It’s been a little over a month now that the Honda Amaze has been in the Express Drives long-term fleet and the story has been quite interesting. Our time with the car has not only helped us understand its pros & cons but we’ve also been able to realise a very important transmission-related aspect in the Indian car space.
The Amaze we have is the V variant, which means it’s one below the top VX one. Also, in its automatic avatar, it comes with a CVT gearbox, which is a standout as most companies in the sub-compact segment these days are going in for AMTs because of lower cost. Key competitors such as Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Hyundai Aura and Tata Tigor come with AMT units. The Honda Amaze is the only that offers a CVT in this segment and hence we’ll tell you today if this car justifies the choice and how it stacks up against its rivals in terms of the value-for-money quotient.
The Honda Amaze CVT has been used by us primarily in urban conditions so the CVT definitely made life easier as the left leg had nothing to do during rush hour traffic in Delhi. The 1.2 L i-VTEC petrol engine develops about 88 hp and 110 Nm of torque. Now while the power figures seem adequate the torque sounds a bit less on paper but on the road, it’s a different story.
The motor is paired to a CVT gearbox so that means the unit has infinite ratios, which are selected as per the situation demands. What’s really impressive is the fact that the CVT does a fantastic job of masking any low-end lag due to seemingly low torque. As a result, once you’re on the road the car doesn’t feel short of torque. Yes, the rubber-band effect exists so when you mash throttle the engine lets out a loud whine but speed follows in a bit later. However, the performance is better than most CVTs in more expensive cars and way better than the AMTs in rivals.
The silky smooth motor coupled up with the brilliant CVT means that you can enjoy one of the most refined driving experiences in the Indian petrol AT sedan segment under Rs 15 lakh. Yes, it’s that good!
There’s an S-mode also for the CVT and this means that it holds on to the gears longer and shifts at higher revs. While the S suggests Sport there isn’t anything sporty about the Amaze in terms of driving and to be fair that’s not its positioning or target audience as well. In case you want to go fast on the highway or occasionally on tight streets as well, the Amaze won’t disappoint you. It’s just that you won’t end up having an exciting drive on the way.
As far as fuel-efficiency is concerned, the Amaze once again left us impressed. Despite the car battling rush hour traffic mostly, it returned an average fuel-efficiency of 14.6 kmpl over a total run of around 1,186 km. The highest we got on a weekend on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway was 19.1 kmpl, while the worst we recorded was 12.2 kmpl. Helping us drive efficiently is the green ECO light that comes up on the instrument cluster every time you’re driving with a consistent or gentle throttle.
Other good things about the driving experience include good NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) insulation, comfortable ride quality and impressive all-round visibility. However, once you go past 100 km/h tyre-roll noise does start to become increasingly loud.
Cabin comfort is good and at par with the rivals but more on that in our next report. For now, we can tell you that the Amaze is possibly the best all-rounder in the sub-compact segment in India. It offers an adequately powerful and smooth engine paired to an excellently-tuned CVT gearbox. It offers good space inside the cabin along with comfortable seats and also is good looking from almost every angle if you can get past that thick chrome slat on the front grille.
By now some of you must be wondering what about the infotainment system. Well, that’s an area of improvement for me since the V variant doesn’t come with a touchscreen so a simple audio system with decent speakers is what you’ll get. Bluetooth Audio and telephone controls along with USB (front & rear) and HDMI points have been included to take care of your connectivity and charging requirements. However, if you want a touch screen then by paying about Rs 40,000 extra you can get the VX variant, which will also give you some more features in addition to the touch screen and reverse parking camera with guidelines.
The Honda Amaze is priced competitively as well so you don’t end up paying a bomb to get a better driving experience than AMT-equipped cars. At Rs 8.35 lakh, ex-showroom, the Amaze offers good value. Yes, it definitely is a little over Rs 50k more expensive than similarly specced Maruti Suzuki Dzire ZXI AGS but with the Amaze, you get a more refined and premium driving experience. Our conclusion for the Honda Amaze petrol CVT then is that it’s one of the most sensible and refined cars to drive in its segment and immensely appealing for those who want to be seen in a sophisticated and upmarket sub-compact sedan.
We still have some more weeks to test the Amaze and in the next report, we’ll talk about cabin features and comfort in detail. Also, do stay tuned for our comprehensive video on our long-term impressions about the Honda Amaze petrol CVT. Till then, if you want to research the Amaze more and its features along with the on-road price in your city please click the link below.
Honda Amaze Specifications, Features, Mileage and On-road prices
