Spec Comparo: New Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire vs Hyundai Xcent vs Volkswagen Ameo
With the launch of the new generation, Honda Amaze at a competitive price of Rs 5.59 lakh (Ex-showroom India), the sub-four meter sedan space should see some heated action. The car sits on a new platform, better interiors than its predecessor and in a first for the segment, a CVT option for both the petrol and diesel variants. We've put it up against the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, the Hyundai Xcent and the Volkswagen Ameo.
The Amaze is powered by Honda's 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine offering 90PS and 110Nm that also powers the Honda Jazz and Brio. The diesel will be the same, 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel as the City and Jazz. Outputs for the diesel stand at 100PS and 200Nm for the manual and 80PS and 160Nm for the automatic version. The Dzire and Xcent's diesel motor put out identical figures of 75PS and 190Nm from a 1.3-litre and a 1.2-litre unit respectively.
The Ameo gets VW's standard 1.5-litre diesel and is the most powerful diesel car here with outputs of 110PS and 250Nm. The Ameo gets the smaller petrol motor, a 1.0-litre unit which puts out 76PS and 95Nm. The Dzire, Ameo and new Amaze all come with automatics which use different technologies. The Amaze gets a CVT, the Dzire an AMT while the Ameo uses a dual clutch, the Xcent glaringly opts an auto option.
Styling and Interiors
The Dzire has the most cohesive styling here with a balanced stance. The Amaze also is a big improvement in terms of design but the side profile is plain with not too many features. On the whole, this is a well-designed car. The VW Ameo's design while praised when first launched, is now out-classed given the rear-end which ends abruptly and compromises the car's silhouette. The Xcent carries on with its boxy styling with new styling touches which work well to lift up the rear. The front end is let down by its interpretation of the Hyundai's cascading grille, which doesn't work as well as on the company's larger cars.
All three come with a beige and black two-tone interior with features like keyless entry, a touchscreen infotainmnet system and climate control on all the top spec cars. The Hyundai and VW stand out with their quality of finish but the new Amaze has made major improvments in terms of design and quality too has seen an uptick. The Dzire's cabin upgrade is more evolutionary and while the quality is according to industry standards, a smattering of cheap plastics and switchgear carried over from the last car let it down. The aeo's cabin is a straight lift from the Polo and consequently feels dated now.
Fuel efficiency and pricing
The Maruti Suzuki Dzire is by far the most efficient car here with the manual diesel car returning 28.44 kmpl. The Amaze diesel manual is a close second at 27.8 kmpl. The Xcent and Ameo return 25.4 kmpl and 21.66 kmpl respectively. When it comes to the petrol variants, the Dzire is again the most efficint, with its claimed 22 kmpl. The 1.0-litre Ameo petrol is the least effiecint, putting out 18 kmpl. The Amaze is middling in this regard, the petrol gets 19.5 kmpl, the Xcent does slightly better with its 20.14 kmpl.
Prices for the new Amaze start at Rs 5.59 lakh for the base E MT while the diesel V CVT is the most expensive at Rs 8.99 lakh. The segment leading Dzire starts at Rs 5.45 lakh for the base petrol but the most expensive diesel AMT is for Rs 9.41 lakh. The Hyundai Xcent top spec diesel undercuts its competition with its Rs 8.49 lakh price tag and the base petrol comes in at Rs 5.46 lakh. The Ameo is priced between Rs 5.5 lakh and Rs 8.59 lakh. All these cars are very evenly matched in prices and ther is very littele to chose in terms of pricing.