Honda Amaze review: A small sedan that feels a cut above, but engine lets it down
The new Honda Amaze impresses with its overall quality.
Image: Supplied
In the space of a few decades, the booted sedan has gone from being the most popular body style to a relatively small niche that’s largely associated with the ride hailing industry.
Has my Uber arrived yet?
Yet those shopping for a small and affordable four-door are still relatively spoiled for choice, with the Proton Saga kicking off at R209,900, the Suzuki Dzire at R229,900 and the newly launched Changan Alsvin at R238,000.
Another impressive contender is the latest Honda Amaze, which was launched in 2025, starting at R254,900 in Trend guise and rising to R294,900 for the Comfort CVT.
Styling is confident yet elegant.
Image: Supplied
Although it is more expensive than its natural rivals, it is for the most part better equipped at base level and after spending a week with the Comfort auto model, I feel it is a good notch above the competition when it comes to quality and engineering.
Measuring a shade under four metres, it’s just 90mm shorter than the original Honda Ballade of the early 1980s, and it’s wider and sits on a longer wheelbase. How cars have grown! With the most recent Ballade (a rebadged City) being discontinued recently, this is the closest you’ll get to a modern Ballade, given that the latest Civic sedan now costs BMW money at R725,000.
When it comes to practicality, the Amaze offers reasonably good rear legroom - sitting behind my driving position I had some room to stretch - but head space was a little tight.
The boot holds a generous 416 litres, but loading bulky items can be tricky as the boot aperture is relatively narrow.
The boot is spacious but access is limited.
Image: Supplied
The cockpit, with its layout inspired by the latest Civic, looks classy and the materials appear to be of a really good quality. The 7.0-inch TFT digital instrument cluster is also a welcome surprise at this end of the market.
Build quality is impressive, and the black cloth seat trim feels like it’s made for life, with its dark colour scheme well suited to South African tastes.
The central touch screen measures 8.0 inches, is easy to use and comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality.
The cabin takes inspiration from the latest Civic.
Image: Supplied
The aforementioned interfaces are standard across the range, as is automatic climate control, while the Comfort version gains a 15W wireless smartphone charger, six-speaker audio system, push-button start, automatic headlight activation and steering wheel paddle shifters on the CVT.
However, cruise control is not fitted to either of the models, nor are any of the ADAS driver assist features that are available on overseas models. Vehicle Stability Assist is standard, however. The base model has two airbags, while the Comfort packs six.
What’s it like to drive?
There’s a huge feeling of sophistication in the way Honda’s Amaze is engineered, but it does have an Achilles heel.
Let’s start with the good stuff. The build quality feels really good, and its doors close with a solid thunk - something you don’t necessarily expect at this price level.
It feels solid on the road too, with a firm and communicative feel to the steering, and impressive handling, while the ride quality is controlled and comfortable.
But the 1.2-litre normally aspirated engine lets it down. While its 66kW output is competitive in the class, its relatively low torque figure of 110Nm is produced high up in the rev range at 4,800rpm. It’s typical Honda peaky, meaning you have to rev it hard when climbing a hill or overtaking. This is not necessarily a problem if you opt for the manual, but in CVT form, it makes for an extremely noisy experience.
This is a car that does not like to be hurried.
However, fuel consumption is impressive, with our car recording an average consumption of just under 6.0 litres per 100km.
VERDICT
The Honda Amaze stands out among its rivals with its solid build and impressive all-round quality. It feels more expensive than its price tag might suggest, and could be just the sedan you’ve been looking for, as long as you’re willing to accept sluggish performance.
IOL Motoring