Car Of The Week: Honda Amaze

Bangalore: An amazingly powerful engine for the Indian sedan standards; an eye popping mileage; a luring price tag and everything under a renowned badge, what possibly could we ask more for the first ever diesel sedan from Honda? Apparently, nothing! Sensing the nerve of middle class India, Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co has launched its much-awaited entry level sedan Amaze at a price range of Rs 4.99 lakh to Rs 7.60 lakh. According to Honda, “The Amaze is our most strategic model in the Indian market and has been developed with strong focus on Indian requirements.”

Engine

Honda Amaze is available in Petrol and diesel options with the diesel variants priced between Rs 5.99 to Rs 7.60 lakh, and the petrol variants at a price range of Rs 4.99 lakh to Rs 7.50 lakh.

Both the models will compete directly with market leader Maruti Suzuki's Swift Dzire and Toyota’s Etios. The Amaze diesel is powered by a 1.5 litre engine with a claimed mileage of 25.8 km per litre. The petrol variant has 1.2 litre engine with a fuel economy of 18 km per litre for the manual transmission and 15.5 kmpl for the automatic version.

The same engine unit from the hatchback Brio is mated to an efficient 5-speed manual transmission system in the new sedan. The engine churns out a peak power of 86.8bhp at 6000rpm along with a maximum of 109Nm of torque at 4500rpm. Honda petrol engines, which are historically known for its refinement and smoothness, can be seen in this car at all its glory. It has a top speed of 180kmph.

The diesel unit has 1.5 litre engine, along with a turbocharger unit, that churns out 98.6bhp at 3600rpm along with a peak torque output of 109Nm at 4500rpm. The 5-speed manual transmission engine has a maximum speed of 175kmph. Adding to it, the claimed mileage of 25.8kmpl is currently the best in its class.