Honda Amaze 2018 Review: In Pictures

Modified On May 19, 2018 02:25 PM By Raunak for Honda Amaze 2016-2021

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The second-gen Honda Amaze makes a bold statement in the compact sedan space with its styling that’s inspired from the upcoming Accord and a CVT auto option with both petrol and diesel engines

Honda Amaze

Honda is ready for the second innings of the Amaze as the new-gen model is set to launch on May 16, 2018. With an evolved design and the option of a CVT with both engines, we find out how better the Amaze is equipped to take on its competition now.

Honda Amaze

Variants: The Honda Amaze is available in four variants: E, S, V and VX with the CVT being offered on the mid S and V variants. 

Look and Feel 

Honda Amaze

The second-gen model is wider than the previous Amaze and it’s the first thing that you’ll notice while looking at its front fascia. This is also partly due to its fresh new face featuring a big wing-like chrome strip that runs across the grille, connecting the headlamps together, making it look like a single unit.

Honda Amaze

The front bumper is properly sculpted with a lot of edges. The new design is striking and the Amaze does look fresh and appealing, compared to the first-gen model as well as its rivals. 

Honda Amaze

The layout of the headlamps is now sleeker compared to the bulbous looking units offered before. Sadly, they are still multi-reflector units, while you get LED projectors in the Dzire and halogen projectors in the Tata Tigor/Zest. Even daytime running LEDs are missing but it does get LED light guides (parking lights) instead of that.

Honda Amaze

The side profile looks a lot cleaner than before with a single prominent character line that runs across its length. Speaking of which, at 3995mm, the new Amaze is 5mm longer than before. In fact, even the wheels have been pushed to the extremities and the wheelbase, at 2,470mm, has gone up significantly by 65mm. Honda has also increased the Amaze’s ground clearance by 5mm and it now stands at 170mm. 

Honda Amaze

Although the boot is stubby and high-set, the Amaze doesn’t look disproportionate.

Maruti Suzuki Dzire

The new Dzire, though, still has a more proportionate design compared to the Amaze’s.

Honda Amaze

The Amaze carries forward the outside rearview mirrors from the previous model, which are also seen on the City, Jazz, WR-V and the BR-V.

Honda Amaze

The slim and flimsy door handles of the first-gen Amaze have been replaced with the chunkier units from the City and the Jazz/WR-V.

Honda Amaze

The wheel size has gone up by an inch (15-inch), however, their design looks a little bland in comparison to say the Dzire’s or the Xcent’s machine cut wheels. A machine cut finish or even a clutter-free design would have made it more appealing. 

Honda Amaze

The rear profile carries over the same relatively boxy and flat layout that you see at the front. It gets a similar looking C-shaped tail lamps that you’ll see in the upcoming tenth-generation Accord. Like the front bumper, the rear too is sculpted as you can clearly notice various cuts and creases. 

Honda Amaze

The tail lamps could have had a chrome applique as Honda’s logo looks absurd in the middle at the rear. The model that Honda had showcased at the Expo featured a thick chrome strip connecting the tail lamps and the logo (check out the image below). 

2018 Honda Amaze

Although Honda hasn’t offered projector or LED headlights, it could have offered LED tail lamps. The Dzire gets them as standard across all variants.

Honda Amaze

The big C-shaped tail lamps would’ve looked even better with LED elements.

Honda Amaze

Even the interior is as fresh as the exterior. It gets a new dashboard and steering wheel, while the cabin theme continues to be dual-tone (black and beige). While the overall quality seems to have gone up in comparison to the previous model, it is at par with cars such as the Dzire and the Aspire.

Honda Amaze

The dash is low-set compared to the previous model, especially around the driver’s side. It feels relatively airier and you get a better view up front compared to before.

Honda Amaze

The Digipad 2.0 with Android Auto and CarPlay is far superior to the Digipad 1.0 currently offered with the City, WR-V and the BR-V.

Honda Amaze

It is not laggy unlike before and the new UI is also intuitive. The only downside is that the visibility takes a hit under direct sunlight. 

Honda Amaze

Lower variants offer a Bluetooth-enabled audio system, which looks identical to the one offered before. The overall design of the system is pretty unexciting and Honda could have come up with a better looking unit.

Honda Amaze

Honda has made a significant improvement in terms of seating comfort on the whole.

Honda Amaze

Gone are those cheap looking slim seats with integrated headrests replaced by much wider seats with properly adjustable headrest.

Honda Amaze

The seats come with better bolstering, while the headrests offer whiplash projection like its siblings. 

2018 Honda Amaze

The rear cabin space and seats had always been the Amaze’s forte and the second-gen model continues to impress. The increased width and wheelbase have made things even better. 

Honda Amaze

On the practicality front, all the doors offer 1-litre bottle holders and the rear armrest comes with twin cup holders.

Honda Amaze

The glovebox is wide and spacious and there are a lot of places in the central console for knick-knacks as well.

Honda Amaze

The only flipside is that Honda should have offered a front armrest, particularly with the diesel and petrol automatic variants.

Honda Amaze

Even cruise control (offered for the first time) is limited to only the top-spec VX variant. We feel, Honda should have offered it with the automatic variants as well.

2018 Honda Amaze

Auto climate control is available as before. Interestingly, the second-gen Amaze packs front window demister vents (placed above the side ones; check out the picture below). It is still a glaring miss on Honda’s entire Indian lineup, except the Accord and the CR-V.

Honda Amaze

The boot space has gone up by 20 litres and at 420 litres, it is now the largest in the segment.

Honda Amaze

Mechanicals and Drive 

Honda Amaze

The Honda Amaze carries forward the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engine options as before with a standard 5-speed manual. There’s an optional CVT automatic with the petrol as before. And most importantly, the diesel too gets a CVT option this time around, but the engine has slightly been detuned as Honda claims the diesel-CVT combo works better like that. 

Honda Amaze Engines

As is the case with CVTs, there are no shift shocks and the Amaze offers a seamless drive. Honda has also worked on the NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) aspect of its 1.5-litre diesel engine with the new Amaze and along with better insulation, the overall refinement level is noticeably better than the previous model.

Honda Amaze

In our brief time with the new Amaze, we felt that its suspension system has been tuned for comfort and its ride has improved over uneven roads.

Honda Amaze

The Amaze diesel-manual continues to be the most punchy of the lot as before, although in regular city conditions you won’t find any drastic difference between the CVT and the manual version. Here, the CVT-equipped diesel Amaze gets the added advantage of being a two-pedal offering. The petrol, on the other hand, is a decent performer like before, but it’s just that the petrol  CVT now comes with the added convenience of paddle shifters. 

Honda Amaze

Takeaway 

The Amaze scores big on practicality with its feature loaded and spacious cabin. It also makes a bold statement in the compact sedan space with Accord-like styling and, of course, the first-in-class diesel CVT option. If you ask us, we would pick the diesel manual for its punchy nature and fuel efficiency.

Honda Amaze

Check out: Compact Sedan Comparison: Dzire vs Xcent vs Tigor vs Ameo vs Aspire

Read More on : Amaze diesel

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