Striking The Right Balance
Honda is known for making robust and durable products. As the home of the legendary VTEC system, Honda does carry quite a bit of enthusiast support. The current-generation Honda City is still one of the most fun to drive cars in the entire price range. I am of course talking about the manual version here. I say that because the company’s flagship automatic option is a CVT. Anyone who’s driven a CVT knows that it can make even an AMG engine feel slow and unresponsive. With automatics on the rise, manuals, like in western countries might well be on their way out.
Now, how does this matter to the topic in-hand? Well, if Honda continues developing a CVT, and if manuals go away, their cars might no longer be fun to drive! The company does seem to want to become more mainstream with their designs and drivability to expand their target demographic. The Amaze was not particularly fun to drive, and the petrol engine was overshadowed by the diesel. This is really quite odd, as Honda joined the diesel party only in 2014. The petrol engines of Honda are very well known for their efficiency and fun factor, so much so, that Honda didn’t see a need for a diesel. So seeing this certainly marks a shift in Honda’s focus.
The Civic was a sleek car that caught the gaze of many. The coupè-like design stands out among a sea of understated elegance, that floods the segment. So, Honda might need to spice up their design game, for the Amaze looks like a very safe bet, design-wise. The Civic and CR-V show they can. In fact, their premium cars look really contemporary, so they just have to bring that down to their budget cars. Only time will tell how Honda manages to strike a balance between mainstream and enthusiast.
