2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire comparison review: real-world tested

We keep hearing over and over again that sedans are dead, but it seems like no one told these two. The Maruti Suzuki Dzire sold over 1.67 lakh units in 2024 and Honda has gone through the trouble of making a new Amaze all over again. With both of these being very new and very popular, it's only fair to ask which is the best.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire styling, boot space

The Dzire and Amaze are within millimetres of each other. It may not look like it but the Dzire is 25mm taller, which shows that Maruti Suzuki has done a pretty good job of creating a proportionate shape out of this sub-four-metre footprint.

The Amaze has quite some presence, with the big upright grille and large boxy lighting. But the Dzire looks more upmarket with its German sedan inspiration, slim lighting and gloss black panelling. You also won't be mistaken for the endless fleet vehicles that have spawned from the last Dzire.

The Amaze's shrunk City theme doesn't quite fit in the profile. We think it's a touch more upright than ideal. The Dzire has a more sweeping look that is closer to larger modern sedans and goes better with the overall theme of the car. The Amaze has 9mm more ground clearance than the Dzire at 172mm, which always helps.

The Dzire's better proportions continue at the rear. The smaller, clearer lighting and softer boot lid create this sense. The Amaze again has presence with the large, City-like lamps but seems to end more abruptly.

Honda's packaging prowess shows quickly enough with the Amaze. Despite the near-identical footprint, the Dzire's 382-litre load capacity is behind the Amaze's 416 litres. The Honda is the more practical shape too with a lower lip and deeper compartment that will fit large family-sized suitcases easier. It's also wider, despite the wheel-wells intruding in both, so you will accommodate more soft luggage too. The Dzire has a wider opening, although the odd opening mechanism that needs you to have the key near the boot is unintuitive.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire interiors, space, practicality

Both, the Amaze and Dzire, do their bit to recreate a more premium sedan's experience on the inside. That said, both could have better plastic quality and fit, considering these top-spec variants cost about as much as some well-made sub-four-meter SUVs' mid-spec options.

In this context, the Dzire creates a better first impression with its modern, layered look. It's shared this with the Swift but the brushes of silver and imitation wood make for more variety than the similar beige and grey theme of the Amaze. Both get some basic soft padding on the armrest and steering wheel but the Amaze does switchgear better. You get tactile buttons and toggles for the climate functions and steering wheel in both, but the ones of the Amaze feel heftier. That said, while the plastics feel less hollow in the Honda, the Maruti Suzuki has more uniform panel gaps.

Both cars make it easy for you to find a good seating position, if you are of average height. But the front seats of the Amaze lack quite a bit of thigh support alongside the Dzire. These seats are also heavy with lumbar support which some may not like. The Dzire's flatter seats may be more widely preferred. The cloth upholstery in both is the better choice for our conditions but we noticed them stain quickly. Similarly, both could do with sturdier headlining.

The Amaze's part-digital instrumentation feels quite a few steps ahead of the simple analogue dials in the Dzire. The large screen and steering-mounted buttons make it much easier to navigate on the move. Conversely, the small MID on the Dzire uses old-school stalks and is often locked out through alerts like turn-by-turn navigation. The Amaze also has a more configurable trip computer.

The situation is reversed with the touchscreen. The Amaze's 8-inch screen feels like it's from a couple of generations ago. It's slow to respond, the display lacks brightness and contrast and catches glare easily. You also don't get a wireless phone mirroring function. The Dzire's 9-inch unit makes life much easier with the wireless function, and sharper display and is much more responsive. You can also access vehicle functions from here, although there are no physical buttons, unlike the Amaze. Some may also find this screen to intrude on visibility at certain seat heights.

Keeping with the functional Honda theme, the Amaze offers better cabin storage. The door bins hold two bottles of water easily and there's a deep central cubby also with a better arrangement for the cupholders and wireless charger. You also get one more USB port in the front than in the Dzire, although the centrally placed ones in the Maruti Suzuki are better for use by all passengers. Surprisingly, you don't get USB chargers at the rear with the Amaze.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire rear seat

The Dzire is about the same size in the back as the car it replaces, although the new materials and reworked seat make for a greater feeling of space. However, the Amaze is still the better option for those who regularly have to ferry family. Both cars give you fairly flat benches, but the one in the Amaze is wider. It's much easier for three to sit abreast consequently, although there's little to separate the good thigh support in both. The Honda's seatback angle is a bit more comfortable too.

The Amaze has a 20mm wheelbase advantage over the Dzire's which shows in slightly better knee room. Legroom is helped by the front seats being placed a touch higher than in the Maruti. The Dzire's shape also makes for less headroom. Although Maruti has scooped out the headliner, taller adults will be better served by the Amaze, a sense that is enhanced by the larger windows. You get just the one seatback pocket in both, which we think is a cost-cutting taken a step too far, and rear AC vents. Both give you rear armrests, but the one in the Dzire is more ergonomically placed.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire features and safety

The Dzire may be smaller inside but it makes up for this by offering popular features like a sunroof and a more modern screen. Both get auto LED headlamps, foglamps, climate control, cruise control and wireless charging. The Amaze has a proximity-sensing lock function over the Dzire.

The Maruti Suzuki gives you TPMS and a 360-degree camera. Notably, the Dzire is the first NCAP 5-star rated car from the brand. The new Amaze hasn't been tested yet but is the only one with ADAS. This is a basic system but works well enough to add a layer of security. The camera and side-view monitor in the Amaze aren't as clear as in the Dzire although it does get a third headrest at the rear. Both come with six airbags as standard.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire engine performance

With their compact sizes, both these cars are right at home in our cities. They are easy to manoeuvre in narrow lanes or through tight traffic. The Amaze's blockier front and slightly higher seating make it a bit more adept at this than the Dzire.

Both the cars here come with a 1.2-litre engine and a five-speed manual. But a significant difference now is that the Dzire has moved to the new three-cylinder Z-Series engine while the Amaze continues to be a four-cylinder. The Amaze has the edge on paper making 90PS and 110 Nm while the Dzire has a slight torque advantage with its 82PS and 112 Nm, but as our real-world acceleration times show there's not much to choose between these in outright performance.

But in everyday driving, there are pronounced differences. Now Maruti Suzuki has done some work refining this new motor from when it first debuted on the Swift but it's still some way behind the smooth, near-silent operation that the Amaze manages at low speeds. There are still notable vibrations at idle and a gruff tone, although the difference reduces as you rev both engines out.

Our in-gear acceleration times don't show this, but the Amaze is the easier car to manage in nearly every driving situation. It is more responsive and quicker to rev but you also have a more progressive clutch, so getting off the line is smoother. You also have that great Honda shift quality which feels just a degree more crisp and precise than the Dzire. This calls for less effort from you in city driving, even though the Dzire has slightly more pep in the lower end of the rev range.

The difference grows wider in slightly faster traffic, the Amaze has some potent mid-range performance and builds power in a wide, clean surge that can be a bit surprising. Especially in contrast with the Dzire, which seems to run into a dull spot before it again regains momentum. So in practice, the Amaze feels more confident picking speed on highways or during overtakes. It's amazingly tractable, you can use third gear for most of your city driving while the Dzire needs a bit more shifting. We saw the Amaze go from the high teens to over 120 kmph in just this one gear.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire real-world mileage

But the Dzire has one big trick up its sleeve, which more or less seals the deal. This new motor is astonishingly efficient. You can expect over 20 kmpl in regular driving without much effort, with it nearly getting to 25 kmpl on a 100 kmph highway cruise. The Amaze can't get anywhere near this, we saw at best 19 kmpl on the highway with nearly 15 kmpl in mixed conditions. Aside from the savings, the Dzire's efficiency and slightly larger fuel tank lets you skip fuel stops more often making it easier to live with.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire ride and handling

The Dzire also impresses with its mature suspension tuning, especially since it's facing off against a Honda. The Maruti Suzuki is the more comfortable car here. It stays better composed over our patchy roads and on broken tarmac. You find that it isolates you from these imperfections a bit better than the Amaze. The Honda is noisier over this and also doesn't have as soft an edge to it. This difference grows over potholes or expansion joints, which the Amze crashes through quite loudly while the Dzire seems to take it with a more solid feel.

This is despite the Amaze feeling like the heftier car, although the Dzire has closed the gap from earlier noticeably. Maruti Suzuki has found a great tune for the Dzire since its more comfortable ride doesn't come at the cost of its agility. The Dzire's steering feels light and fluid and recentres naturally unlike many older Maruti cars, but the Amaze's still feels a bit more precise and direct. This sense is more noticeable at higher speeds.

Having said that, the Dzire feels better tied down at slower speeds or on winding roads. It rolls less than the Amaze and also seems to stay more level at all times. This shows over uneven surfaces where you find the Honda wallow a bit. Around corners, the Amaze can find it more difficult to contain its mass, whereas the Dzire feels more secure.

Both cars brake well for their. In panic situations, they stay true to their line and feel confident. If anything, the ABS in the Dzire reacts a bit more sharply but this doesn't affect braking distances.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire price, verdict

Priced at Rs 11.27 lakh for this top ZXi Plus trim, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire is Rs 46,000 less than the Honda Amaze VX seen here. Yes, the Amaze is the more practical car with the more refined, tractable motor but the Dzire seems to just edge it with its great mileage, more modern features and better driving dynamics. And for those of you who think that sedans just don't cut it anymore, both these cars seem as relevant as ever on our roads.

2025 Honda Amaze vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire Scorecard