2018 Honda Amaze, The Smallest Honda Sedan - First Drive Review

2018 Honda Amaze Introduction

The Honda Amaze has received an overall update in terms of all aspects such as the exterior and the interior design, the features as well as the transmission options. In the meanwhile, despite not being given an all-new version, the motors have been improved to further enhance the driving quality, the fuel mileage, etc. Furthermore, the sedan also offers one of the best riding-and-handling packages in its segment. All of these will help the Honda Amaze become one of the best-selling sedans in the foreseeable future.

The new Honda Amaze has been updated in all aspects.

Also read - Maruti Suzuki Dzire vs Honda Amaze: Which is the better compact sedan?

2018 Honda Amaze Design

Honda Amaze - Exterior

Borrowing the styling cues from the newest generation of the bigger sedans like the Honda City and Honda Accord, this new-gen Honda Amaze is a breakthrough in terms of exterior design. Actually, there is nothing in common between the appearance of the new model and the outgoing one. This innovative design has given the sedan a 'hatchback with a boot' appearance.

Front

The new Honda Amaze front features the typical Solid Wing Face of Honda with the thick chrome grille floating over the slim headlamps which have the positioning similar to that of the BMW i8.

The front of the new Amaze now comes with Honda's signature Solid Wing Face.

Side profile

It is the side profile that has the most profound effect on the overall appearance of the vehicle. The restricted length of the vehicle has limited Honda’s ability to ‘decorate’ the side profile, but the Japanese automaker has done an excellent job here. The bold character line runs across the car body from the headlights to the taillights. At the back of the top, there is a fashionable Shark-fin antenna. Furthermore, the hood is now longer; the A-pillar is now pushed back; the greenhouse has also been well proportioned. All of these features make the new Honda Amaze look like a real sedan.

The side profile of the Honda Amaze has the most powerful effect on the car's appearance.

Rear

Coming to the rear, you should be surprised to realize its sportiness for such a small sedan. The larger C-shaped taillights, bumper creases, sharp license plate recess and a subtle decklid spoiler give it a dynamic look.

The new Amaze has a sporty rear, which is surprising for a sedan of this size.

Overall, the Honda Amaze’s exterior design has received a complete upgrade to look more attractive and dynamic.

Honda Amaze Interior

Honda Amaze Interior - Overall Design

The Honda Amaze has a dual-tone beige-black colour paint scheme. Almost all the features have been given a much more attractive styling. Polishing interior decorations match well with the overall design theme. With a more amber cabin, the new model ensures a comfortable journey for both the driver and all the passengers. The new Honda Amaze offers greater rear headroom by 10 mm and larger shoulder room by 45 mm. The front headrests come with a sporty styling while the rear headroom is average. Tall passengers may sometimes touch their head on the roof. The rear seat row can accommodate one child and two adults. It still can provide enough space for up to three adults but they may find long journeys a little bit uncomfortable.

The new sedan is also equipped with a more amber boot space by up to 20 litres (from 400 litres to 420 litres), which is also the largest unit in the segment.

The new Honda Amaze has a much more amber cabin, thanks to the increased dimensions.

Honda Amaze Interior - Features

Convenience and comfort features

The 2018 Honda Amaze is equipped with a Digipad 2.0 touchscreen infotainment setup which supports MirrorLink, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay connectivity. Nevertheless, it is not provided on the top-spec VX trim. Additionally, the 4-speaker sound setup delivers a quite satisfactory performance. Apart from the regular 1.0A USB port, the car is also equipped with an extra 1.5A USB port.

Like the outgoing model, the new Honda Amaze also lacks the rear air conditioner vents. Surprisingly, a power outlet is added to the rear seat row instead of the AC vents. Luckily enough, the air conditioning system is claimed to have been improved thanks to the greater dimensions. Like the touchscreen infotainment system, the speed control, for the first time, has been added to the sedan, but not in the top-spec VX trim. The new MID lacks a gearstick indicator.

Unlike the outgoing model, the 2018 Honda Amaze comes with an engine start-stop button and passive keyless entry, which further improves the convenience. The start-stop button turns white to welcome the driver when he/she unlocks the car and turns red when he/she starts the motor.

Safety features

The 2018 Honda Amaze now can ensure both the drivers and the passengers a safe journey with the safety features provided as standard including dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and ISOFIX child-seat tethers. While ISOFIX is an all-new feature, the two front airbags and ABS with EBD were only available on the top-spec variants of the outgoing model. Moreover, the car also offers a rear parking camera and a rear parking sensor. Whereas the former has been for the first time equipped on the model, the latter was only offered as an optional feature in the previous model.

The new-gen Amaze is now equipped with a wide array of top-notch interior features.

2018 Honda Amaze Specifications

 

Honda Amaze Dimensions

The Honda Amaze is supported by a brand-new platform, which has made its length and width increase by 5 mm and 15 mm, respectively but its height decrease by 5 mm, in comparison with its predecessor. It is now 3,995 mm long, 1,695 mm wide and 1,500 mm high. The wheelbase is lengthened to 2,470 mm from the 2,405 mm unit in the outgoing model. The updated model now comes with a 170 mm ground clearance, which has been raised by 5 mm from the previous generation.

Honda Amaze Performance

The 2018 Honda Amaze keeps under its hood two motor options: a 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel unit. Previously, the transmission duties are undertaken by only a standard 5-speed MT gearbox. Now, a 5-speed CVT unit is also coupled with both of the two motor options. The 2018 Honda Amaze is the first car in India to have its transmission duties implemented by a CVT unit in the diesel variants.

Petrol variants          

The 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine on the previous-gen Honda Amaze delivers a maximum power of 88 PS at 6,000 rpm and a peak torque of 109 Nm at 4,500 rpm. The 2018 model has received an improvement in terms of both power and torque output with a figure of 90 PS at 6,000 rpm against 110 Nm at 4,800 rpm.

The upgraded petrol motor delivers a pleasant drive in the city but a little bit disappointing performance on the highway. Driving at a high speed with over 2,500 rpm makes the vehicle louder. Paddle shifters are available, which is one of the first-in-the-segment features of the Honda Amaze. However, if you desire for an enjoyable journey, the diesel version is more recommended.

The 5-speed MT gearbox delivers light and simple gearshifts along with a decent fuel economy. Meanwhile, the CVT provides you with a pleasant drive; however, if you suddenly accelerate the speed when the car is moving slowly, the rubber band effect will become clearer. Nevertheless, this is not really an issue, thanks to the excellent performance in city driving and a relaxed manner on highways offered by CVT variants.

While the petrol engine performs quite well in the city, it delivers a little disappointing performance on the highway.

Diesel variants

The 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel, when mated to an MT gearbox, remains the same as the previous model with a maximum power/torque output of 100 PS at 3,600 rpm/200 Nm at 1,750 rpm. However, for the CVT variants, the Japanese automaker has decided to detune the diesel motor a little bit as it does not work well with high torque. Therefore, for these variants, the maximum power and peak torque are 80 PS at 3,600 rpm and 160 Nm at 1,750 rpm, respectively.

The diesel-MT variants deliver the most excellent performance among the four. The 1.5-litre diesel motor does an excellent job when being pushed hard and driven at high speed. In the meanwhile, the most popular disadvantage of diesel engines which are the low responsiveness at a low speed has now been almost totally addressed. Accelerating to a triple-digit speed does not pose many difficulties for the vehicle. The maximum speed is also much higher than that in the petrol version.

The diesel-CVT motor, despite a 20% reduction in torque/power output, does deliver quite a satisfactory performance with a far more composed drive than its petrol-CVT counterpart. Even at high speed, it does not make you feel disappointed. The absence of the paddle shifters is not a problem since the CVT unit is able to implement its duties in almost all circumstances. For a higher power output when going up and effective braking when going down, a Low transmission mode is also offered.

The Japanese auto manufacturer has also paid attention to reducing the NVH levels, which is shown in the reduction in the noise from the diesel motor filtering coming into the cabin. One of the most compelling reasons for this is that unlike the petrol variants, the diesel ones comes with a bonnet insulation pad. Moreover, some vibrations on the diesel variants can still be felt, but just marginally.

On the other hand, the diesel version can produce a much better performance than its petrol counterpart.

Honda Amaze Fuel Mileage

The new Honda Amaze has been reduced in terms of its weight by 17 kg and 23 kg for the petrol and diesel variants, respectively. This, along with some other improvements, has helped the new Honda Amaze deliver a much more decent fuel mileage across its lineup. To be more specific, the fuel mileage of the petrol-MT and the petrol-CVT variants have been increased by 1.7 kmpl and 0.9 kmpl, to 19.0 kmpl and 18.1 kmpl, respectively. On the other hand, that of the diesel-MT variants is 27.4 kmpl, rising by 1.6 kmpl while the figure for the diesel-CVT ones is 23.8 kmpl.

Riding and handling quality

The new-gen Honda Amaze has a really impressive riding and handling quality. In spite of the soft suspension system, the vehicle’s stability when it is moving at a high speed deserves to receive compliments. The suspension system of the car works so efficiently that all the potholes, unpaved roads and bumps can be easily tackled. It is also stiff enough to deliver a pleasant journey on the highway. Moreover, the Japanese automaker has been successful in balancing the steering with an appropriate tightness, which makes it simple for the driver to handle the car either in the city or on the highway.

 

2018 Honda Amaze Price List, Warranty and Maintenance

Price list

The Honda Amaze is priced in the ranges of Rs 5.60 lakh to Rs 8.00 lakh (for the petrol version) and from INR 6.7 lakh to INR 9.00 lakh (for the diesel version) (all prices are ex-showroom India). In these price ranges, it takes on the likes of Volkswagen Ameo, Ford Aspire, Hyundai Xcent, Maruti Suzuki Dzire.

Also read - Honda cars discounts in March 2019: Honda Amaze, City, Jazz and More

Warranty

Honda offers a standard warranty of 3 years/unlimited km while 4 year/unlimited km and 5 year/unlimited km extended warranty packages are also available. An INR 3,500 maintenance package for the petrol version and INR 4,900 one for the diesel version are also offered by the Japanese auto manufacturer.

There are multiple warranty packages available for the new Honda Amaze.

Maintenance

Drain plug, engine oil and engine oil filter require replacement after the vehicle has been driven 10,000 km or 1 year. Some other important parts such as water pump drive belt, brake fluid, engine coolant and fuel filter have different deadlines for replacement. Refer to the table below for further details.

 

2018 Honda Amaze Verdict

To conclude, the latest-gen Honda Amaze is one of the best offerings in the sub-4-metre sedan segment now. With a wide range of upgrades like the attractive appearance, a more spacious cabin, the first-in-the-segment CVT gearbox to be paired with a diesel motor, excellent riding and handling quality as well as all the features which should be offered in a sedan of this size and this price, the Honda Amaze has become popular sedan with the Indian auto customers. In 2018, it is the car which was searched most frequently in India. The Honda Amaze has recorded a great sales number in the past few months. Most recently, in April 2019, its sales rocketed with more than 85,000 units sold, doubling that of the Honda City.

Also read - Top 10 The Most Searched Cars On Google India In 2018: Honda Amaze Takes The First Place

What do you think about the Honda Amaze, the smallest sedan from the Japanese automaker? Let us know in the comment section below.

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