"The Amaze petrol is powered by the same 1.2 Liter SOHC i-VTEC engine as the Brio. The motor is rated at 87 BHP (@ 6,000 rpm) and 109 Nm of torque (@ 4,500 rpm). When this engine made its India debut on the Jazz, it was rated at 89 BHP (@ 6,200 rpm) and 110 Nm torque (@ 4,800 rpm). There are no changes to the engine, except a slightly different ECU map & gear ratios to improve low end power delivery. It comes with variable valve timing, similar to all other Honda iVTECs. The Amaze petrol is lighter than the Dzire by 10 kilos and enjoys a marginally better power-to-weight ratio. The Etios retains the top spot in the C1 segment with a power-to-weight of 97 BHP / tonne.
Pulling away from a standstill, the motor displays a decent amount of pep. Bottom end behaviour is the same as the Brio, and the Amaze offers above average torque at low rpms. This is no Etios 1.5, but neither will Amaze owners complain of poor driveability. The car is at home in urban traffic conditions. Of course, there is no comparison with its diesel sibling that offers double the torque at a third of the rpm level. The real fun is on the open road (Amaze diesel is quicker though). Like any other Honda, the engine feels eager to revv and is refined even at high rpms. The mid-range & top end is where this motor feels its best. The revv-happiness and performance put a huge grin on your face. You make rapid progress on the open road, and all that's required to overtake fast moving vehicles is a downshift. The engine revvs enthusiastically to ~6,700 rpm, where the electronic rpm limiter cuts in. It is easily capable of going higher up, but Honda's engineers decided otherwise. At 100 km/h in 5th gear, the engine is spinning at 3000 rpm. If I were to rank the petrol engines from the segment, I'd give the Etios petrol / Fiesta Classic the top spot, followed by the Amaze 1.2 and then, the Dzire 1.2.
The bright green ECO light is present on the Amaze petrol too. The car has an ARAI rating of 18 kpl (Brio = 18.4). The Dzire sits a full kpl higher at 19.1.
The Amaze petrol's clutch is super light, noticeably more so than the diesel's, and has a very short throw. As if to match, the gearshift is short & light as well. Overall NVH levels are markedly superior in the petrol. The idle is super silent, engine start / stop is seamless and there are no excessive vibrations felt on the pedals. However, the engine can get fairly vocal at the top-end and the exhaust note is sweet. This is something enthusiasts will appreciate, regular joes might not.
Driving on the highway, it's immediately obvious that the Amaze petrol has a lighter front end. Honda mentioned that the diesel Amaze gets stiffer dampers at the front (to cope with the additional engine weight) too. While the Amaze petrol feels that much more eager to change direction, it feels less planted. The petrol's steering is lighter in the city (a good thing) and it feels lighter over 100 km/h too (a bad thing). In terms of straight-line stability, I prefer the Amaze diesel's behaviour to the petrol. The difference between the two is quite noticeable. The Brio which runs a tauter overall setup is more confidence inspiring at speed. The petrol's short 4.5 meter turning radius is identical to the Brio. No need to make 3-point u turns anywhere! The brakes also feel better due to the engine's lower torque delivery.
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). 19.5-20 is easy at 3.5k rpms