2018 Honda Amaze Review – Well Matured

Honda has introduced the All-New Amaze. This new car is in its second generation. It is completely different from its outgoing model. It is now richer in features, exterior design, interiors and also in variant options.

We drive the 2018 Honda Amaze in Bengaluru, to find out how this new generation model is. To know more about it, keep reading further.

2018 Honda Amaze Design

Honda Amaze now comes in a completely new avatar. It is very different from the outgoing model. The car is underpinned by an all-new platform and the exteriors look appealing. It is now more stylish, and premium looking. The platform has made it longer, wider and the wheelbase has also increased.

The front portion now reminds you of the Civic and the new Accord.

Front

It gets the signature thick chrome grille of Honda and the front is flat in design. The grille blends into the headlamps, which are now much sleeker. The headlamps are regular halogen ones and are not projectors, even on the top end VX trim. The car gets LED daytime runnings lights integrated into the headlamp and the turn indicators are also embedded. The fog lamps are round in shape and have a black bezel. The bonnet has grooves which make it look muscular.

Side

The side of the 2018 Honda Amaze looks much more evolved now, especially with the well integrated boot. It looks more like a premium sedan from the side now. The door pillars are blacked out and it also has new door handles which are identical to the City. There is a shark fin antenna as well. The car gets 15-inch ally wheels on the top two V and VX variants. The base E and S variants get 14-inch steel wheels. The spare wheel is a 14-inch steel wheel, across all variants.

Rear

The rear of The new Amaze looks sportier. While the car we has earlier seen at the Auto Expo has a chrome strip on the boot, the production model does not get any chrome at the rear. The tail lamps are attractive and are of a split design. The rear bumper is large and extends low with an integrated skirt.

2018 Honda Amaze Interiors

The inside story is also completely different. The new dashboard has a neat layout and also gets piano black finish. The instrument cluster is also new and has twin dials for the speedo and tacho. In betwen them is the driver info screen which has information such as trip meters, distance to empty, fuel consumption and a digital clock.

The steering wheel is also brand new and is a chunky one. It feels nice to hold. It has controls such as audio and bluetooth and also cruise control, available on the top VX variant only. The steering wheel however does not get leather wrapping, even on the top variant. The gear knob is also new, but is sill small.

The Amaze gets a new 7-inch touchscreen system with Android Auto,  Apple Car Play, Mirror Link and Navigation. There is a reverse camera as well. This touchscreen comes only on the VX variant. It has a good touch mechanism however the resolution is only 480p. The audio system is decent, with 4 speakers. The quality of the reverse camera is average. In bright sunlight visiblity of the screen does get affected. There is automatic climate control available on the V and VX variants.

Storage spaces are in abundance.

All 4 doors can take a 1 litre bottle, There are cupholders on the front console and also space for keeping other stuff as well a a 1 litre bottle. The glovebox is not too big but has decent enough space. There are two 12V ports and a fast charging USB option too, however only in the VX variant.

The seats are also new and much better now.

The cushioning is soft and the padding is comfortable. The front seats now have an adjustable headrest. There is a grab handle on the top even for the driver and we do not the the reason for that.

The rear has more space now as the knee room has increased by 25mm.

However, three persons cannot sit very comfortably due to limited shoulder room. There is a armrest at the rear and the rear headrests are fixed. One annoying thing was that there is very little headroom. Tall passengers or large sized individuals will have their head touching the roof, at the rear and also to the grab handles. There are no rear AC vents available. Though Honda says that cooling is now 26% better, rear AC would have helped more, especially for hot summers.

The boot is now bigger and has 420 litres of space, 20 litres more than the earlier model.

2018 Honda Amaze Performance

The same engines do duty in the 2018 Honda Amaze. One is the 1.2 litre, four cylinder, SOHC engine that produces 89bhp of power at 6000rpm and 110Nm of torque at 4500 rpm. The power and torque are slightly improved now. This engine comes with a 5-speed manual transmission and also a CVT. The engine feels smooth and refined. The manual one, though not outrightly punchy, suits easy driving. The gearshifts are fine and the clutch is light. The CVT transmission focusses more on comfort and is laid back in acceleration. It takes it own sweet time and can get boring as well.

The second engine is the 1.5-litre diesel engine with 99bhp of power at 3600rpm and 200Nm of torque at 1750rpm. The engine is now tweaked to offer better performance and fuel efficiency. It comes mated five-speed manual transmission. The manual diesel is the most fun to drive of the lot. There is good grint in the engine and has sprightly performance. I was quite suprised at the way the NVH levels are controlled now. There is considerably less noise intruding inside the cabin now. Not that its not noisy, but much better than before.

The highlight here is the new diesel CVT which is seen for the first time. I wasn’t so convinced about it, until I drove it. It feels good to drive. Of course, it again focuses on comfort rather than outright performance, but it is not disappointing either. The acceleration is smooth as the speed builds up in a linear fashion. Now this engine has a reduced power of 80 bhp, which is 20bhp less than the manual version and the torque is also 160Nm. The reduction of power and torque is due to the fact that diesel engine has a flatter torque available across a range of rpms, hence unlike petrol, the diesel CVT does not require high power. However, the drive experience of this one was quite impressive and we do recommend it if you prefer long leisure driving.

The CVT, both in petrol and diesel, is available only on the mid variants – S and V.

2018 Honda Amaze Ride and Handling

The new Amaze is a big improvement in this department. The new chassis is lighter and so the car is more chuckable. It handles better than the earlier model and the steering response is also better. High speed stability is good and it gives more confidence during cornering. The brakes are fine, but I would have preferred some more bite, specially at high speeds. What impressed us most is the rear seat ride quality. The new suspension has revised damping and the feel is close to a European car. The car also doesn’t get unsettled easily o bad patches. The glove box of the car kept popping open whenever we ran over a speed breaker. A lock adjustment would solve that issue.

2018 Honda Amaze Mileage

Though we did not do a detailed mileage test, however, we estimate a city mileage of around 12 km/l and highway mileage of 16km/l for the petrol manual. The petrol CVT will return around 10km/l in the city and around 15 km/l on the highway.

The diesel manual is the most fuel efficient one with a city mileage of around 15 km/l and on the highway it will return close to 19-20km/l. The diesel CVT will return 12-13km/l in the city and around 17-18km/l on the highway.

Verdict

The Honda Amaze was always a practical and spacious car. It strated to get outdated, specially after the arrival of its revamped rivals. 2018 Honda Amaze is a big improvement over the earlier car and is also a well rounded package now. It also offers a diesel CVToption, making it a good choice for many buyers. The only glitch is that the top end variant does not get a CVT option. We feel that this may not go down too well with those looking for an automatic. The price will be announced next month, which will prove whether it is value for money or not. However, it has got us impressed in most areas.