2018 Honda Amaze set to take on Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Tata Tigor: All you need to know

Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL), the Indian subsidiary of Japanese carmaker. had the global unveiling of the second-generation Amaze sedan at the Auto Expo 2018 in February. The sub-four meter sedan is expected to be launched in April-May and the company will soon start accepting bookings.

2018 Honda Amaze is set to lock horns with Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Tata Tigor. For the uninitiated, the Dzire is currently the bestselling sedan in India with over 10,000 takers every month. Tata Motors is also selling a healthy number of Tigors every month. Hence, the new Amaze has to deal with two giants of the segment.

Launched in 2013, Honda Amaze has steadily gained popularity in the country while the new model plans to reaffirm its space in the burgeoning segment. Hence, Honda brought the second generation of the Amaze based on an all-new platform. The outgoing model was based on the Brio hatchback's platform. The new version has been developed at Honda's R&D base in Thailand with inputs from the Honda India engineering team.

The sedan gets a major makeover in terms of looks. While the outgoing version had more rounded body panels, the new one gets the more edgy theme. New face gets protruding front-end highlighted with a thick chrome grille. The lower section of the grille gets honeycomb pattern housed on a new bumper. The new wraparound headlamps come with an integrated LED daytime running lights.

The side profile gets more cohesive boot unlike the one in the previous model that looked like a small boot slapped to the rear of a hatchback. Prominent character line and 15-inch alloy wheels add muscular feel. New boot-lid, beefy rear bumper and new LED tail lamps that looks like an inverted form of the WR-V's tail lamps are the addition at the rear.

The cabin layout hasn't been changed massively. The current one is already updated and hence Honda has decided to go with the same. Additionally, the new Amaze will boast off new 7-inch Digipad touchscreen infotainment system that offers smartphone integration, navigation and an array of other features.

Honda is expected to carry over with the current powertrains. Amaze is currently powered by a 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine that is tuned to churn out 87bhp and a peak torque of 109Nm, and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel motor that can belt out 99bhp of power and peak torque of 200Nm. The transmission is taken care of by five-speed manual and CVT gearboxes.