2016 Honda Amaze to come with climate control as standard

After being on sale for more than two years now, the Honda Amaze sedan is due for an update and its next iteration is slated to break cover on 3^rd March, 2016. As part of its makeover the new Amaze is slated to get a slightly revised exterior and interior as well as an updated feature list.

Now, Cardekho has learnt that the 2016 version of the sub-4 metre sedan will come with climate control as standard across all its variants. This is the first time that climate control is being offered as standard in this segment, although all the Amaze’s competition does offer the feature in their higher rung models.

Similar to the automatic AC that comes with the Honda BR-V the unit on the Amaze isn’t a touchscreen affair as on the City and Jazz. However, on the Amaze, it reportedly gets a ‘Max Cool’ button that automatically adjusts the unit to the lowest settings. The base affair doesn’t get the rear defogger button beside the front demister, but it will be offered in higher variants.

There are other differences inside too. The base model of the 2016 Amaze will make do with tiny black highlights in the cabin, while higher variants will be festooned to silver and chrome highlights make the interior a livelier affair. The instrument console is similar to that on the City but the circular LCD display has been given the boot, although there are chrome rings on the console in higher variants, while the audio system now gets Bluetooth connectivity.  The door panels, central tunnel, and steering wheel have been carried forward from the previous Amaze.

As for the powertrain, we already know that the 2016 Amaze will feature the same engine options as its predecessor. That means that the petrol unit is still a 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder engine that develops 87PS of peak power and 109Nm of peak torque. The diesel will be a 1.5-litre, turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that will get 100PS of peak power and 200Nm of peak torque. The petrol will be mated to both a 5-speed manual and a VCT automatic gearbox while the diesel engine will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox only.

When it is launched in the country on 3^rd March, expect the 2016 Honda Amaze to be priced at Rs 5.50-8.00 lakh for the petrol and Rs 6.25-8.50 lakh for the diesel variant, making it slightly more expensive than some of its competitors.