HONDA AMAZE SEDAN WAITING FOR HONDA"S FIRST DIESEL SEDAN IN INDIA
Honda Amaze sedan that will be launched in India next year. Already
launched in Thailand, the Amaze is expected to make it to Indian shores by
April 2013. Powered by a new, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder i-DTEC diesel engine
derived from the 1.6-litre Earth Dreams, the Amaze returns 23-25 kmpl. Prices
could start from Rs 5.2 lakh for the basic petrol to Rs 7.3 lakh for the
top-end diesel.
Even
without turning a wheel, there’s a sense that Honda has got it right, yet
again. And this stems from the fact that present among us for the very first
drive of this new car are the engine and product development heads. And as our
interaction reveals, they aren’t very cagy either, which is quite a departure
from typical Japanese officials at Honda.
But,
before we jump the gun here, it must be said that the odds aren’t exactly
stacked in Honda’s favour. It’s not every other day that the company makes a
diesel engine, after all. Hitherto, it only had two – the 2.2-litre diesel
which has been around for a really long time and the 1.6-litre engine that is
too new to be regarded as legendry.
The
second challenging bit is the car itself. Unlike most other car makers who
design a hatchback with a sedan in mind, Honda’s Brio was thought of only as a
hatchback. Clearly, the work to produce a sedan on the same platform would be
not just more challenging but with high probability of getting things wrong.
The
good news though is nothing of the sort has happened. In fact, having to design
the sedan from the scratch (well, almost) has actually allowed Honda added
flexibility to go the distance most other compact sedan makers haven’t even
considered travelling. We are of course talking about the Amaze, a sub-4m sedan
designed on the Brio platform but with enough alterations to make it more than
just a hatch with a boot.
Unlike
the Maruti-Suzuki Swift Dzire for instance, the Amaze actually sits on a longer
wheelbase compared to its hatch sibling. The only other car to have done this
is the Sunny; but then, it isn’t exactly a sub-4m offering. Moreover, the Amaze
has been redesigned with new body panels B-pillar backwards. It is wider at the
hip and with it the shoulder room at the back has increased. The roof too has
been re-profiled and has liberated more head room compared to the Brio.
But,
it is the kneeroom that’s truly outstanding, period. The room at the front of
course continues unchanged compared to the Brio, but at the back, there’s more
usable kneeroom in the Amaze than even the likes of the Chevrolet Cruze and the
Hyundai Elantra. As far as the rear head room goes, the Honda is equally
matched with the Dzire, but it offers more shoulder room making it a much more
spacious car overall than the Maruti.
And,
yes, the boot is more usable too. We don’t have the official figures on its
luggage capacity, but as our measurements reveal, the Amaze’s boot is deeper
and taller and though it’s not as well shaped as the Dzire’s in terms of width,
it can comfortably hold a lot more luggage.
Honda
hasn’t bothered to tinker with the interiors much; the dash is identical to the
Brio with the Amaze only sporting a different set of instrumentation. The seats
at the front continue unchanged as well and are comfortable to be in. At the
rear, the seats have been redone. These have a bigger, more supportive seat
bottom and the seatback is more reclined as well.
Things
are quite the same from the driver’s perch too. But, when you begin driving the
differences compared to the Brio are a lot more obvious. The steering for one
is heavier, and in a good way – it’s not uncomfortable but more wholesome. The
clutch continues to be light to operate but the feel and progression isn’t
great. The shifts again are precise with short throws but are not chier than we
would have liked.
The
Amaze’s performance truly impresses. The 1.5-litre four cylinder diesel is
smooth and linear in its power delivery without sudden bursts of shove coming
in with the turbo at full boost. It has good grunt in the low and mid range too
which should make it an easy car to drive around in the cities. Plus, the
gearing is well sorted - it is on the shorter side which helps cut the turbo
lag immensely. So much so that even in 5th gear, the engine gets from 1000rpm
to 1500rpm is no time. It is noisy though, particularly at higher rpms.
This
made for India 1.5-litre, four cylinder diesel is based on the new 1.6-litre
diesel engine which Honda recently introduced in Europe. Everything from the
construction to the materials to even the bore measurement of the engine is the
same. It is an all aluminium engine designed to be the lightest in its class.
It uses short skirt and light weight pistons along with high strength narrow
crankshaft in order to bring down friction which, incidentally is only as much
as Honda’s own 1.5-litre petrol engine.
For
India, Honda has worked on increasing fuel economy and low and mid range
driveability. It has also been tweaked to handle our fuel quality better. The
engine uses a small fixed geometry turbo which should help it develop between
85-90bhp. The same engine will be used in the Brio MPV as well as the new City
due in 2014 but with higher power and torque figures courtesy a reworked ECU.
Honda is also considering a VGT for this engine for higher outputs in the
future.
The Amaze when launched
in April next year will be priced at a slight premium over the Dzire. Expect
the price for the diesel (a petrol with the 1.2-litre engine from the Brio will
also be on sale) to start at a little over Rs 6 lakh for the base and going up
to almost Rs 8 lakh for the top of the line trim. At this price and given what
the car and the diesel engine together offer, the Amaze makes a fantastic case
for itself. As we see it, Honda certainly has delivered a winner here.
