By : RACHNA TYAGI
GOA :
HCIL’s (Honda Cars India Ltd.) sale of 5.8 lakh units of the Amaze in a little over a decade, in India, stands testament to all those buyers who appreciate engine technology and know exactly what to expect from the Japanese carmaker. We recently drove Honda’s 3rd generation Amaze – CVT and MT – which has been developed by the Honda R&D Asia Pacific Center in Thailand, and we’re happy to report that this compact sedan is an incredible offering especially now that it also gets Honda SENSING (ADAS) technology thereby earning it the title of “India’s most affordable ADAS equipped passenger car.” Take a bow, Honda.
One thing that Honda does really well is win hearts with its design; and the Amaze, which is being marketed towards aspirational buyers, sure ticks all the boxes out there, especially when it comes to its style quotient and compact packaging. The classic 3-box design – a much-loved body type of several sedan fans across the world – works brilliantly for the Amaze’s ICE engine, thereby offering buyers the comfort of the familiar and the traditional while still bringing its A-game to the table, that of being a performance-oriented sedan and a mighty reliable one at that.
One glance at the Amaze and you instantly know that the design changes are subtle and therein lies the brilliance of the designers who have made the changes ever so slight, yet notable, keeping in line with the lingo of the times – IYKYK. (If You Know You Know). For instance, with the elimination of unnecessary lines and angles, now, things do look different on the new Amaze, and if you look closely, you will also see that on its bonnet. Besides, the Amaze now gets wider shoulders and a wider stance, and this results in a wider looking car, both, from the front and the rear. Also, the bold new front grille and the wider looking bumper add to the car’s road presence. The LED DRLs, projector headlamps, and the signature wing lights truly make the Amaze stand out. Also remarkable is how the headlights of the Amaze turn on thanks to the ‘Auto Headlight with Wiper Activation’ feature, every time the wipers are engaged and turn off when the wipers are not in use and this is a really thoughtful ‘First in Class’ feature that makes driving in difficult weather conditions safer. We also really appreciated the power adjusted ORVMs (which have been repositioned to reduce blind spots) getting really big indicator lights – a very useful touch – that, especially on our Indian 'roads. While the distinct shoulder line lends an athleticism, it also makes the car appear longer. What we also really liked is how the designers have retained the definitive Amaze design, sans any radical lines or flourishes, giving this sub-4-meter car a more contemporary and sophisticated feel, without taking away from its classic sedan good looks.
Inside, the light beige interiors are of a very premium quality and the choice of the colour really livens up the cabin of the Amaze. Despite the Amaze not getting a sunroof – a wise decision in our opinion – it feels adequately well-lit and spacious on account of all the glass area and the well-sized windows. The quality of the plastic on the dashboard as well as the textures and the brushed aluminum finish that have been used brought a smile on our faces because in terms of the design, the materials used and looks, it just beats all of its competition hollow.
The 8-inch floating display looks contemporary and comes with physical buttons on the side. Everything from the backlit buttons to the air-con louvre sliders not only look splendid but are also well-sized and feel extremely luxurious as well as comfortable to use, even for people with big hands such as me. Below the air-con buttons, you will find a charging pad which also gets a dedicated button for charging your cell phone. Besides it, sit two USB-A type ports have been provided so that you never run out of juice on your mobile devices.
However, the center of attraction remains the steering with a beautiful ‘H’ (Honda) in a chrome finish emblazoned in the middle. It’s the chunky steering of the Amaze that had us grinning from ear to ear because it never failed to remind us how in every way, it was quintessentially a Honda. The Amaze gets a tilt function on the steering, (though we would have liked it to have a telescopic function as well), and it came with physical controls such as volume rocker buttons which felt positioned just right when we needed to use them while driving, and even the camera button was cleverly designed on the stalk, behind the steering, which made it extremely convenient to use.
Behind the steering sits the 7-inch HD, full-colour TFT display which gives out all the relevant driver and car-related information such as speed, kms travelled, fuel tank level, etc. The dials of Honda cars have always been clean and non-fussy and they give out all the info at a glance which has always been one of its plus points. Not to mention, the customizable settings which let you choose from lighting preferences to Honda SENSING features, which happens to be First in Class, thereby taking safety on the Amaze to a whole new level.
The power-adjustable driver’s seat felt extremely comfortable and offered adequate thigh and lumbar support. At the rear too, there was plenty of head room, leg room and shoulder room and it felt like a very nice place to be in. The headrests though not adjustable, did not block our view in the IRVM, when we were in the driver’s seat. Besides, the rear seat also got an arm rest with cup holders and for the first time, the Amaze, came with air-con vents at the rear for the benefit of the occupants at the back and the company claims that the rear air-con cools 45% faster.
Strapped with a E-20 compliant, 4-cylinder, 1.2-Litre i-VTEC SOHC petrol engine, which puts out 66kW @6000rpm and 110 Nm of torque @4,800 rpm, the Amaze doesn’t cease to Amaze. Buyers can choose between the CVT option or the 5-Speed MT.
We drove both, the CVT in the Radiant Red Metallic and the MT in the Obsidian Blue, and were truly impressed by both – but it was the MT that stole our heart on account of its “fun” element and brilliant driving dynamics. The CVT now comes with improved software and the advanced CVT offered a really smooth and jerk-free driving experience. On the MT, the optimized gear ratios, especially the lower gears, made gear shifting and driving in Goa’s stop and go traffic a real breeze. The one thing that we did wish that Honda had offered was a better gear knob, on the MT, than the one it came with, as it felt really tiny in my big hands. The MacPherson struts in the front and the torsion beam at the rear made driving the Amaze a really comfortable experience and it’s 172mm ground clearance truly amazed us as it not only tackled the nastiest speed breakers in the city effortlessly but also some bad countryside roads. Also, its minimum turning radius of 4.9m made it a truly phenomenal sub-4-meter sedan adding to the fun factor of our driving experience. Also, when it came to cornering, the Amaze performed brilliantly, and we had a blast tackling corners. We were also supremely impressed with its braking prowess. Throughout our drive, Honda SENSING’s safety features via the front wide-view camera that identified and analyzed objects and obstacles in our path forewarned us thereby keeping us safe. Getting other useful features such as LKAS (Lane Keep Assist System) and LCDN (Lead Car Departure Notification System) in a car such as the Amaze speaks volumes about how Honda has managed to pack every conceivable safety feature onto the Amaze. Besides, the abovementioned active safety features, the compact sedan also comes with passive safety features such as Side Curtain Airbags which deploy in the event of a side collision and all of this along with the high-tensile steel used to make the car’s body structure stronger and safer sure inspired a lot of confidence when we were driving it. The NVH levels on account of the soundproofing materials used, on the dash, the inner fenders, and the floor’s undercover, not to mention spray-foaming, played a significant role in filtering out sounds, thereby making the cabin a more enjoyable place to be in.
The Honda Amaze comes in six colours Obsidian Blue, Platinum White Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic, Radiant Red Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic, and Golden Brown Metallic. Besides, it also gets three trims – V, VX, and ZX and while the V trim gets 14-inch trim wheels, the VX and ZX trims both get 15-inch alloys and dual-tone machine-finished alloys respectively. Prices for the Amaze begin at INR 7,99,000 and go onto INR 10,89,000. So, if you’re looking at buying something in this price range, rest assured that you will definitely be very happy with your choice of the Honda Amaze as it not only offers more bang for your buck with the entire package but also an engaging driving experience clubbed with excellent fuel efficiency of 19.46 kmpl on the CVT and 18.65 kmpl on the MT.
Now, that’s what I call truly ‘Amaze’ing!
