Am an avid Petrol fan, and could not dream to own a diesel car. Alas, with the rising Petrol prices, I forced myself to buy a diesel car. After lots of test drives, I settled for Honda Amaze Diesel S MT, and don’t regret my decision. Its been a month of owning this car, and am quite happy with it. Yes I did compromise on the size of the vehicle - I used to drive a Ford Fiesta before this, but for my kind of daily running (70 km per day), it made sense. In specific here is what I liked and disliked -
WHAT I LIKED -
a) Mileage - I get a mileage of 21 / ltr - I drive from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai - so it is part city and part highway. The company claims 25.8 under "ideal condition", so 21 is pretty good after one month of driving (already done 2000 km)
b) Pick-up - Shifting from 15 years of Petrol driving to a diesel car requires shifting of mind-set. I no more look forward to standing first on a red light, so that I can zoom when it turns green. But at the same time, the pick-up is not all that bad. I have tried many other diesel car like Etios, Vento, Dezire - Amaze beats them all. I have a driving experience of 5 Lakhs + km, and trust me, I think the pick-up is superb for a diesel car.
c) Cabin Space - For its short length, Honda has managed to create good amount of cabin space. It is enough for a family of 4.
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE -
a) Auto lock doors missing - The car comes with one remote key, which is used for remote locking and unlocking the car. To my surprise, the doors don’t auto lock, when one starts the engine. One has to manually lock the car from inside. Never thought of checking this, as this is the most basic thing to have.
b) Engine noise - It is noisy. If one drives without the stereo on, the noise is very prominent
c) Rear visibility - the rear glass is quite small, and also covered partly by back seat. In the night and during rains, it is difficult to see behind
d) Dash board - this is not very contemporary looking, just about basic stereo
e) Glove box - Quite oddly placed, and gives a feeling that it is stuck somewhere and can open only partially
f) Rear Seat C Shaped - the rear seats have turned edge like a "C" shape. Don’t know why they made it. But that makes it difficult for 3 adults to sit behind, as the edges constraint the back-support.
Overall guys, the Negatives are not so many neither very critical. The Pros outweigh the cons. I am definitely happy with my new Honda Amaze.