Honda has released more sketches of the third-generation Amaze, its budget sub-four-metre sedan exclusive to the Indian market. This time, we get a full view of the petite four-door’s exterior and interior ahead of its official launch on December 4, showing the influences the designers have cribbed from elsewhere in the company’s lineup.
As shown in the previous teaser, the front end is very reminiscent of the HR-V, with trapezoidal headlights and a large hexagonal grille tied together by a full-width chrome bar. Also visible here are the clamshell bonnet and X-shaped bumper design formed by the triple air intakes.
The rear end, meanwhile, has been cribbed almost wholesale from the City, again with the trapezoidal motif visible with the taillights (with U-shaped light guides), number plate recess, lower valance and reflectors. Although the sketches show a car with decent proportions, expect the real thing to look a little truncated due to the scant length.
Inside, you’ll find a cabin that has been carried over from the Elevate, confirming that the car is based on the SUV. This includes the horizontal dashboard design with a contrast-colour lower section, rectangular air vents, a storage shelf below the digital air-con controls and a 10.25-inch freestanding infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The only visible difference is the jettisoning of the Elevate’s faux wood dash panel, replaced with a more modern geometric pattern. The use of the crossover’s platform should also enable the Amaze to offer up to six airbags and the Honda Sensing suite of driver assists, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane centring assist, front departure alert and automatic high beam.
Given that it’s set to once again comply with India’s small sedan regulations, the Amaze should soldier on with the same engines as before – a 90 PS/110 Nm 1.2 litre i-VTEC petrol four-cylinder and a 100 PS/200 Nm 1.5 litre i-DTEC four-pot turbodiesel, both mated to either a CVT or a five-speed manual gearbox.
The arrival of the new Amaze is set to have larger consequences beyond India, as it is also likely to underpin the next Brio for the Indonesian market, as well as the next-gen BR-V and ASEAN WR-V (not to be confused with the Japanese WR-V, which is a rebadged Elevate) further down the line.
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