Honda has launched the second-gen Amaze in India, with introductory prices starting at Rs 560,000 for the base E trim and going up to Rs 899,000 for the top-spec diesel VX (both prices, ex-showroom, Delhi). The compact sedan has launched in four variants – E, S, V and VX – all of which get dual front airbags, ABS, Isofix child-seat mounts and rear parking sensors as standard. The prices are expected to increase after the first 20,000 bookings.

A highlight of the new compact sedan is in the powertrain department. While the 90hp, 1.2-litre petrol and 100hp, 1.5-litre diesel engines are unchanged, as is the five-speed manual, the diesel engine now gets the option of a CVT automatic, just like the petrol did on the previous-gen model. However, the output figures on the diesel-CVT combo have been reduced by 20hp and 40Nm, taking total output to 80hp and 160Nm of torque. ARAI rated fuel efficiencies for the variants are 19.5kpl for the petrol-manual, 19.0kpl for the petrol-automatic, 27.8kpl for the diesel-manual and 23.8kpl for the diesel-automatic.

The new Honda Amaze has more room on the inside, with Honda claiming an increase of 45mm, 10mm and 25mm for shoulder room, rear headroom and distance between the front and rear seats, respectively. Luggage space has also increased by 20 litres and now stands at 420 litres.

In its segment, Honda is the second brand to offer a diesel-automatic combination, with Maruti pioneering this in the compact sedan segment with its Dzire AMT. At this price point, the Amaze is about the same price as rivals like the Hyundai Xcent (Rs 5.46-8.57 lakh), Maruti Suzuki Dzire (Rs 5.56-9.43 lakh) and Ford Aspire (Rs 5.71-8.46 lakh) (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi).

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