Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT

Col Mehta · 17th June 2018, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

It has been a long time since I contemplated writing a thorough ownership review, and here it is now! Let me get straight to the point for those who are looking for a quick summary.

Congratulations on your new ride. Looks beautiful in that colour. One of the better sub four-meter sedans in the market. Wish you and your family many happy and safe miles with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Summary: This diesel CVT comes as a breath of fresh air in a sea of jerky AMTs. If you want a Diesel AT in this segment, the Amaze is the one to buy. I've always liked this 1.5L diesel engine for its driveability, and the CVT is mated superbly to it

. I simply cannot live with a jerky AMT

Absolutely second that. Just can’t stand AMT’s jerks and lethargic response. TC/CVT, though not perfect, are far better choices than AMT. Period.

Yieldway17 · 17th June 2018, 15:20

Honda really has hit it out of the park when it comes to the Amaze AT versions - both petrol and diesel. I hope they do well as it will drive other manufacturers to provide better AT options and transmissions unlike the jerky AMTs we have been getting in the lower segments so far.

dailydriver · 17th June 2018, 17:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

He further mentioned that till date Honda has not provided any fix for it.

Congrats on the new car. You have done your left leg a world of good by opting for an automatic.

Unlike its previous iteration, the 2018 Amaze is surely an amazing package. It looks good and drives well. What spoils the party is the absence of that final few inches of QC that are so obvious in the non inclusion of rear boot door cladding, ungainly finish in the engine bay and (I am assuming that the seats have no covers installed) imperfections such as the one highlighted below.

Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT-screenshot_20180617165643835_com.android.chrome810x557.png

The glovebox issue has become a joke of sorts. Heard the same problem from a colleague who testdrove a petrol Amaze.

adi_gt · 17th June 2018, 17:33

You will thank yourself in few days to opt for CVT in this mad mad bangalore traffic. I did a short drive to BNP from Ramamurthy Nagar. Even on a Sunday afteroon the ORR was sufficiently loaded and 3km before the park, it was a complete nightmare due to Eid and weekend rush. Took almost 1 hour to cover last 3 km till BNP parking although returned back in half an hour as ticket windows had a queue which was as big as an Indian idol audition queue. But, guess what saved me from fatigue and frustration ? My 6 months old Jazz CVT. It's a boon in such situations which you see everyday around Bangalore.

scorpion_blore · 17th June 2018, 21:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by dailydriver

(I am assuming that the seats have no covers installed) imperfections such as the one highlighted below.

Attachment 1772420

Those are not the OEM fabric covers. I got after-market PU leather covers from the dealer. That imperfection is just the manifestation of some item that was kept pressed against the seat for some time, and it got recovered.

Overall the seats are quite comfy, however I wish the rear seats were provided with adjustable head rests.

vinayrathore · 18th June 2018, 08:22

Congratulations !! Wish you a million happy miles!

Looks like you are regularly flooring the pedal to get that feel of the acceleration while keeping the car below 80KMPH?

Don't you think accelerating like that also amounts to the same stress that high speed driving puts?

Idea should be to keep the engine mostly below the turbo zone and flush the engine oil with new after the first 2000 KMs. This will remove tiny shreds of metal that might have shaved off the new engine parts.

No Manufacturer recommends this but us Petrol heads don't want to take any chances...right?

My 2 paisas!

vsrivatsa · 18th June 2018, 11:03

Excellent Review!! Many Congratulations and Wishing you many safe journeys with your new ride

From which Dealership did you buy the car from and how was the Sales Experience?

I have owned the 4th gen i-DTEC City for the last 4+ years and my ownership with it has been fuss free so far except for the occasional dashboard rattle that the Service Center manages to fix during the service.

While I agree there are silent diesel engines such as the 1.6 CRDi from Hyundai, in my opinion the NVH Level/Diesel noise has been made too huge a issue on this forum. I notice it only when I start the car during the day and when I park it back. Rest of the time, I have never felt the iDTEC sound levels to be a hassle. This engine true to the car name (City) is tuned perfectly for the City.

I did test drive both the Petrol CVT and the Diesel CVT of the Amaze last Friday at Magnum Honda, Kanakapura Road as a colleague of mine was interested.

The Petrol CVT seemed to have a lot more rubber band effect and the engine revving could be heard a lot. In contrast the Diesel, although the noise level maybe slightly higher - there was no odd revving sounds. Only when we went over an incline, the revving of the engine could be heard as it adjusted itself. Overall a Value for Money car. I tried pulling up the door glass up and down on the driver side and the Door does not flex like it does in the 2014 City. Honda has improved the fit and finish in terms of the known issues. Not sure about the metal frame quality though...

I am sure Honda will bring in the Diesel CVT on the Honda City as well and possibly tune the engine back to 100 horses for the City. The Amaze has always been the evaluation platform for Honda for trying something new.

selfdrive · 18th June 2018, 11:51

Nice crisp review, congrats on your new car!

It really is amazing how Honda manages to eke out space in their cars, which VW never manages to.
If you can add a pic showing the minimum and maximum possible leg room for the rear passengers, it would be useful for other readers. Any feedback about the speaker setup; do you think an upgrade is required?

What I don't like in this car is the ungainly finish in the boot and fixed rear seat headrests.
These issues would be minor inconveniences compared to how much we would save our knees with the auto tranny.

Congrats again and wish you many safe miles together.

scorpion_blore · 18th June 2018, 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Any feedback about the speaker setup; do you think an upgrade is required?

These issues would be minor inconveniences compared to how much we would save our knees with the auto tranny.

I'm not sure from where the HU and speakers are sourced from, but the audio quality is decent if not exceptional. Bass range is quite good, bass lovers would definitely feel at home.

The controls on the HU are quite minimal. There is no setting other than bass, treble, fader, and balance controls.

At least for me, the current setup will suffice.

Trust me I'm not exaggerating, I'm feeling much fitter after 2 weeks of driving an AT. I've been driving Ritz VXI for last 2 years in Bangalore where my daily commute requires 70 kms of drive. What started as mild left leg pain became more intense gradually, and then propagated to my back as well. Initially I ruled it off thinking it was due to my driving posture.
Now with this new AT the left leg pain has decreased drastically, though not completely gone. The back/spine pain has completely disappeared. A big

for the AT.

qr20de · 18th June 2018, 13:55

Congratulations on the great new car! Looks like it has a great on-road presence, from the pictures that you sent.

Honda CVTs are great to drive, for the calm driver.

Enjoy the car and the journeys it brings you!

kritikesh · 18th June 2018, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

I'm not sure from where the HU and speakers are sourced from, but the audio quality is decent if not exceptional. Bass range is quite good, bass lovers would definitely feel at home.

The controls on the HU are quite minimal. There is no setting other than bass, treble, fader, and balance controls.

At least for me, the current setup will suffice.

Trust me I'm not exaggerating, I'm feeling much fitter after 2 weeks of driving an AT. I've been driving Ritz VXI for last 2 years in Bangalore where my daily commute requires 70 kms of drive. What started as mild left leg pain became more intense gradually, and then propagated to my back as well. Initially I ruled it off thinking it was due to my driving posture.
Now with this new AT the left leg pain has decreased drastically, though not completely gone. The back/spine pain has completely disappeared. A big

for the AT.

Congrats! on the new steed, wanted to check your views on the comfort level of the drivers seat as compared to that of your old Ritz . I currently own a Swift ZDI and during a short test drive of the Amaze diesel CVT I noticed the under thigh support was falling a tad short as compared to the swift , could be because of the short drive. What are your thoughts , is the seating supportive during any of your recent long drives. Thanks again, great review . Cheers!

SaGa · 18th June 2018, 18:13

Great Review!
We finally see actual makeovers/face-lifts these days, be it Swift family, Scorpio, Amaze, etc. rather than a few cosmetic changes here and there.
Best to you and Brownie. Happy partnering!!! :-)

Ford5 · 18th June 2018, 19:05

A very nice review indeed. Seeing the engine bay's open sheet metal on LH & RH, the Renault Kwid & it's aluminium foil like steel quality came into my mind. The amount of cost cutting done to remain profitable in India is absolutely shocking. The Dzire razor thin windows is another thing in the same way.

Gradually this car will be around 9.5 - 10 lakh otr in metro cities over it's lifecycle and deregulated diesel may never go back to it's older pricing. But i guess stress free & jerk free CVT box driving is what you've to pay a million bucks for in India.

All in all a good product out of Honda India's diesel investment done back in 2013. Will eagerly await service costs/experience on this thread. Rated 5 stars.

Congratulations on your new Amaze! It's quite a looker, especially with the American/Euro style rear stop lights instead of the Asian Honda round tail lights seen on the civic. A very nice review indeed. Good observation of the engine bay too. Seeing the open sheet metal on LH & RH, the Renault Kwid & it's aluminium foil like steel quality came into my mind. The amount of cost cutting done to remain profitable in India is absolutely shocking. The Dzire razor thin windows is another thing in the same way. The boot, bonnet & fuel lid levers on driver side brought made me remember the Maruti esteems along with the identical glove box issue they too had over time

Gradually this car will be around 9.5 - 10 lakh otr in metro cities over it's lifecycle and deregulated diesel may never go back to it's older pricing. But i guess stress free & jerk free CVT box driving is what you've to pay a million bucks for in India.

All in all a good product out of Honda India's diesel investment done back in 2013. Will eagerly await service costs/experience on this thread. Rated 5 stars.

mindovermotor · 18th June 2018, 21:52

Many congratulations on your new ride and here's wishing you many happy miles of driving your brownie! Can you please update the thread with the OTR price you paid in Bangalore for the Amaze diesel CVT, unless I have missed it, I searched and couldn't find it on the page.
The review and comparison with other diesel automatics(the few available) definitely was very helpful as a sub 10 L diesel automatic (not AMT) sedan/crossover is the magic bullet that the market needed and it looks like Honda definitely hit a sweet spot here.
Thanks for the great summary and the pics.

scorpion_blore · 19th June 2018, 12:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

Just shot an email to Honda about the glove box issue. Will keep this thread updated with Honda's response and action from Honda service during the first free service.

Didn't expect such quick response from Honda. Honda contacted my dealer, and I got a call from my dealer requesting to drop the car for service so that they can check the glove box issue and get it fixed on priority. I'll be probably dropping the car for first free service this weekend, and will get the glove box issue looked at by the technicians. Hopefully Honda has a fix for this *Fingers Crossed*

17th June 2018, 15:20	#17
Yieldway17 BHPian Join Date: May 2017 Location: Tamil Nadu Posts: 652 Thanked: 1,843 Times	Re: Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT Honda really has hit it out of the park when it comes to the Amaze AT versions - both petrol and diesel. I hope they do well as it will drive other manufacturers to provide better AT options and transmissions unlike the jerky AMTs we have been getting in the lower segments so far. Last edited by Yieldway17 : 17th June 2018 at 15:29.
	() Thanks

17th June 2018, 17:33	#19
adi_gt BHPian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Montreal,Canada Posts: 257 Thanked: 303 Times	You will thank yourself in few days to opt for CVT in this mad mad bangalore traffic. I did a short drive to BNP from Ramamurthy Nagar. Even on a Sunday afteroon the ORR was sufficiently loaded and 3km before the park, it was a complete nightmare due to Eid and weekend rush. Took almost 1 hour to cover last 3 km till BNP parking although returned back in half an hour as ticket windows had a queue which was as big as an Indian idol audition queue. But, guess what saved me from fatigue and frustration ? My 6 months old Jazz CVT. It's a boon in such situations which you see everyday around Bangalore.
	(2) Thanks

18th June 2018, 08:22	#21
vinayrathore BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: DL-9C/KA-01 Posts: 560 Thanked: 502 Times	Re: Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT Congratulations !! Wish you a million happy miles! Looks like you are regularly flooring the pedal to get that feel of the acceleration while keeping the car below 80KMPH? Don't you think accelerating like that also amounts to the same stress that high speed driving puts? Idea should be to keep the engine mostly below the turbo zone and flush the engine oil with new after the first 2000 KMs. This will remove tiny shreds of metal that might have shaved off the new engine parts. No Manufacturer recommends this but us Petrol heads don't want to take any chances...right? My 2 paisas!
	() Thanks

18th June 2018, 11:03	#22
vsrivatsa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,621 Thanked: 4,001 Times	Re: Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT Excellent Review!! Many Congratulations and Wishing you many safe journeys with your new ride From which Dealership did you buy the car from and how was the Sales Experience? I have owned the 4th gen i-DTEC City for the last 4+ years and my ownership with it has been fuss free so far except for the occasional dashboard rattle that the Service Center manages to fix during the service. While I agree there are silent diesel engines such as the 1.6 CRDi from Hyundai, in my opinion the NVH Level/Diesel noise has been made too huge a issue on this forum. I notice it only when I start the car during the day and when I park it back. Rest of the time, I have never felt the iDTEC sound levels to be a hassle. This engine true to the car name (City) is tuned perfectly for the City. I did test drive both the Petrol CVT and the Diesel CVT of the Amaze last Friday at Magnum Honda, Kanakapura Road as a colleague of mine was interested. The Petrol CVT seemed to have a lot more rubber band effect and the engine revving could be heard a lot. In contrast the Diesel, although the noise level maybe slightly higher - there was no odd revving sounds. Only when we went over an incline, the revving of the engine could be heard as it adjusted itself. Overall a Value for Money car. I tried pulling up the door glass up and down on the driver side and the Door does not flex like it does in the 2014 City. Honda has improved the fit and finish in terms of the known issues. Not sure about the metal frame quality though... I am sure Honda will bring in the Diesel CVT on the Honda City as well and possibly tune the engine back to 100 horses for the City. The Amaze has always been the evaluation platform for Honda for trying something new.
	(2) Thanks

18th June 2018, 11:51	#23
selfdrive Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zurich Posts: 2,962 Thanked: 3,534 Times	Re: Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT Nice crisp review, congrats on your new car! It really is amazing how Honda manages to eke out space in their cars, which VW never manages to. If you can add a pic showing the minimum and maximum possible leg room for the rear passengers, it would be useful for other readers. Any feedback about the speaker setup; do you think an upgrade is required? What I don't like in this car is the ungainly finish in the boot and fixed rear seat headrests. These issues would be minor inconveniences compared to how much we would save our knees with the auto tranny. Congrats again and wish you many safe miles together. Last edited by selfdrive : 18th June 2018 at 11:56.
	(2) Thanks

18th June 2018, 13:55	#25
qr20de BHPian Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: NBO,HYD,MAA Posts: 216 Thanked: 433 Times	Re: Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT Congratulations on the great new car! Looks like it has a great on-road presence, from the pictures that you sent. Honda CVTs are great to drive, for the calm driver. Enjoy the car and the journeys it brings you!
	() Thanks

18th June 2018, 18:13	#27
SaGa Newbie Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Delhi NCR Posts: 13 Thanked: 20 Times	Re: Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT Great Review! We finally see actual makeovers/face-lifts these days, be it Swift family, Scorpio, Amaze, etc. rather than a few cosmetic changes here and there. Best to you and Brownie. Happy partnering!!! :-)
	() Thanks

18th June 2018, 19:05	#28
Ford5 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 500 Thanked: 338 Times	A very nice review indeed. Seeing the engine bay's open sheet metal on LH & RH, the Renault Kwid & it's aluminium foil like steel quality came into my mind. The amount of cost cutting done to remain profitable in India is absolutely shocking. The Dzire razor thin windows is another thing in the same way. Gradually this car will be around 9.5 - 10 lakh otr in metro cities over it's lifecycle and deregulated diesel may never go back to it's older pricing. But i guess stress free & jerk free CVT box driving is what you've to pay a million bucks for in India. All in all a good product out of Honda India's diesel investment done back in 2013. Will eagerly await service costs/experience on this thread. Rated 5 stars. Congratulations on your new Amaze! It's quite a looker, especially with the American/Euro style rear stop lights instead of the Asian Honda round tail lights seen on the civic. A very nice review indeed. Good observation of the engine bay too. Seeing the open sheet metal on LH & RH, the Renault Kwid & it's aluminium foil like steel quality came into my mind. The amount of cost cutting done to remain profitable in India is absolutely shocking. The Dzire razor thin windows is another thing in the same way. The boot, bonnet & fuel lid levers on driver side brought made me remember the Maruti esteems along with the identical glove box issue they too had over time Gradually this car will be around 9.5 - 10 lakh otr in metro cities over it's lifecycle and deregulated diesel may never go back to it's older pricing. But i guess stress free & jerk free CVT box driving is what you've to pay a million bucks for in India. All in all a good product out of Honda India's diesel investment done back in 2013. Will eagerly await service costs/experience on this thread. Rated 5 stars. Last edited by Gannu_1 : 18th June 2018 at 20:24. Reason: Back to back posts merged.
	(1) Thanks

18th June 2018, 21:52	#29
mindovermotor BHPian Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Bangalore Posts: 65 Thanked: 50 Times	Re: Life with my 'Brownie' - The 2018 Honda Amaze Diesel CVT Many congratulations on your new ride and here's wishing you many happy miles of driving your brownie! Can you please update the thread with the OTR price you paid in Bangalore for the Amaze diesel CVT, unless I have missed it, I searched and couldn't find it on the page. The review and comparison with other diesel automatics(the few available) definitely was very helpful as a sub 10 L diesel automatic (not AMT) sedan/crossover is the magic bullet that the market needed and it looks like Honda definitely hit a sweet spot here. Thanks for the great summary and the pics.
	(1) Thanks