Honda Amaze Facelift Long Term Review – Second Report

Honda Amaze Facelift Long Term Review

Long Term Test No. 117

Car Tested: Honda Amaze Facelift i-DTEC
Kms Done: 3360 kms
Test Started at: 6550 kms
Test Concluded at: 9911 kms
Mileage: 16.51 km/l, 19.92 km/l (best), 13.10 km/l (worst)
Fuel Consumed: 208.69-litres
Fuel Cost: Rs. 12,730/-
Rs. per km: Rs. 3.78/-

The Honda Amaze is actually a very nice car providing a hassle-free experience

I mentioned in my earlier report about my general experience with the Honda Amaze facelift i-DTEC. This time, since I’ve driven much more, I’d like to dwell into more details. The Amaze was exclusive with me for the entire duration of the long term test, save for a few days when I had to give to my colleague Aman. The Honda Amaze replaced the Maruti Ciaz as my daily driver.

I’ll start off by telling you guys the things that I absolutely adore about the Amaze. First up, I totally love the 1.5-litre i-DTEC mill. Even though it is extremely noisy and has an annoying sound at high RPMs, the performance is very good from this engine. Honda has got the tuning of the motor spot-on and power is delivered in a properly linear fashion. Sure, some turbo lag is definitely present but it doesn’t affect the driveability in a major way and I like the manner in which power builds up, making the mid-range very strong and responsive. Thanks to this, driving the Amaze is a breeze, irrespective of whether you’re in the city or on the highways. Even the clutch is quite light but the one of our car had a snappy release which was felt in first gear.

The EarthDreams engine has been tuned for good efficiency & performance

Continuing my talk about the engine, what I also loved is the fuel efficiency that the car returned over those 3360 kms that I drove it. Most people know that I don’t really drive sedately and I love extracting every single BHP. With all my hard driving on the highways combined with the snailing speeds on our supremely crowded city roads, the fuel efficiency still averaged at 16.51 km/l which isn’t bad at all. In fact, the times when I took it easy and cruised for long distances on the highways, I managed to extract almost 20 km/l! I am pretty sure that this figure would have been higher if the Amaze had the same 6-speed gearbox as the Jazz.

Also, I’d like to take the liberty of saying that the Honda Amaze is a very fun car to drive around. The chassis feels well-balanced to me, with ride and handling characteristics pretty much on point. The ride isn’t the plushest out there but it is far from bad and I love this balance. The steering also offers good feedback and the agile chassis mated to the compact dimensions of the car make it interesting to drive. The gearbox is also slick with very short throws. I used the boot of the car on just one occasion and the first thing that I noticed is that even though the cargo-carrying capacity isn’t the best on paper, the boot is actually shaped nicely, allowing you to fit your luggage comfortably.

Honda knows how to cleverly extract the most space from the cabins of their cars

Moreover, there are good storage spaces in the cabin with large bottle-holders in each door, and some small storage areas on the centre console as well as the dashboard. The black and beige colour theme works well and the interiors feel pleasant in aesthetics. The seats are also beige, which means they are prone to stains. In fact, my long term car also came with a couple of stains on the seat which didn’t really look pleasant. The exteriors of the car look good and the compact dimensions make driving and parking so much easier, though I would personally still prefer a premium hatchback to a compact sedan.

However, even though the Amaze didn’t disappoint, I do have some grouses. First up, it misses out on a lot of equipment. It doesn’t get a reverse camera, no parking sensors, no push-button start, no auto-unlock doors and no touchscreen! While push-button start isn’t really a must-have feature, the least Honda could’ve done was provide parking sensors because they do come in quite handy in tight parking spots. Pressing the door unlock button after shutting the engine was another thing that bugged me. The quality of materials on the inside isn’t the best but it isn’t bad either, somewhere in the middle ground. What I must mention here is that there were absolutely no rattles from anywhere inside the cabin and everything felt nicely put together. The front seats are good in size but somehow I felt my lower back to be aching after 2-3 hour long drives in the car.

Honda Amaze i-DTEC Service Costs

1. Service Schedule – 10,000 kms/6 months (whichever is earlier)
2. Cost of Service per 1,00,000 Km – Rs. 49,081/-
3. Cost of Spares –

* Engine Oil Per Service – Rs. 1785/-
* Brake Oil – Rs. 322/-
* Oil Filter – Rs. 426/-
* Fuel Filter – Rs. 1323/-
* Brake Pads (Front) – Rs. 3000/-
* Front Bumper (without painting) – Rs. 2500/- (est.)
* Rear Bumper (without painting) – Rs. 2800/- (est.)
* Headlamp Assembly (Each) – Rs. 3200/- (est.)
* Tail Lamp Assembly (Each) – Rs. 3700/- (est.)

The Honda Amaze is quite a good car and while there is some scope for improvement, most of the negatives are minor and in terms of the overall experiences with the vehicle, I’ve been quite happy and satisfied because it is a no-nonsense car that delivers what you want it to. However, the Amaze competes in the highly aggressive compact sedan segment and most of its rivals are much newer there and they offer good propositions too. We don’t see Honda launching any major update for the Amaze in the near future and the automaker is likely to launch the next generation of the car only next year.

What’s Cool

* Spacious & practical interiors with good space and storage bins
* Engine has very good performance and efficiency
* Fun to drive nature of the car

What’s Not So Cool

* Misses out on some equipment

Testers’ Note:

Further Reading –

Honda Amaze Facelift Long Term Review – First Report
Honda Amaze Facelift Review
Honda Amaze Review
Honda Amaze Long Term Review – Final Report
Maruti DZire vs Honda Amaze vs Tata Zest vs Hyundai Xcent
Honda Amaze vs Ford Aspire vs Hyundai Xcent vs Tata Zest