Honda Amaze to be launched today at expected price of Rs 4.90 lakh

News has been out for a while now that Honda’s sub-4-metre sedan, the Amaze, is due for launch on April 11, 2013. And the day is finally here. (Update 11/4/2013, 1.30 pm): Honda Amaze launched at Rs 4.99 lakh

Without further ado, let’s jog our memories on what all the Amaze offers and what all we can expect.

First, since the Amaze measures under 4 metres in length, it slots in for tax benefits availed by compact cars in India. This means that the Amaze sedan will take on the likes of the Tata Indigo eCS and the king of the segment, the Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire. Keeping the segment in mind, the pricing of the Amaze is crucial for its success in India. Honda should be looking at pricing the Amaze in the range of Rs 4.90 lakh to Rs 7.50 lakh to make it an attractive proposition.

Secondly, the new Honda Amaze is powered by an equally new 1.5 litre i-DTEC diesel engine from the Japanese car maker. As we know, due to current fuel prices in India, diesel cars are more in demand here. And the Amaze diesel will cater to our market rather well with its responsive 1.5 litre engine that develops 100PS of power and 208Nm of torque compared to the Swift DZire’s 1.3 litre unit that develops 75PS of power and 190Nm of torque. The petrol engine is Honda’s 1.2-litre unit developing 88PS of power and 109Nm of torque. Both the engines will be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox while a five-speed automatic unit will be on offer for the petrol-powered Amaze.

Thirdly, Honda has worked well to make the Amaze a practical and comfortable car by increasing the legroom of the Brio-based sedan for enhanced rear seat comfort, while also giving it a commendable boot space of 400 litres compared to the DZire’s 315 litre boot. The black and beige interiors of the Honda Amaze make it a fairly attractive cabin to be in and quality of materials are good too. 

All in all the Honda Amaze is a reasonably good looking, practical, well-built vehicle with commendable engines and good drive dynamics that have the potential to shake the compact sedan segment. 

The only variable in the equation now is its price, but judging by the fact that Honda has a lot banking on the Amaze being its first diesel car in India, it should be priced attractively in the aforementioned range of Rs 4.90 lakh to Rs 7.50 lakh.

Got questions about the Amaze? Chat LIVE with Editor-in-Chief Adil Jal Darukhanawala and our team of experts on ZigWheels.com between 3-6pm today and get all your queries answered about the new sub-4-metre sedan from Honda.  

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Honda Amaze : ZigWheels Road Test Pics, 

Honda Amaze : ZigWheels First Drive Report, 

Honda Amaze : First Drive, 

Honda's new 1.6-litre diesel engine: In Pictures, 

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