[grumpycat]

The buying decision

I just joined Team-BHP after being an avid follower of this forum for many years and this is my first post!

Well, I am 37 years old and I just got my first car— a new Honda Amaze S MT, Lunar Silver Metallic. My driving experience so far has been on an old Maruti 800 and I had absolutely no clue about how present generation cars would drive and function. For my everyday commute I have been relying on my trusted steed—the Hero Xpulse 200. I am writing this post to share my experience of buying a first car from the perspective of a novice. Perhaps this would help those who are going through a similar process and if not anything else, I hope this post would become a note to myself.

I entered into the buying process without having much clue on what type of a car I would want to buy. My requirement from the vehicle was that I wanted a car with good highway manners and comfort for both passengers and the driver. Deciding on a budget was the first step I took. Obviously, my significant other bore most of the brunt of my excruciating decision-making process. As I was considering the budget, I had to also decide whether I should go for a used car. I had a few manufacturers and models in mind but as I scoured used car websites, I realized that I will have to spend around 5 lakhs (Sonipat and Delhi) for the kind of second-hand car I liked. I also realized that financing a used car through a loan wasn’t the best idea. Also, being a novice I was not sure if I could trust car dealers in giving me a problem free vehicle. Even though the financial logic of buying a used car made sense, I wasn’t too sure about going ahead with a used car.

Once I decided to go for a new car, I set the budget to 9 lakhs (on-road). I also felt I should stick with manual drive as I like driving and did not want to miss the joy of gear shifts on the highway. The first car I went to see was the Toyota Glanza as it looked good on paper. But after sitting in the vehicle, to my surprise, I did not like the cabin experience. The prominent and seemingly longish A-pillars were somehow giving me a bit of claustrophobia. Added to that the lack of bonnet visibility was also playing its tricks on my mind. Afterwards, I also tried a few other hatchbacks such as the Hyundai i10 and i20 but I felt a similar sense of troubling detachment from the road.

I tried the Hyundai Exter but I never felt the need for a micro-SUV and never liked them much. The first car which I really liked was the Hyundai Aura. I felt that the vehicle was something I would enjoy driving and that’s when I realized that I should go for a sedan. This immediately narrowed down my choices to a few models-Maruti Suzuki Swift and Dzire and the Honda Amaze apart from the Aura. With the Aura’s S variant, I felt everything was premium and all the gizmos that was included in the cabin felt like I was getting a VFM model for 8.6 lakhs. I came very close to buying the vehicle even without a test-drive. I excluded the Swift and Dzire because I never liked its passenger comfort. Tata Tigor was eliminated because I wanted a 4-cylinder engine.

As I checked the Honda Amaze’s on road prices, I thought that the Amaze S MT would cost around 9 lakhs on road. But I was still curious about it so I gave the showroom a call and went to see the vehicle at Malwa Honda, Sonipat. That’s when I realized that the Amaze SMT would come to around 8.2 lakhs on road because of Diwali discounts and because of the upcoming facelift model in December. The Malwa Honda guys arranged for a test-drive without much fuss and the moment I started driving it, I felt that it was such an easy car to drive. Though lacking in Hyundai’s feature list, the Amaze S MT had much more cabin room and felt more premium. Once our sales representative understood I liked the vehicle he offered the car for 7.80 lakhs on road which I felt was a really good price for the vehicle.

The rest happened swiftly. The car was financed through Union Bank and we took the delivery of our new Honda Amaze a day before Diwali. The delivery process was quite transparent. I went in the morning to do the PDI and the vehicle was September made. As for accessories, I got the bucket mat, door side moulding, bumper protectors, mud flaps and door-edge guards done. I took delivery in the evening. I got quite comfortable with the car fairly quickly and I drove it for around 800 kms. The MID mileage was initially abysmal but now it is showing around 17 kmpl on expressways and between 12-15 in the city.


My first impressions on the Honda Amaze 2024

When I test drove the Amaze for the first time, I realized that for a new driver, the car inspires a lot of confidence. Perhaps it’s the same for other cars as well but I found the Amaze to be quite a gentleman. I was expecting that the moment I step on the accelerator it would jerk and come to a halt. But to my surprise the Amaze was very forgiving when it came to throttle response as it is extremely tame in lower rpms and it is next to impossible to give excess throttle by mistake. All the gears slotted without much fuzz and the steering control was on point. There are some more well-fed speed breakers in my area and it cleared all those effortlessly.

In another 2 weeks I rode the car for about 800 kms in both Delhi traffic and expressways. The Amaze continued to impress me with its easy to drive character in both city and open roads. In the city, negotiating bumper to bumper traffic wasn’t difficult in terms of throttle response. However, the clutch is on the heavier side and the shifts I feel are a bit stiff but things do seem to improve slowly over time. Reversing and parking are quite easy and I don’t even feel the need for a reverse camera as the Amaze offers good rear side visibility through its mirrors and the parking sensors are very sensitive.

On expressways I haven’t pushed the car beyond 80kmph. The NVH levels are decent and the steering feels heavy enough in those speeds. However, overtaking requires some planning both in the city and highways. In the city, I realized that I have to rely on the 2nd and 3rd gears to extract the kind of torque required for pulling through traffic. In highways I have to shift down to 3rd gear for some quick acceleration while the 4th gear offers some torque. The 5th gear I feel is purely a cruise gear but it also gives a good mileage about 17-20. At the same time, the transmission is very forgiving in all gears. I can drive at 60 kmph without any fuss from 3rd to 5th gear and the top to gears can also be forgiving at lower speeds.

I also completed my first service early at 500kms as my car became quite dirty and wanted a wash. I called up the service centre and they recommended that the wash will be free if I do the service. To my surprise, the first oil change would only come at 10000 kms and the first service only consists of cabin and air filter cleaning and an overall check-up.

I am still wondering if I should wait for 10000kms for the first oil change and any inputs on this matter would be highly appreciated!

I haven’t had the chance to sit on the rear passenger seat but others who have sat in it say that it is quite comfortable even on bad roads. From the driver’s perspective the suspension is not too plush or hard but I would say it leans towards the softer side and is meant for negotiating potholes at low speeds. However, there is hardly any unwanted swaying at higher speeds. The front seats offer good support and even after driving 2 hours in peak traffic and highways I wasn’t tired for a new driver.

The cabin experience is clean and I haven’t installed any touch screen stereo systems. I like the tactile knobs and I am not a huge fan of touch screens as I find it a distraction and I absolutely don’t like the glare from touch screen during night driving. The original speakers do sound decent enough for me so I am not going to change that as well. However, I have installed dashcams- the Nextdigitron Prime 2k dual channel and I think they work decently so far.

Overall, I feel the outgoing model of the Honda Amaze is a great VFM car and it is quite welcoming of a new driver. I just can’t stop thinking about taking it for another spin and I am hoping to do a longer drive very soon and will keep you posted!

[aswin88]

Originally Posted by grumpycat

I just joined Team-BHP after being an avid follower of this forum for many years and this is my first post!

Congratulations @grumpycat!! That’s a steal deal at 7.8L and undoubtedly a great VFM package. Happy motoring and loads of fun behind the steering wheel!!

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by grumpycat

he offered the car for 7.80 lakhs on road which I felt was a really good price for the vehicle.
...
Overall, I feel the outgoing model of the Honda Amaze is a great VFM car and it is quite welcoming of a new driver. I just can’t stop thinking about taking it for another spin...

Congratulations Grumpycat and wishing you years of happy ownership. For anyone not bothered about the upcoming new model, the December discounts sort of make it a very attractive package.

[Ashishknainan]

Originally Posted by grumpycat

Overall, I feel the outgoing model of the Honda Amaze is a great VFM car and it is quite welcoming of a new driver. I just can’t stop thinking about taking it for another spin and I am hoping to do a longer drive very soon and will keep you posted!

It's a brilliant car. We have a 2018 Manual used by my parents and still runs like a charm. And like you rightly mentioned, it's a very forgiving car. The ground clearance is more than adequate and the cost of maintenance and running doesn't pinch.

Amaze does amaze you with it's bootspace. We once had an incident when we had some bit of luggage to fit for a family of 4 people with some suitcases and bags, and the car did it without breaking a sweat. My father was fairly surprised.
There are no niggles I am aware of we have had to face on this car..it's a fill it, shut it and run it machine.

Congratulations and happy driving.

[Sd@1023]

Congratulations and enjoy your new car. I was in a similar dilemma and had to chose between Baleno and Amaze in 2015. When I look back I feel I made a good choice as we have driven length and breadth around the country with full house. The car never troubled us. Only tires were changed and suspension as we really took the car with 5 members on really bad patches of highway which were getting constructed and 2-3 month in Goa. All the best and beautiful colour btw.

[grumpycat]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Congratulations Grumpycat and wishing you years of happy ownership. For anyone not bothered about the upcoming new model, the December discounts sort of make it a very attractive package.

I thought about the upcoming model and the extra features it might have especially in terms of safety improvement. But I was already not happy about the inflation in car prices post COVID. Felt the current model was good enough for the discounted price.

Originally Posted by Sd@1023

Congratulations and enjoy your new car. I was in a similar dilemma and had to chose between Baleno and Amaze in 2015. When I look back I feel I made a good choice as we have driven length and breadth around the country with full house. The car never troubled us. Only tires were changed and suspension as we really took the car with 5 members on really bad patches of highway which were getting constructed and 2-3 month in Goa. All the best and beautiful colour btw.

I guess I have to be more careful on bad roads. I'm not sure but the suspension doesn't seem to be too soft on my car. Maybe it's just the way I see it or they tweaked it in later models. I think Amaze is meant to be driven in a sedate manner but wouldn't mind the occasional request for power on highways!

Originally Posted by Ashishknainan

It's a brilliant car. We have a 2018 Manual used by my parents and still runs like a charm. And like you rightly mentioned, it's a very forgiving car. The ground clearance is more than adequate and the cost of maintenance and running doesn't pinch.

Amaze does amaze you with it's bootspace. We once had an incident when we had some bit of luggage to fit for a family of 4 people with some suitcases and bags, and the car did it without breaking a sweat. My father was fairly surprised.
There are no niggles I am aware of we have had to face on this car..it's a fill it, shut it and run it machine.

Congratulations and happy driving.

Glad to know about your experience. I really wanted a maintenance free experience with my new car. I guess I made the right choice

[carhead]

Standout features of the 2nd Gen Amaze:
1 Refinement.
2.Ergonomics
3 Dependable After Sales Service
4 Ruggedness
5 Ample cabin space
6 Great ride- you'll hardly feel fatigued
7 Safety?! Recently downgraded to 2 start GNCAP


Congratulations on the purchase. Wish you many happy miles.

[Padmesh]

My wife’s 2022 (May) Amaze petrol CVT VX second year service done in May 2024. Received a message from Honda service yesterday that CVT fluid needs to be changed and it costs 3,000/-. Honda says after 2 years/40,000kms CVT fluid needs to be replaced. Has anyone faced this situation.

[carhead]

At 2yrs /25K km CVT fluid replacement is mentioned in both:

1. Service booklet.
2. Online service cost calculator.

[umahesh612]

A Quick Update of DIYs Performed on my Amaze

1) Auto Folding ORVM function - Done
2) Hot Wiring of Dashcam - Done
3) Auto-Dimming IRVM - Hit a small Glitch, but resolved very, very quickly.
4) Aha NexCruise cruise control - next time

The Saga of Auto Dimming IRVM

Have been looking for auto-dimming IRVM for Honda Amaze, and it had been a bust so far, with me losing 6500/- in the process to a scam website which mentioned that original Honda City IRVM was in stock, and then proceeded to go radio silent after the order was placed. The website is mechdeals.com and it is based out of Indore. Avoid it at all costs. Money Lost and lesson learnt.

But, hope was not lost, and I kept searching. Boodmo was sketchy and I did not want the pain. So, as I kept searching, in came Durvient (https://durvient.com), and lo and behold, we have an auto-dimming IRVM for Amaze in stock. Ordered it and received it quite soon (about 1 week I guess), aaaannndddd... ran into trouble.


The Auto Dimming IRVM with the mount


The mount in its glory


The wiring at the back

The package I received was quite nice, with the IRVM and the Mount bubble wrapped neatly.

So, as I received the items, I left off like an excited child to my car, imagining all the DIY I was about to do. Only if things were that simple.

You see, on the website, the mount for Amaze was previously mentioned as #1. And as I opened the OEM IRVM to check the mount, my heart sank. The mounts were completely different. Turns out, Honda Amaze 2nd Gen uses the mounts of Honda City 1st/2nd Gen. Here are the pictures:


The mount that came with IRVM


The mount of OEM IRVM.

So, contacted the customer service, which was surprisingly prompt and helpful (full 5/5 rating for that). Had a discussion regarding the mount, and they promptly shipped the correct mount for Honda Amaze. Now, I need to return the mount which came with the IRVM and use the new mount which they shipped to me, and send the old mount back. Not a big deal at all. I requested them to update the website as well, so that others are not confused like me. They have already updated the website with correct information.

Present Status: - Waiting for new mount to come. Will update DIY progress when I receive them and install the long awaited auto dimming IRVM, and will post a prompt review too.

For those interested, they still have 1 auto-dimming IRVM with the correct mount for Honda Amaze 2nd Gen in stock. I would suggest to have a chat with customer service before ordering. They are quite prompt in replies and very, very helpful.

That's all for now. Cheers!!!

Note: The mount and IRVM is not OEM. It is Durvient made. The mount comes with a through-hole, for the wiring to pass. Images attached:


Note the Durvient Logo on the back


Notice the through-hole for wiring

Cheers!!!

[marcopolo11]

Originally Posted by umahesh612

A Quick Update of DIYs Performed on my Amaze

..Long post truncated...

Attachment 2702610
Note the Durvient Logo on the back

Attachment 2702611
Notice the through-hole for wiring

Cheers!!!

Well said, Uma. It's disappointing to see automakers cutting costs on essential components while adding a bunch of unnecessary gimmicks and calling them features.

I see they mention mount #8, is that what they are sending? (Picture borrowed from their website, no copyright violation intended)


Looking forward to your update once you have the correct mount. Can’t wait to see it in action!

[umahesh612]

Originally Posted by marcopolo11

Well said, Uma. It's disappointing to see automakers cutting costs on essential components while adding a bunch of unnecessary gimmicks and calling them features.

I see they mention mount #8, is that what they are sending? (Picture borrowed from their website, no copyright violation intended) Attachment 2704231


Looking forward to your update once you have the correct mount. Can’t wait to see it in action!

Hi @marcopolo11. They updated the mount to mount#8 after my fiasco, and after I mentioned the same to them. So yes, it is the correct mount now.

So I received the correct mount over the weekend and immediately proceeded to install the IRVM. Pretty easy job once you have the fuse taps with you. I had some spares with me since my last DIY job of dashcam wiring, and in any case, since I had to hook up this one to ACC fuse, which already had dashcam wiring hooked up, I didn't need the fuse taps either. I just had to cut open the wire of dashcam and attach IRVM wire to it, and remount the fuse tap in the fuse box. The ground went to where the dashcam ground wire was attached (mentioned in my dashcam DIY, I hope. If not, drop a PM and I will mention the fuse required). We can run the wiring along the inside of roof liner and behind A-pillar cover, and the fuse is inside the cabin so don't need to route along the bonnet etc. a couple of cable ties or insulation tape to secure the wire along the A-pillar would be sufficient. Any excess wire left can be folded up and taped.

The IRVM takes very less current for operation (1A), so overloading of fuse is not a concern.

Having mentioned the above, here goes the pictures of Auto Dimming IRVM in action after I was done with installation.


IRVM with correct mount. Note that wiring can be routed internally and looks very clean


IRVM after powering up


Auto-Dimming in action, hope you can observe it


The overall look of the dashboard remains the same

A bit of a drive around the city opened up my eyes to a world of difference between auto dimming and non-dimming IRVM. Auto dimming function performed flawlessly and protected my eyes from the idiots who put high-beam on, and also those who love to flaunt and flash their headlights. I observed a very slight rattle/ vibration around 80-90kmph on an empty road, which I hope is because of a screw not tightened properly in the mount. Will check it out. Anyways, that vibration does not hamper the viewing experience in any way and the image is not distorted or un-viewable at all.

Please note that this mirror is larger than the OEM IRVM. But it does not hamper the forward view at all and we get used to it pretty quickly.

That's it for now. If anyone has any questions, feel free to reach out and I will try my best to reply as soon as possible.

Once again, thank you durvient.com for this amazing product.

[DarthFader]

Hey Everyone, I have a 2020 Honda Amaze VX CVT (petrol) and I was looking for inputs on performance mods, suspension mods and facelift options.

Please share your inputs and the right garages in Bangalore, if you have gone through such mods.

[umahesh612]

Final DIY project on my Amaze VX CVT 2023 - Aha Nexcruise

A quick background to this DIY project:

My mother passed away on early morning of Jan 24, 2025. After all ceremonies were completed, my father bounced the idea of travelling to Prayagraj for immersing her ashes. I agreed readily. Checked for trains... no dice... flights were exorbitant. Settled on driving there. The steed was my Amaze, ofcourse. We are to be joined by my maternal uncles. Leaving on 11-Feb.

Driving there is not the problem. The issue is, my father has back issue, and the pain radiates to the leg. Given that my car does not have cruise control, this was an issue, as only me and my father are the drivers for the whole journey.

This also presented an opportunity, which was to try and test the Aha nexcruise cruise control module. Though I postponed the DIY for later, I felt that this is the perfect opportunity for this mod.

So, with that in mind, I ordered the Nexcruise module, which cost me 25K INR. The module arrived pretty quickly. Here are some pictures:


The Aha Nexcruise Box




The wiring kit


The control module which connects to OBD Port

The connection is pretty straight-forward. Aha website even has a video explaining how to do it.

Essentially, you re-route your accelerator input through the control module, which feeds it back to vehicle. When you engage cruise control, the control module sets the feedback voltage and feeds it to the vehicle, mimicing accelerator input.

Coming to Aha Nexcruise, there are 3 modes, Eco, Normal and Power. Pretty self explanatory. Eco gives you highest fuel savings, Power gives you instant throttle response and Normal is how your car would behave if the module was not present.

When I installed first, a 10A fuse blew in the main fuse box near battery, maybe due to me grounding some wire. Replaced the fuse and Nexcruise tech team guided me through installation. They carried out remote calibration and registration of the device.

Now, it was testing time. All I need to say is that my right foot can rest easy on long drives. You can increase/decrease set speed by rotating a dial on the controller. You can also enable speed limiter function, whivh acts like software governor.

Cruise control is disengaged when pressing brake pedal, and can be re-engaged by long pressing cruise control button.

I will be departing for Prayagraj soon, and will update the fuel savings and long term performance of the device. So far, fully satisfied and worth the cost.


The cruise control dial, which can be mounted on steering wheel

If you need more details, please PM me and I will respond. Keep an eye on this thread for long term review of Aha Nexcruise.

Next Mod: Sunroof (Webasto H-300 automatic model). Please guys do advise me the feasibility of this.

After that: ECU remap after some research

Some more pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Hello everyone,

As I have mentioned in my previous post, I would be leaving for Prayagraj Soon.

I was wondering if the projector Headlamp and LED Foglamp combo, which is OEM fit, is good enough for the journey, given the fog conditions.

Please provide some views. If you feel this setup is not ideal, what combination do you suggest?

Thanks in advance.

[SixPistons]

Sorry for your loss. Good DIY on the Cruise control.

However, I’d suggest avoiding installing a sunroof. Sunroof changes the CoG of a car. Compared to a non-sunroof variant, there are structural modifications made to the roof in comparison as well. I’d suggest to hold off on the sunroof idea until your next car.

Projector Headlamp setup should work fine in current weather, especially with fog pretty much gone. Might not even need the LED Foglamp.

There is lot of traffic on the way to prayagraj at the moment. I just saw a link on the forum indicating long traffic jams on the way to prayagraj. Please do appropriate research.