Honda’s much awaited Brio Amaze is almost ready for an official unveil later this month. The Brio Amaze has a lot riding on it and Honda is leaving no stone unturned to ensure it unsettles rivals like the Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire and Toyota Etios. Aimed squarely at developing markets like India and Thailand, the Brio Amaze will be offered with a choice of petrol and diesel engines. In Thailand, the Honda Brio Amaze will get a petrol engine only. However India being a diesel loving country would see the new 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine debut in the Brio sedan.
The 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine which will power the petrol Honda Brio Amaze will be the same unit that does duty on the Brio hatchback and Jazz. This motor belts out a healthy 88 BHP of power and 110 Nm of torque. The small capacity 1.5-litre diesel engine takes many inspirations from the 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine which has found its way into the European Civic and CR-V. This motor will produce around 80 BHP of power and 200 Nm of torque. It is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and the vehicle weighs 1050 kgs, around 20 kgs less than the Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire.
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The interiors of the Brio hatchback and Amaze sedan will be similar. Honda might use different colors to differentiate both cabins although the overall layout will be identical. The Brio Amaze will however boast of better legroom at the rear, thanks to an increased wheelbase. Boot capacity will be adequate for a sub 4-metre sedan and we expect it to be around 330-litres.
Honda is targeting class leading fuel efficiency with the diesel-powered Brio Amaze and the vehicle is expected to return an ARAI certified mileage between 22.8-24 km/l. Like most small capacity diesel-engines, this Honda oilburner is quite noisy too with NVH levels not anywhere close to Renault-Nissan’s k9k DCi motor. Performance is going to be very good with city driveability being the strong points of the car. Expect neutral handling and good ride quality from the Honda Amaze, which will go on sale in the Indian market in March 2013. Prices are expected to be around Rs. 30,000/- more than the DZire.
