Honda Amaze compact sedan
Honda’s 1.5 liter iDtec diesel engine has allowed the company to make
a big comeback in the Indian market. Both cars using this engine, the
Amaze and the City, have done very well. The main reason for the good
sales of the Amaze and the City has been the fuel efficient 1.5 liter
diesel engine.
The engine suffers from a slight issue. The issue we’re talking about
is the noisy clatter that it makes. Since the 1.5 liter Honda iDtec
engine is built of aluminium, it is noisier than diesel engines found on
other cars. The diesel engines on most cars are made of cast iron and
this material absorbs noise better than aluminium, resulting in a
quieter engine.
To solve this, Honda should have added a lot of sound deadening in
the Amaze. It didn’t happen and the Amaze Diesel continues to be a noisy
car. Honda made some corrections in the City and gave the car more
noise insulation. The result is that the City is much quieter than the
Amaze.
The upcoming Mobilio will get even more insulation and become quieter
than the City as well. The same approach will be followed on the Jazz
too. All four cars mentioned above will use the 1.5 liter iDtec diesel
engine. Honda plans to make the Amaze quieter next year. The compact
sedan will get a facelift next year end when Honda will also add extra
sound deadening on the diesel models.
It’s good that Honda is taking car buyer feedback seriously and
making the required changes. The Indian car buyer is no longer in the
Ambassador-Premier Padmini era when noisy engines were tolerated as
normal. Modern day cars, even diesels, are very refined and Hyundai’s
latest diesel cars are good examples of great refinement. Since Honda is
quickly addressing the issue, more buyers are expected to queue up for
diesel cars bearing the straight H logo.
