Honda Amaze VX i-DTEC Ownership Review


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Disclaimer : I am a newbie when it comes to writing review's and this is my First Ownership Thread. I have done my level best to make it simple, easy and clear :)

Reason

Was Using a 2002 Model Alto Spin Lxi Version till date(still dad using) and was trying badly for a much more spacious, torquier car compared to the 800cc alto . It was also very hard for me to squeeze into the driver seat as I am almost 6 feet tall and it makes the rear passenger on my side too much cramped and hence finalized on with the decision of an upgrade and started homework's on it

Requirements

The car should be spacious enough , but not any MPV because of the size issues inside my garage.Cars should have a fair amount of boot too .To accommodate alto,MPV and my bike is too much for it so hence tried out with the hatchback's. And about the engine the only requirement for me was that the engine should be powerful and torquier enough to pull all the 5 person and a full load boot with ease even when the ac is on ( had a very bad time with alto ) and last but not least a diesel car(dad personally loved a new petrol car and I had a very bad time changing his view, though I succeeded)

Budget

Literally there was no budget restriction for me , I could choose any car of any price range and the only condition was it should be able to squeeze inside my garage and it should be a vfm one,Squeezing into my garage makes me drop Mahindra XUV 500, Toyota Innova and Maruthi Suzuki Ertiga From My list

Test Drive

Chevrolet Beat :

When it comes to beat it can't be said a s a proper upgrade from alto. Rear seats are not spacious enough and the rear legroom is cramped. The boot is almost the same capacity of an alto and hence the beat was removed from my list first though I very much love that car putting a set of alloy itself makes the car looks sexier

Fiat Punto 75hp/90hp :

I didn't felt comfortable with the very short 1st and 2nd gear first of all, and I felt the clutch pedal was placed with too much height and therefore I felt my left leg aching after a very short drive in it(many of my friend's have Punto and tried driving them for long distances). The Italian car's instrument set up was too much hard for my dad , he used to get confused with the headlight and wiper stalks and with the turbo lag I felt it too much.

VW Polo :

I was not happy with the maintenance cost and cost of parts of the VW beauty. But the quality was top notch and a set of cramped rear seats gives me another point to push it out of my list , Though I personally loved the GT , i was looking for a diesel and not anymore petrol ones.!

Hyundai I20 :

Fall in love with it when the turbo kicked in for the first time , I was moreover a turbo kick in fan and I still uses to enjoy it whenever I used to drive my brother's I20. It has got one of the most revvable diesel engine mated to a 6-speed gearbox and hence 3 digit speeds was just too easy , But the electronic steering on the I20 and the brakes disappointed me. It's really very hard to handle it when you take the corner's pretty enthusiastic way and the brakes are really trying very hard in case of stopping the beast but it's not sufficient for a car of that power, and again totally fallen in love with the gizmos of the car, but as each and everyone started to change my mind to not go for the poor handler and hence it's out of my list !!

Honda Jazz :

Even though it was a petrol car I was very much in love with Honda jazz. The silent cabin, very responsive engine and the cool interior make me love it every time I see and sadly it was not on production when it was the right time for me to buy a car and hence it's out .

Ford Ecosport :

The last vehicle I was waiting for . After hearing the price tag I rushed into the showroom and a huge crowed welcomed me. And when in get the full price details of the car I was shocked literally. Will be attaching a photo of the price details here 1063897_10200590644623283_1269024099_o.jpg
I should go for the turbocharged petrol as the diesel was less powerful than amaze . Hence I took the test drive for the turbo charged 125ps 1 litre Ecoboost engine. First of all I didn't felt the 125ps of power even when I floored it .The car was much more easy to drive once it hits the sweet spot rpm range and the torque was good. And about the mileage , it was getting around 7-8kmpl during my test drive even the ARAI test mileage was 18.6kmpl ,I donno how ,and hence Ecosport didn't impressed me and hence it sadly walks away

Honda amaze :

First of all, I was not a fan of the linear turbo delivery of the amaze engine and hence I refused many times from taking a test drive of the vehicle . Finally I have decided just to take a test drive and see how good it is. Went Straight to Peninsular Honda, Karyavattom and took a test drive of the vehicle. My first impression was " is this a petrol one ?", I was totally amazed by the almost no turbo lag diesel engine and on the first drive itself, it impressed me, the cabin noise was pretty audible and the NVH levels was not so great. but yes it's the all aluminum construction to keep then overall weight of the vehicle low. Came the second day again for another test drive and the people their this time allows me to go through some crappy roads and through lot's of big potholes and it again impressed me. The vehicle came out everything with so much of ease and on the third day went again for a test drive and tried it's cruisability and it felt very less strained engine and soon after the test drive I booked my Honda amaze VX variant !

PS: This is what I Experienced from these vehicles. No offence to The Respective Vehicle owner's

Why I chose amaze over Ecosport

I know both are of different class vehicles and though I loved both I shortlisted my list to Ford Ecosport and Honda amaze and the reasons are :

1. Amaze was much more spacious when compared to the Ecosport

2. Amaze has got a much more humungous boot than the Ecosport and dad personally loved a much more soft looking vehicle

3. I always loved to buy the Top end version of any vehicle and Buying a diesel or Ecoboost engine is not at all a value for money when it comes to the price tag of Ecosport

Details of booking and payment

Booking amount : Rs 21,000
Total Amount : Rs 9,01,124
Full amount deducting the booking amount was paid around 10 days before the delivery
Delivery

After a waiting period of almost 3 months of patience I got my Honda amaze VX i-DTEC delivered !

Showroom experience

The showroom executives was behaving very neat ,descent and with enough loyalty Dad was also Impressed from their Customer Interaction.


Some pictures of my love[:D]


The most beautiful view of my car,yes the rear section
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The key to joy

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Driver side access to all four power windows and ORVM's

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The Speedo Console

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Stock Head Unit

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Cup Holder and HandBrake, You could place your wallet under the handbrake

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Auxillary Power Outlet


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Steering Mounted Control and Driver Side SRS Airbag

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ADD ON's :

DIY on Meshing and Horn Upgrade

DIY on LED Door Sills

DIY on Door Handle Paint Scratch Protection Film

DIY on Broken ORVM Turn Indicator's

Warranty Replacement of Headlight's

DIY on A-Pillar Rattle Fixing

DIY on Damping The Doors

DIY Hood Damping

DIY on Component Speakers

DIY on Installing Amp and Sub

Pedal's Upgraded

Frame Less Wiper's Installed

Carbon Fibre Wrapped Dash Board

DIY Dome Lights

Proklear Anti Rain Solution

Dashboard Color Swap

DIY Rear Speaker Change

Alloys Upgraded

Debadging

Smartwax'd

Transcend Drive Pro DIY

Rear Drum Painting

Ceramic Pro'd

Front Suspension Change

Puddle Lamps Installed - DIY

Unfortunate Tire Sidewall Damage

Mobilio RS lamps

Other Detail's :

1st Paid Service Detail's

2nd Paid Service Detail's

Brake Pad Change

3rd Paid Service

4th Paid Service

5th Paid Service

Second Brake Pad Change

6th Paid Service

7th Paid Service

8th Paid Service

Third Brake Pad Change

9th Paid Service & De-Chrome

100,000 KM Service Update
 
Last edited:
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Hello Vishnu, welcome to TheAutomotiveIndia.com,

That was a nice and crisp ownership review and congrats for your new amaze, i like this blue color in amaze, looks very beautiful.

Please do share more photos of interiors. [:)]
 
Thread Starter #4
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Hello Vishnu, welcome to TheAutomotiveIndia.com,

That was a nice and crisp ownership review and congrats for your new amaze, i like this blue color in amaze, looks very beautiful.

Please do share more photos of interiors. [:)]

Will be Soon Updating Detailed Pictures of The Interior Soon [:D]
 
Thread Starter #6
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Stock OEM 14" Alloys For Amaze Diesel , Looks Crappy Though

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Stock OEM 14" Alloys with 175/65 R14 Tyres

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Seat Cover Done at Car Shoppy, Pongummodu. One of the worst shop i've ever been into [frustration]

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Rear Right Side Door Panel along with Bottle Holder and Power Window Button

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3D Kagu Mats For ma Baby

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Stock Micro Antenna, Looks Good [clap]

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I happened to TD Amaze iDTEC and it was the same blue colour. I enjoyed reading how you made the buying decision (no brand loyalty, you just went by your requirements). I too am a fan of the top end variants - not for the chrome and glitter but for the safety features.

I loved the handling of the car on the highway and great overtaking ability. I too am upgrading from 800cc (M800) so the iDTEC torque was very tempting, but for me the decision went in favour of Ecosport because of the heavier build, 6 airbags, better interiors and better NVH.

If I didn't have family safety in mind, I'd have loved to buy the Amaze and set the highways on fire.
 
Thread Starter #12
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welcome to TAI, and congrats mate have a very happy motoring.
Thankyou Mate ! :)

Congos on the new purchase buddy. Wishing you many many happy miles in this beauty of yours. Must confess amaze looks humble in blue.[clap]
Thankyou :) Yes Quite Humble Indeed ;)

Hearty Congratulations Vishnu! I think this is first Amaze iDtec on TAI!
Nice writeup, please do update the thread regularly.

Quintessential question - "kitna deti hai" ? under different conditions
Thankyou Iron Rock :)

Well with the mileage , let the picture speak :D

This is an Android App named Fuel Log , Using it since almost 2 years for my bike(covered 60k kms ) and this app is the only one i bought from the Android Market :) and the mileage starts to drop when i started to open up ;)

All the Mileage values are 90% city drive and 10% highways and with full time AC on [evil]

Screenshot_2013-07-31-14-01-00.jpg

MID showing 34.0kmpl [evil], Route was NH7 (Araivalmozhi-Tirunelveli) and was maintaining a constant 80kmph of speed and the ECO light was full time on :) with 5 people on board , this fugure is pretty much Impressive :D

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I happened to TD Amaze iDTEC and it was the same blue colour. I enjoyed reading how you made the buying decision (no brand loyalty, you just went by your requirements). I too am a fan of the top end variants - not for the chrome and glitter but for the safety features.

I loved the handling of the car on the highway and great overtaking ability. I too am upgrading from 800cc (M800) so the iDTEC torque was very tempting, but for me the decision went in favour of Ecosport because of the heavier build, 6 airbags, better interiors and better NVH.

If I didn't have family safety in mind, I'd have loved to buy the Amaze and set the highways on fire.
Well, i was also waiting eagerly for the Ecosport and the delayed launch ended up making me buy an amaze, no worries , Totally satisfied with the performance of My baby :)
Congrats on our New Buy :)

Congrats for your Amaze Vishnu, wish you many many happy miles with your ride.
Thankyou Mate :)
 
Thread Starter #13
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DIY Meshing and Horn Upgrade

The first thing that came into my mind when i saw Honda amaze was the Exposed radiator Grill and it staredt to worry me :( I was thinking of how to prevent the radiator fins from small stones, flies and all the dust particles while riding and ended up deciding to mesh up and cover the radiator grill portion so as atleast the fins can be saved from bending and there is enough pores in the mesh to keep the engine cool [clap]. And also to change the crappy scooty pep horn's to a much more better ones :D I have bought Roots Windtone and Upgraded it :)

Removing the Screws under the bumper was a very difficult task !

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Finally The Bumper is successfully removed [clap]

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Mesh Moulding To the shape of the area where the Radiator grill is visible.

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I didn't want the Meshing to be seen and hence am using Black Spray Paint can to Black it out and make it invisible ;)

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Making It Invisible.

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Kept it for drying.

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Horn Upgrade

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Roots Windtone on duty ;)
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We kept both the horn's on the place shown below in this pic and found that the horn's start to mess up with the bumber and later the left horn was moved to underneath place where on the right side it was unsymmetrical and hence we placed the right horn on the centre beam and hence all was perfect :D. Unfortunaltely there are no pics of the changed horn's place :(
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By the Time we fixed horn , the mesh dired up .

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Used M-seal to fix the Mesh to the bumper with out screws and bolts so that the bumper is not spoiled :D


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Equally Mix both them to make the ratio's stable, Taking anyone compound more would change the rate of drying

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M-seal being placed on the back side of the bumper, so that it looks neat from outside :)

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Placing the Moulded Mesh back into the place and Fixed it with M-seal

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Finally Mission Completed Successfully . Thank to Deville_56 ,The one who has took all the pain and patience to make this thing done [clap]
 

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