Now to the highlight of the whole facelift exercise: the CVT option. CVT is available only in two petrol variants: S and VX. We drove the top-end VX variant and I may asseverate here that it makes the Amaze even more appealing with its CVT option. VX comes equipped with the same 1.2-litre iVTEC motor, but the power and torque output have gone up by two PS and one Nm, which won’t really set your pulse racing given that the overall output stands at 90 PS and 110 Nm. I wasn’t really anticipating any major performance gains out of this because the engine is tuned for fuel efficiency and it shows. As for the CVT itself, it was evident that it definitely felt much better than in the other small CVT cars that I have driven so far. The transmission of power and torque from the engine to the gearbox and then to the front wheels was smooth and the dreaded rubber-band effect of a CVT was certainly toned down a notch in this advanced and superior CVT from Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology series. The gearbox was smooth and offered decent performance. It was easy to operate, which makes the Amaze even better to drive. In the city the CVT works quite well, keeping the engine in the optimum gear to minimise fuel consumption, thus resulting in better fuel efficiency, though we have to conduct a proper fuel-efficiency test to make sure about it. Performance-wise, the CVT again feels quite good for its linearity. Do not expect it to set any record times, though.
Handling and ride quality are good just like before. Bumpy and broken roads are handled with aplomb and when you throw the Amaze into a corner, it holds the line quite well, although there is a bit of body-roll. Overall, the ride and handling are pretty good. We will do a comprehensive road test of the Amaze CVT in the near future, so watch this space for more.
The CVT will appeal more to the people who spend a lot of time in stop-go traffic because of the convenience it offers. We can’t really comment on the fuel efficiency of this car as of now, but, knowing Honda, we may assume that it will be as impressive as that in the manual Amaze. At Rs 8.19 lakh (ex-Delhi) the CVT option is quite competitive and at this price you get all the good things from the previous Amaze and then some. Moreover, the Amaze is now offered with dual front airbags as standard on most of the range and as an option in the base variant. Come 2017 and all Honda cars on sale in India will have airbags as standard. In the meantime, the Amaze CVT is similarly capable as the manual Amaze and that makes it an amazing proposition for people seeking convenience.
