Honda has launched the Brio Amaze in Thailand in both manual and automatic versions powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine. The Japanese automaker is betting big on the Honda Amaze for emerging markets, pricing it very aggressively. This is the smallest sedan ever built by Honda yet. The reason for developing the Honda Brio sedan under 4-metres in length is to benefit from lower excise duties received by small cars in India. Honda has done a good job in integrating the boot on the Amaze, without making it look out of place. The Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire’s boot looks like an after thought.
Honda Brio Amaze Thailand Pricing –
Amaze S M/T – 4,54,000 Baht – Rs. 8.18 lakhs
Amaze V M/T – 4,82,000 Baht – Rs. 8.68 lakhs
Amaze S A/T – 4,93,000 Baht – Rs. 8.88 lakhs
Amaze V A/T – 5,21,000 Baht – Rs. 9.38 lakhs
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The Honda Amaze compact sedan will be launched in India by April 2013. It will be available with both petrol and diesel engines. The 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel motor will be powering the Amaze, making it the first Honda car in India to run on diesel technology. The 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol motor will be lifted from the Brio and Jazz, to offer decent performance and good economy. While the diesel engine is expected to produce around 80 BHP of power, the petrol engine will produce 88 BHP of power. With a low weight of 925 kgs (petrol variant), the Brio Amaze will offer very good performance and mileage. The vehicle has a fuel tank capacity of just 35-litres.
The legroom on the Honda Amaze is very good, compared to its main rivals. Not only does the car have a longer wheelbase than its hatchback version, the rear doors are longer too, enabling better ingress for rear seat occupants. The rear seat gets an arm rest too but the headrests are fixed. The Amaze can seat five people comfortably and the quarter glass windows at the rear reduces the claustrophobic feeling found in compact sedans. Cup holders have been added to the doors as well. Clearly these minor changes have been undertaken to ensure the Amaze appeals to the chauffeur driven in India. It remains to be seen how Honda India prices their first compact sedan.
