Honda Cars India may launch City diesel CVT, thanks to 2018 Amaze

One of the stand-out features in the 2018 Honda Amaze is the option of a diesel engine with continuously variable transmission. Honda seems to have realized there is enough demand for diesel CVT combo among the City sedan buyers as well.

Honda City and Amaze same diesel engineHonda/Facebook

"If there is a strong demand, then we can look into it," says Rajesh Goel, director of HCIL
1.5L i-DTEC diesel mill with CVT in the Amaze offers 79bhp of power and 160Nm of torque
Honda Amaze and City are powered by the same 1.5L i-DTEC engine

Honda Cars India launched the second generation of the Amaze sedan for a starting price of Rs 5.6 lakh on Wednesday. A major attraction in the 2018 Honda Amaze is the availability of diesel engine coupled with the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The new Amaze is the first car in India to get this combination, with initial reviews stating that the diesel CVT comes with no major lag.

The positive response to Amaze diesel CVT has been growing and that seems to have prompted Honda Car India officials to ponder over the popular City sedan with CVT.

Honda Cars India's director of sales and marketing, Rajesh Goel commented about the idea of City during the sidelines of Amaze launch in Mumbai. "If there is a strong demand, then we can look into it. We already have the technology and coming up with it (diesel CVT on City) should not be difficult," Overdrive quoted him as saying.

It won't be a herculean task for Honda to launch the City with CVT as both Amaze and City are powered by the same The 1.5L i-DTEC mill. The engine develops 99bhp of power and 200Nm of torque with a manual transmission in both the cars. The same mill with CVT transmission in the Amaze offers 79bhp of power and 160Nm of torque. Honda City diesel CVT may also get the same output.

2018 Honda Amaze — Honda Cars India officials with the second generation Amaze.Honda Cars India

Meanwhile, a report on Autocar claims the diesel CVT combo for the City may not be offered with the current generation of the model. Since the current City is nearing the end of life-cycle, adding CVT in the model may not make sense. The company is working on a next-generation Honda City that could hit the market by 2020. The advanced version of the diesel engine and CVT transmission will debut with the new version, the report adds.