Like most countries in the world, historically petrol cars
for obvious reasons dominated the car industry in India. Compared to diesel,
petrol was a cleaner fuel, petrol engines were much quieter, smoother and were
less polluting. But this practice changed, or rather began to change, from the
beginning of 2007 when industry leader Maruti Suzuki introduced the new
generation diesel engine technology, the common rail direct injection (CRDi)
for the first time in Indian cars. The rest is history. Year after year the share
of diesel engine went up as today nearly 75 per cent of all cars sold in India
feeds on diesel. Two things changed the game: much superior fuel efficiency from
diesel due common rail technology (resulting in much lower NVH -noise,
vibration and harshness- factor) and much lower price of diesel compared to
petrol.
Though the diesel frenzy became a din in India, the Japanese
car giant Honda Motors was only watching it from the side line. Now, at last,
it has decided to jump in and join the party. Around the middle of April Honda
is launching its first diesel car in India Amaze, a entry-level sedan based on
its hatchback Brio. The car will also be available in petrol version with a
1.12 litre i-Vtec engine currently being used in Brio.
To give a first-hand experience of its performance, Honda
recently organised a two-day test drive in Goa for the media where this writer tried
out both petrol and diesel versions over a six-hours driving session. Amaze has been priced aggressively, as the starting price is at 5.09 lakh, ex-showroom in Bangalore. For various variants under petrol and diesel engines, pricing is competitive with models like Swift
Dzire, Chevy Sail, Tata Indigo CS, etc. The drive started in the morning and I
drove off in a diesel car, to begin with.
Peppy response
The first thing that struck a car enthusiast like me in
Amaze diesel is the peppy engine. Honda officials told us that the 1.5litre i-DTEC
engine (common rail diesel engine) has been developed exclusively for India
considering Indian driving conditions and is based on the Honda’s latest ‘Earth
Dreams Technology’. To reduce the weight and improve mileage, Honda has mostly
used aluminium for the diesel engine. But, as a result, one may find the engine
a little less quiet when revving up in low gears.
The engine has been tuned to produce more power along with strong torque at low rpm. The
car offers a class-leading maximum power output of 100PS@3600rpm and 200
Nm of torque @1750 rpm. This, in turn, the company claimed, gives the
highest fuel economy in the Indian passenger car segment of 25.8 km to a litre as per the
data in ideal test conditions. (Be sure, the actual mileage on road will be
lower and vary according to the driving habits and driving conditions.)
To explain in simple terms, Amaze diesel produces a lot of power in low
gears and zooms when you fully press the accelerator pedal. But the pick-up
flattens once the engine reaches 3600 rpm. The fixed turbo charger is tuned in
such a way that car creates a balance between delivering power up to a limit
without guzzling too much of fuel. One will enjoy the quick acceleration in
city driving on an empty road ahead and on the highway while overtaking a
speeding vehicle.
The other important feature of the diesel engine is the powerful torque
of 200 at low rpm of 1750. On congested city roads this feature will come handy
as one can drive without down-shifting the gear even at a lower than the normal
speed. For higher efficiency of this engine Honda has developed an ultra-low viscosity diesel engine oil and it assured that
there will no premium pricing for the special oil.
The petrol option, though less powerful than diesel, was also good to
drive. The 1.2litre i-VTEC petrol engine
delivers maximum output of 88 PS @ 6000
rpm and torque of 109 Nm@ 4500 rpm. Under ideal test conditions, the fuel economy is 18 km per litre. Amaze is available in 5
speed manual transmission and the drivers will find gear shift is short and
smooth, a typical Honda finesse in its cars.
For the comfortable driving position Amaze has
added a seat height adjuster to the driver’s seat which allows adjustment of seat
height position up to 50 mm. The
speed sensitive electronic power steering makes driving easier and safer as at
low speed it is soft and at high speed a little tighter. Amaze will also be available in automatic
transmission only in petrol option. Though men normally prefer manual
transmission, these days many women drivers prefer automatic option despite the
price being higher and mileage lower.
Interior feels good
Though
developed from Brio platform (it is an extended version of the small car with a
boot space), Honda engineers have worked hard to give Amaze a different look
from all angles. Despite the similarity with Brio, the front view of the car is sleek with
distinctive character lines. The front grille design concept and aerodynamic
body colour bumper gives Amaze a sporty image. The headlights too have
contemporary design and the rear of the car has large sedan-like headlights
with resembling the new City.
To create more legroom inside the cabin,
Honda has extended the wheel base by 60mm compared to Brio to 2405mm. The
Amaze’s total length is 3,990mm, width is 1,680mm and overall height is 1,505mm.
The increased dimensions have improved the space inside the cabin making ample
space for three persons’ comfortable seating. There is enough knee-room at the
back even for a moderately tall person. Honda has created a lot of storage
space inside and used good quality plastics and upholstery inside. The 400
litre boot space is big enough for a family vacation. Amaze will offer airbags
and ABS (anti-lock braking system) at higher end.
Honda Amaze: Technical Specifications
|
||
Petrol
|
Diesel
|
|
Engine (cc)
|
1198
|
1498
|
Power (ps @ rpm)
|
88 @ 6000
|
100 @ 3600
|
Torque (Nm @ rpm)
|
109 @ 4500
|
200 @ 1750
|
Overall Length (mm)
|
3990
|
3990
|
Overall Width (mm)
|
1680
|
1680
|
Overall Height (mm)
|
1505
|
1505
|
Wheelbase (mm)
|
2405
|
2405
|
Ground Clearance (mm)
|
165
|
165
|
Kerb Weight MT (kg)
|
950 - 965
|
1060 - 1075
|
Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)
|
35
|
35
|
Boot Space (Litres)
|
400 ltr
|
400 ltr
|
The writer is a business journalist and a freelance writer writing test drive reports on cars / SUVs for the last 10 years. Can be contacted on dilipmaitra@gmail.com. (Any unauthorised copy and reproduction of images are prohibited. Please write for permission.)
All pictures by the writer.
