The Honda Amaze was introduced back in 2018 and in 2021 received an update based on customer feedback. It's an entry-level compact sedan with some decent kit on offer in the R200 000 price range.
Related: Honda Amaze 1.2 Comfort Review: Foreigner in a strange land
Based on some customer feedback, the updated Honda Amaze sees full black interior upholstery, a revised grille and front bumper, and the Comfort trim level gains a 7-inch Infotainment touchscreen. A nice value proposition with some nice kit on offer. The question here though is, would a Honda Amaze be suitable for a long drive?
What do you need for a long drive?
South African roads are not for the faint of heart. With longer drives, you'll a vehicle that's fit for purpose. In this instance, you need a vehicle that's easy to drive, spacious, fuel-efficient, comfortable and most importantly, safe.
Easy to drive and fuel-efficient
The Honda Amaze with its small stature doesn't require you to be a high-class driving veteran to pilot. There's ample visibility from the windows and there are both manual and CVT automatic transmissions to suit your driving style. The 1.2-litre petrol i-VTEC motor pushes out 66 kW of power and 110 Nm of torque to move around the 922 kg body with ease and at the same time, consumes a manufacturer-claimed combined cycle of 5.6 l/100km (5.7 l/100km in the CVT Comfort trim). With that in mind, the Amaze is easy to drive and fuel efficient.
Comfort and Space
The updated Honda Amaze does away with the predecessor's two-tone beige interior in favour of a full black upholstery interior to improve durability. It will help for multiple long drives without the need of worrying about interior upholstery wearing prematurely.
Thanks to a 2470 mm long wheelbase, there's enough leg and headroom for passengers and in turn, there's a 420-litre luggage capacity. Great to store enough luggage for a long journey. There are ample storage spaces and cupholders in the Amaze's cabin with even a fold-down armrest with cupholders in the rear seat. Climate control is present, manual in the Trend trim and Automatic in the Comfort trim. Great for the summer months.
In the Trend trim, you get a 4-speaker Bluetooth, USB, AUX MP3 Radio with steering wheel controls while in the updated Comfort trim, you get a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with 4 speakers which will fair better for long drives as you have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay at hand to manage navigation and entertainment. Soundproofing has been paid attention to here as well so NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) is kept down to a minimum. Along with that, the suspension setup is geared more for a gentle yet refined ride with electronically assisted power steering.
All in all, you have the features needed to be comfortable for a long journey.
Safety
Safety-wise, the Honda Amaze comes with dual front airbags, ABS, EBD and has ISOFIX child seat anchors in the rear of the cabin. It's enough to keep you and your loved ones safe on a long drive.
Verdict
The Honda Amaze will be good for a long drive. It's comfortable, safe and affordable so it's well suited to the longer journey. We'd suggest opting for the Comfort trim just for the infotainment system as it will be good to have with the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to manage navigation as well as other phone apps you can use for a long journey. Also, the Comfort trim will be good to go for if you need an automatic transmission.
