Honda has launched the new Amaze in India. It goes primarily against the fourth-generation Maruti Dzire in the Indian market. Both models have their own advantages and disadvantages. Here are a few areas where the Amaze pulls a rank over the Dzire, in terms of whatever is being offered.
Gets A Smoother Engine!
The Honda has a massive upper hand in terms of the powertrain offered. The new Amaze retains the second generation’s 1.2L iVTEC naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 90hp and 110 Nm. This is a four-cylinder engine and offers great refinement.
The new Dzire, on the other hand, is powered by Maruti Suzuki’s new Z-series engine. This is a 3-cylinder engine ( Z12E) that produces 80 BHP and 112 Nm. The output here is 10 hp less than that of the Amaze. However, the Maruti offers 2 newton metres of additional torque. The Z12E being a three-pot unit, falls short in refinement. It doesn’t feel as smooth or silent as the i-VTEC.
Has A Better Gearbox
The Amaze comes with a CVT gearbox while the Dzire gets an AMT. The Dzire’s transmission is feels quite good for an AMT. However, the Honda CVT feels better to drive. The CVT, despite its whining nature, feels significantly smoother and composed than the AMT. The flip side, however, is that the AMT delivers great mileage in real life.
Gets ADAS
Marking a first in its segment, the Amaze comes with level 2 ADAS- or ‘Honda Sensing’- a highly sought-after feature in the Indian market today. It has become the most affordable car in India to offer ADAS. The Dzire, on the other hand, does not get Advanced Driver Assist features. It, however, scored a full 5-star Global NCAP safety rating. The crash test results of the Amaze are yet to surface.
10-year unlimited km warranty
Honda Cars India is promising a 10-year/ unlimited kilometres warranty on the new Amaze. The Dzire has a much smaller 3-year/ 1 lakh km warranty on offer.
Gets A Larger Boot
The new Dzire no longer looks like the ‘Swift with a boot’. The tail here is seamlessly integrated into the design and there is a sense of wholesomeness to it. The design has generated 382 litres of boot space. The third-generation Amaze has a boot capacity of 420L. This is 38L more than the Dzire. Thus the more practical of the two would be the Honda.
It’s NOT A Taxi
Finally, the Amaze isn’t a car that would go into the fleet segment. The model has never been popular as a cab and stays clear of the ‘ it’s a taxi after all’ image. The Dzire on the other hand, is extremely popular as a cab. Even when MSIL says that the new generation will not be available in the fleet segment, you and I know that it would just be a matter of time before we see it as cabs. Amaze buyers can be confident about the identity of their buy- an executive compact sedan. This stays significant as most buyers will be specific about ‘buying something that isn’t a taxi’.
But What About The Sunroof?
An area where the polarity of things reverses is in the case of sunroof. The Amaze doesn’t get this feature while the Dzire gets a single-pane sunroof on the top-spec variant. The Indian affinity towards sunroof is on the rise, and the Amaze gives it a miss with its new generation…
