Honda gave the entry-level sedan lovers all the meat they wanted with the City, took luxury a step higher with the Civic, re-defined the executive sedan segment with the Accord and then the Accord V6 and, finally, showed Indian customers how well they understood their needs by bringing an India-specific car: the Brio.
The Japanese giant is ready again to take another major leap as they plan to bring an all-new sedan, based on the Brio, into the country by March next year. Another reason to watch out for this car is because it will be the first car to sport the much-awaited Honda diesel engine (1.5-litre i-DTEC) in this country. In addition to the 1.5 i-DTEC, the company will also offer their 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine as an option for this car. The 1.2 petrol engine is currently being used in the Brio and Jazz. Like the Brio, the new sedan, to be called the Brio Amaze, has also been made specifically for Asia and the Indian sub-continent. In fact, it has already been espied being tested around the company’s plant.
The company has tried to squeeze the car into the sub-four-metre segment to save on the excise duty and thus launch the car with a very attractive price tag. Teaser pictures and information about the car emanating from Thailand reveal that it despite the boot of the Amaze being smaller than the company’s full-fledged sedans, the boot space will be about 300-350 litres. The car will fill the gap between the Brio and the City and will cater to those looking for a good sub-sedan, but within a tight budget. Expected to be priced between Rs 5-7 lakh, this car will stand in competition to the Maruti Suzuki DZire and Tata Indigo eCS. After the launch of the Brio Amaze diesel, the company might introduce diesel engines in their other models as well.
We feel that none of the current generation models might get the diesel engine and Honda are planning to introduce an entirely new line of models for India. Also on the cards will be the next generation City sedan, which should be offered with this diesel motor, but in a slightly different state of tune. The details of the Amaze will come to light later this month (November 23, 2012) in Thailand, when a bevy of automotive journalists get to sample the car. Stay tuned.
