Getting The Moon Home: Honda Amaze Petrol CVT in Lunar Silver


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Background

With the Ford Endeavour at home, it was quite surprising to have a highway cruiser with automatic while the city dweller was still a manual. The vehicle to replace was a Honda Jazz X which aged only because of time and lack of automatic transmission as it had done very low mileage having seen the highway only 2 times in it’s time with us.

The Jazz X had set some tough benchmarks in terms of space, ride and reliability. Also, as this vehicle was primarily for city use, availability of service with-in arms reach was most important. With a budget of 9-10 Lakhs, following alternatives were considered in the sub-4m category:

A. Honda Amaze CVT (Petrol): After the Honda experience, it was no surprise that the first alternative came from their stable. The new Amaze had clearly addressed the shortcomings of the previous generation – it was more spacious, had better exterior & interior design and ride was more comfortable too.

B. Honda Jazz CVT: Considered the Jazz briefly during the second test drive of Amaze but the ride over broken tarmac was a sore point. The fact that the clever magic seats are available only in the top variant equipped with Manual transmission was also a disappointment. Finally, the price, despite discount, was more than the Amaze.

C. Hyundai Grand i10 Automatic: With the test drive vehicle not being available across multiple dealers contacted including NCR, it was dropped from the list without being seen.

D. Renault Kwid AMT: It was a surprise move to sample the Kwid AMT solely because of it’s price and VFM factor. But driving the AMT, that too after driving the CVT, the jerky nature didn’t go well. For the price, it was indeed a very lucrative option.

While there are options available from Tata and Maruti-Suzuki in the similar price band, the same were not considered only because of the experience offered by AMT. Volkswagen was not considered as local service would have been an issue and Ford had already pulled the plug on the Aspire AT.

Honestly it was the dealership experience which also tipped the scales in Honda’s favour. Right from April 2018, the dealer created quite a buzz and multiple invites were sent to attend the launch at the dealership. Despite not being able to attend the same, they were in touch and extended every courtesy possible for test-drive, repeat test-drive and discussion on accessories at their place and our home. Once we finalized the colour (Lunar Silver) and variant (Petrol V CVT), knowing that I do not book a vehicle because of my past experiences, they were prompt in offering one from the stock despite there being a waiting period. The vehicle they allotted was from the last lot they had received exactly 10 days back and was manufactured in June only. Due to soaring heat, they themselves got the vehicle in the showroom from their stockyard after a top wash for me to have a look after which it was promptly taken back to their holding area for accessories addition and next day delivery. A final last minute accessory (seat covers) was also asked to be added but despite that they made the delivery at requested time on 22 June 2018.

The first sight after getting it for PDI in the showroom (the staff confused it to be a display vehicle and pasted the New Amaze plates)
P1.jpg

Unveiling snap from delivery shared by dealer
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Thread Starter #2
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Re: Getting the Moon home - Honda Amaze Petrol CVT in Lunar Silver


Initial Ownership Impressions

Exterior and Design: With increased width, the design is more mature and looks like a shrunken Honda City. The chrome grill which has extensions over the headlamps looks neat. With the straightish bonnet unlike the Jazz, the visibility from the inside is good and is a boon in traffic. On the side, there is a distinct crease connecting the front and rear lamps. The boot does not look like an after-thought addition. The rear lamps have non-functioning extensions in the boot which look good. The antenna on this variant is Sharkfin type.

Front
P2.jpg

Side view of the front showing the bumper and bonnet are almost inline
P3.jpg

While at the rear, there is some margin
P3b.jpg

Chrome grill extends over the headlight but it is a separate piece
P4.jpg

Front Three Quarter
P5.jpg

Rear Three Quarter (with actual silver of Endeavour visible)
P6.jpg

With the industry moving to Projector style headlamps, it is surprising to find reflector type headlamps in the Amaze. The parking light though is LED with side-indicator on the ORVM.

Front Headlamp
P7.jpg

The LED Parking lamp and indicator in action
P8.jpg

Parking lights at the rear
P9.jpg
 
Thread Starter #3
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Re: Getting the Moon home - Honda Amaze Petrol CVT in Lunar Silver


Interior and Features: With the key in the pocket, just grabbing the either side front door handle unlocks the Amaze while for locking the request sensor has to be pressed. The best part is that the keyfob cannot be locked inside the vehicle including the trunk – the doors will not lock or the trunk will open itself if it detects the key inside. The doors open wide to allow for easy ingress. The dual tone dash has a fresh design. Didn’t opt for the carpet mats provided in the standard kit but got the official 3D mats. The armrest (official accessory from Honda) can slide forward and adds storage space as well but the top is finished in black. To match with the dual tone theme and the black armrest, the seat covers bought from Honda also have perforated beige inserts in black. The only problem with the seat covers is that the rear center armrest cup-holders are no longer useable. The climate control is a chiller even in temperatures soaring to 44 degC.

The CVT is available only in the middle variants. It is surprising to understand why a customer buying the CVT would not like to use the Google Maps via Android Auto or the Rear Camera or the cruise control as offered in the Manual Vx variant. The ICE has a simple display and offers music playing via Bluetooth streaming, USB, AUX and FM/AM. Atleast ABS with EBD and Front airbags are standard across the range and safety part has not been skimped.

The newly designed dashboard with visible 3D mats
P10.jpg

Climate controls
P11.jpg

White backlight for the Climate Controls but unfortunately no lighting in the gear console to see the position at the lever
P12.jpg

Steering wheel with paddle shifts (7 shift points)
P13.jpg

No backlight for the Steering controls either
P14.jpg

With the steering mounted paddle shifts on the Petrol V variant, you don’t get the L mode on the gear shifter
P15.jpg

Quite spacious glove box – was adjusted before delivery to avoid it from opening automatically over broken tarmac
P16.jpg

The needles on the instrument cluster wake-up with a white light as soon as the vehicle is unlocked
P17.jpg

Information shown on the display in the instrument cluster
P18.jpg

In S mode, the cluster shows M for Manual with the number for the selected shiftpoint
P19.jpg

The front seats (with additionally installed dual tone seat covers from Honda)
P20.jpg

The useful armrest – it still allows for using the rear power outlet
P21.jpg

There is healthy travel in the front seats. With the passenger seat pushed all the way back, there is generous legroom upfront and decent at the rear while pushing the front seat forward incase it is not occupied liberates good amount of legroom at the rear. With the front seat positioned for my seating (5’8”), I had more than adequate legroom at the rear.

With Front passenger seat in extreme positions
P22_23.jpg

Perspective view with me (5’8”) sitting in comfort at front and rear
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Perspective view of rear legroom with me sitting and front seat in extreme positions
P23b.jpg

The rear seats are quite comfortable but a tad short on headroom to my liking. Also, the corners of the sear are too rounded there-by robbing a bit of under thigh support from the passengers sitting near the door incase 3 people are sitting at the back. However, the width and the nearly flat floor allows for comfortable seating of 3 people at the back. The fixed headrest with the covers are soft but I have no idea whether the ISOFIX function is useable with these official seat covers or not as these seat covers have rendered the cup holders in the armrest unusable.

The rear seat
P24.jpg

The cup holder of center armrest being covered by the cover
P25.jpg

All the doors have large pockets and should be able to accommodate a 1 litre bottle. The door pads are partly covered in fabric
P26.jpg

The boot is huge – the last sedan we had was the Chevrolet Optra 1.8 and on paper the Amaze, despite being smaller in size, has a larger boot without compromising on passenger comfort. However, the naked boot lid from inside reveals all the wiring and the spare is a size smaller non-alloy.

The huge boot
P27.jpg

Trunk lid exposing wires
P28.jpg

Non-alloy 14” spare wheel
P29.jpg
 
Thread Starter #4
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Re: Getting the Moon home - Honda Amaze Petrol CVT in Lunar Silver


The Drive Experience: The Amaze is still in its running-in period, so didn’t get to spread its wings. But having sampled the same engine in Jazz, I believe the performance would be adequate. The transmission however is the key point for me in the combo. With the CVT, the Amaze has been able to achieve better Fuel Economy in city traffic than the Jazz it replaces as per the MID over the last 150 Kms. As of now, the worst FE in the city is more than 10 Kmpl while the best figure encountered was close to 13 Kmpl. The Jazz it replaces never saw double digits FE for the same drive. In the city, the CVT simply tries to keep the revs around 2000 mark that allows for a very silent cabin. In a brief highway run during acceleration upto 80 Kmph, again the CVT just holds the revs around the 2000 mark increasing upto 3000 RPM and there is a linear and absolutely jerk free motion with which it accelerates. That said, the rubberband effect of the CVT is present when you try to push it on the highway for overtaking but paddle shifts help in masking this.

In D mode, the paddle shift can be used but after a couple of seconds it reverts back to normal. However if the paddle shift is used in S mode, it enters Manual mode and does not revert back from same. As per the Manual, it does automatically shift up or down when it reaches redline or revs drop too low in either of the mode. Engine braking too can be used via the paddle shifts in both D and S mode and is very effective.

The neat and spacious engine bay
P30.jpg

You can see the ground from the engine bay…
P30a.jpg

…as there is no underbody protection for the engine-transmission
P30b.jpg

Missed checking the water level in the Washer before delivery and there seems to be just plain water without any wash fluid
P31.jpg

Heavy dose of what looks like seam sealant
P31a.jpg

Front wheels get complete fender lining
P31b.jpg

Surprisingly, the same is visible from the bonnet
P31c.jpg

Since I saw this fender lining, I feel the same is making a rattling noise over broken tarmac or sharp bumps.

In typical Honda fashion, the ride is plaint without compromising on handling. At the same time, the Amaze offers more comfort to the passengers than the Jazz (both old and new) irrespective of whether driven solo or with full load of people. The ground clearance is enough to take the rough stuff with peace of mind as even with full load, crossing large craters or humps was not an issue during test drive. The steering though requires a bit more effort at parking speeds than the Jazz. Braking is good and inline with what you expect from a Honda.

Ground clearance when viewed from front
P31d.jpg

The Good:
1. Trusted Engine, Honda’s reliability and local service – these were good enough reasons to buy the Amaze with-in a month of launch despite getting lemons from home-grown manufacturers in the past when bought around launch.
2. CVT is very good in the city and absolutely jerk free.
3. Comfortable and spacious
4. Superbly controlled NVH leading to a very silent cabin – the Jazz in comparison allowed more engine noise in the cabin.
5. Very effective air conditioner.
6. Double digit FE in city as compared to single digit with the Jazz.
7. Long service interval of 10K / 1 Year.
8. Fantastic launch price.

The Not so Good:
a. Headlamps could have been better – might need aiming and bulb replacement to suit my liking
b. Official accessory seat cover rendering rear cup holders useless.
c. Missing illumination for steering mounted buttons, gear shift lever and controls mounted on drivers side door handle (ORVMs and Power Windows).
d. Auto unlocking with P instead of Ignition Turn OFF.
e. Fuel at the time of delivery could have been more as the Range showed 0 Km with low fuel light ON.

Sharing a parting shot with mine and a friend’s Endeavour
P32.jpg
 

350Z

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Re: Getting the Moon home - Honda Amaze Petrol CVT in Lunar Silver

Note: Thread now live. Excellent ownership review. Congrats on new ride! [thumbsup]

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
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Congrats AG on your Moon, and thoughtfully detailed review thanks for sharing.

I'm quite amused by the backseat center cup holders, does it stay that way? or you can fold it away, as the third person will not be welcome if it stays put.

Regards
Vinod
 
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Fabulous AG,[clap]
This has to be the best review of the All New AMAZE.
Your post can help lots of viewers.
The new AMAZE looks beautiful, especially the rear end and the tailight design which looks like Civic(US model).
 

Akash1886

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A very justified upgrade to the Jazz bro. Silver color looks amazing and its my personal favorite as it needs minimal maintenance. Of the new-gen Amaze(s) which I have seen on road, I'll say, this doesn't look like a compact sedan as it's road presence makes it appear more like a full sedan. In terms of looks, compared to earlier gen of Amaze, this one is a step ahead but in comparison to other designs of this segment, Honda could have made more efforts in my view.

Congrats for the new car[:)]

Regards

Akash
 

Nairrk

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Congratulations AG[clap]

The cup holder of center armrest being covered by the cover - As such what's the use of this cup holder?[roll]
 
Thread Starter #10
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I'm quite amused by the backseat center cup holders, does it stay that way? or you can fold it away, as the third person will not be welcome if it stays put.
It does fold up and there is a zip cover to completely hide from view liberating generous space for the middle passenger.
The new AMAZE looks beautiful, especially the rear end and the tailight design which looks like Civic(US model).
Indeed, this looks like a proper sedan with the neatly integrated boot right from design stage and the tail lamps do add character.
Of the new-gen Amaze(s) which I have seen on road, I'll say, this doesn't look like a compact sedan as it's road presence makes it appear more like a full sedan. In terms of looks, compared to earlier gen of Amaze, this one is a step ahead but in comparison to other designs of this segment, Honda could have made more efforts in my view.
The overall design is more mature and when viewed head-on, a friend even commented the design to be Camaro inspired.
The cup holder of center armrest being covered by the cover - As such what's the use of this cup holder?[roll]
For holding any drink (like the ones we get at McD) or small water bottle or cans or any other loose items incase the middle passenger is not there and the armrest is put to use.
 
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Congratulations AG Sahab on your new acquisition!
Wish you many many safe honeymoons with your new moon :biggrin:!

If anyone asks me for a new amaze review, i might as well send them here, as this is as good an official review, great effort!
 
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Hi,
Congratulations on your new Honda Amaze. Wishes to clock many more miles without issues.
This color is looking awesome. I have seen in roads too.
 
Thread Starter #14
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Got the issue of the rear seat cup holders sorted. It was hardly a 5 minutes fix where-in the cover was cut from center of the cup holder and the after removing the excess material, the corners were pushed below the existing cup holder

P2_1.jpg
 

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