Honda joins diesel party with Amaze.

Launch of Honda’s first entry-level sedan also marks the company’s entry into diesel segment. The test drive experience shows Amaze will be a hit if priced aggressively.

 

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.