The Honda Amaze sedan is the new sub-four meter entrant for the Indian market. More importantly it is the first diesel vehicle from Honda India. The Amaze competes directly with the Maruti Suzuki Dzire on pricing and might seriously dent latter’s market share.

The Amaze is basically a sedan version of the Brio, but looks proportionate, unlike few of its competitors. There are some changes to the exteriors when comparison with the Brio – the roofline and creases on the side are different, so are the wheels. At the rear the tail-lamps are reminiscent of the City’s, and there is a large chrome strip that runs across the boot in much the way the Dzire and Scala have. The important bit is that the Amaze refuses to look boring, whether you like the way it looks or not.

The interiors of the Amaze are similar to that of the other Honda models and very closely resemble trims of the Brio. However, the features are a premium when compared to the hatchback – for example, the audio system on the car is from the Honda City with steering mounted audio controls for the top-end versions. The wheelbase has been increased to 2405mm; apart from improving the driving dynamics it also increase the rear legroom. The 400-litre boot of the Amaze is largest in the segment – it is quite commendable considering the car is under four-meters in length. The only complaint that we have about the interiors is that the rear-seats don’t split or fold.

The Honda Amaze petrol is powered by refined 1.2-litre i-VTEC producing 88PS and 109Nm of torque – the same unit that powers the Brio, with the ARAI fuel economy of 18kpl. The sub-four meter sedan also gets a 5-speed automatic petrol variant with ARAI fuel efficiency of 15kpl.

The Honda Amaze diesel sedan is powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre i-DTEC oil burner that produces 100PS@3600rpm and 200Nm of torque@1750rpm of which the latter is completely flat and does not drop until we get near the redline.  The diesel versions have ARAI fuel efficiency of 25.8kpl – the highest for any vehicle in India. ABS with EBD is standard across the diesel and automatic variants.

Honda is spot-on with the prices – the Amaze goes head-to-head with the Dzire variants. In fact as an overall package is probably a notch ahead of the Dzire with better power ratings, more space and higher ARAI fuel efficiency figures.