towards the driver.

Exactly my thoughts. Though the center facia is a big improvement over the previous design, they could have obviously made it better. What on earth is the Hazard light button doing out there alone? And Honda have shifted the entire facia to the left just to accommodate it. Bad move.

[harry10]

The only reason I have never considered Amaze is because of its interiors. Thankfully, after 3 long years Honda has woken up and upgraded it to something which should have been there in the first place. This also shows they are paying attention to market and customer feedback. Also, the price increase is almost negligible. Competition is making manufacturers accountable. Will TD the cvt variant at my scheduled service next month.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by alpha1

While you may be displeased about CVT's rubber band effect (=no speed gain while the engine RPM rises), I am equally displeased with MT's rubber band effect (no speed gain for ages while driving on 4th gear while I depress the accelerator).

You are talking about an entirely different matter.

With the CVT, the engine revvs, but there's no corresponding increase in speed.

The only time you'll witness this rubber-band effect in an MT is when your clutch has worn out.

Your post is about the lack of torque; you need to downshift and bring the engine into its power band.

Yes I agree that the transmission whine may irritate, but the whole rubber band effect is perhaps exaggerated

Have you driven a CVT with a small engine on the open road? Please test the Amaze CVT at speed. This is what it'll feel like (warning - video has inappropriate language:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC3l-LgS3Ew

Originally Posted by NiInJa

For some reason I find the audio player little out of place in terms of overall design of the dashboard. The LCD display and buttons area are not well integrated and look like an afterthought.

Saw this with the City's dashboard too. Honda's current designs simply lack coherence / consistency. Not only the dashboard, even the exterior of a car like the BR-V is just all over the place.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

While the older 5 speed was a good box, I found it a bit too jerky on part throttle as it kept hunting gears up or down. It would shift up too soon and would need to downshift back, especially in 1st and second.

As you rightly said, the box itself was very good. I think Honda mated it to the 1.2L in a hurry and didn't pay any attention to detail.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Personally, I would go for a better brand like Pioneer / Kenwood / JVC if I have to retrofit a touchscreen system.

Honda's stupid touchscreen ICE was too slow & too buggy.

[Asish_VK]

Good work Honda for improving the interiors, at least they are listening to customers.

Originally Posted by GTO

Saw this with the City's dashboard too. Honda's current designs simply lack coherence / consistency. Not only the dashboard, even the exterior of a car like the BR-V is just all over the place.

Completely Agree with you on the design part . Though Amaze is better proportionate among all the Compact sedans, I think Honda lost the art of making nice looking cars (at least in India). Whats wrong with them providing that Gigantic Chrome Strip on the Grill ? for me they look hideous in all Honda cars. For me the last Honda which looked so desirable and beautiful was 3rd Gen City and Civic Sedan (In India).

[manishkapadia]

Very nice review and photos. Amaze now looks very similar to my G3 Honda City on the inside and that's a very good thing. I only hoped that there was less Chrome on the outside. But that's just me, the world loves Chrome.

@GTO - Do you see this dashboard eventually trickling down in the Brio as well. I think if size of both cars is same why should Honda bother having 2 dashboard designs when the newer one probably costs the same.

I would love to see this dash in the Brio. The 1.2 iVtec Manual in a lightweight Brio with the Amaze dashboard. Just bliss for an Urban car. Maybe I am just daydreaming.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Good work Honda for improving the interiors, at least they are listening to customers.



Completely Agree with you on the design part . Though Amaze is better proportionate among all the Compact sedans, I think Honda lost the art of making nice looking cars (at least in India). Whats wrong with them providing that Gigantic Chrome Strip on the Grill ? for me they look hideous in all Honda cars. For me the last Honda which looked so desirable and beautiful was 3rd Gen City and Civic Sedan (In India).

I'll disagree a bit here. Looks are subjective but I believe City is a very good looking car. So, is the new Civic(which I do wish Honda may launch here at some point), Accord and CRV. Yes, Amaze is an exception.

I think as far as designing is concerned all manufacturers have hit a roadblock. Mostly, they are copying one another in something or the other. No ground breaking or love at first sight designs are coming out anymore. Could be cost cutting, could be that more stress is given to utility than appearance or it could be just pure lack of imagination

[arnabchak]

One of the major grouse with the Amaze has been neatly dealt with.

The facelift Amaze interiors seems to be in a different league altogether.
The pseudo "auto" ac even in the Base version is a novel touch.

I am disappointed with the exteriors though.
I would have loved a clean look without the chrome moustache.

Just a face similar to the old "Linea" with the H Badge.
(Apologies as I dont have a photo shop to render the image)

[palsaumik]

Fantastic review - especially with the comparisons with links/images provided. Kudos!

I do think that there are some great hits but good misses too! All beige is good to make the interiors look large and airy but with the recent trend of all other manufacturers moving to a more black finish, it may be a hit or a miss.

Yes, the center console looks unnecessarily busy. How much does it take for Honda to design a clean new dashboard?

To me, the front bumper does not quite gel in well - with the jaw more outward giving some awkward looks but the design around the fog-lamps is nice.

Any improvements in the cabin NVH levels in diesel? I believe Honda had received huge feedback on this. So, just curious to know if this has been taken care of.

[jpcoolguy]

Thanks .anshuman for the review.

Finally, Honda has changed the interiors of the Amaze which was the reason for me looking elsewhere during my search for a new car. But still they are lot of scope for improvement as most of other members mentioned - the disproportionate center fascia, the slider for air re-circulation, etc. It is going to be difficult to maintain the interiors with the sea of beige everywhere. For me, Xcent still remains the segment standard in interior quality and fit & finish.

On the exterior, the front now looks aggressive, but that hideous chrome moustache has played a spoilsport once again - IMO, though the looks are subjective.