The compact sedan market has become a powerful sector in a short span of time. Honda was the first to elevate the level of rivalry with Amaze, and then came a bunch of launches such as Hyundai Xcent and Tata Zest. Amaze is an instant compact segment wonder, and has been a best seller for months; Honda yet has to face challenges ahead with newcomers such as Tata Zest. Zest is a signature piece; does it have all it takes to overpower Amaze? Let’s find out.

Honda Amaze Anniversary Edition

Exteriors:

Amaze is sedan creativity out of Brio hatchback; the body is well structured and proportionate. Its non Brio originality lies in the flow of crease and roofline design. The rear section has inventively designed tail lights, and the highlight of ingenuity is the chunk of chrome along the boot. Amaze sports a youthful and enthusiastic demeanor and the fashion statement is on par with 21^st century liking.

Zest is termed the most competitive in sub four meter sedan market; on the front is innovative grille architecture. The grille is covered with an interesting meaning and brings out the core value of Tata Motors trust and humanity. The projector headlights filled with super illuminating LED daytime running lights enhance the aesthetic value of the front. The spark sophistication lies in the presence of sharp lines and creases, and the elegance factor is increased via wrap around LED tail lights covered with sparkling chrome.

Tata Zest Side

Interiors:

Amaze is covered with fine interior décor, on par with other Honda Brio; there are tons of Brio characteristics. The features are however at an elevated level, visible on the world class audio system, steering fitted audio controls, vast rear room. The vehicle on the whole offers great comfort and convenience, the only issue is the non foldable rear seats.

The interiors of Zest is truly up market, the quality of ingredients are great, the royal beige and black décor adds character. The three spoke steering is covered with lavish material, the instrument cluster is covered with sprinkles of chrome, and there is a speedometer, RPM and trip meter.

Engine:

Amaze is fitted with an efficient iVTEC 1.2 liter petrol engine that yields 109Nm and 88PS. The same engine is used in Brio, and coupled with five speed automatic transmission. The engine is high on fuel efficiency and offers 15kpl, the diesel car is powered with a fiery i-DTEC 1.5 liter mill that generates 200Nm and 100PS. It generates best-in-class 25.8kmpl mileage.

Zest gathers its energy from turbocharged petrol 1.2 liter MPFi Turbocharged engine. The engine is engineered on an advanced shift-on-fly technology, and moves on three driving modes Sport, City and Economy. The vehicles moves with a phenomenal 1193cc displacement capacity and yields spark 140Nm and 89bhp energy efficiencies.

Zest diesel is inserted with four cylinder 1248cc turbo intercooled four cylinder engine that gives out 200Nm and 89bhp. The engine is manufactured with the advanced five speed F-Tronic AMT technology coupled with Shift Assist Manual. There are two drive modes sport and normal.

Zest runs on an average 24.8kmpl mileage power

Price:

Amaze costs Rs 5 to 7.55 lakhs and Zest is priced at Rs 4.6 to 6.9 lakhs.

Conclusion:

It is really tough to pick the better of the two, Amaze has a superior engine capacity and Zest is built with a better engine punch. Amaze has higher mileage rhythm. Amaze thereby is the better choice of the two.

The upcoming 2015 Honda Civic Type R gets spotted again proving that the last spy picture from Croatia was actually that of the much speculated Type R’s production version. Interestingly, the most recently spotted Civic Type R production version model was the same car that was spied in Croatia, as the car carried the same license plate on it. This time around, the upcoming 2015 Honda Civic Type R production model was caught by the spy shutterbugs in Croatia’s neighboring country, Slovenia.

Honda Civic Type-R Spypicture

The good thing is that these new spy pictures confirm that the spied car was indeed that of the 2015 Honda Civic Type R production version, while the last ones raised some doubt given the car’s altered exterior features. The new spy shots offer a closer and clearer view of the car, including its front face confirming that this is what the world is going to get in the form of the new Civic Type R.

The all new 2015 Honda Civic Type R has always been a highly coveted car for the global auto enthusiasts. This urban race car as the company chooses to call it, grabbed all the attention of the audience, when Honda first revealed the concept Civic Type R. Later on, the 2015 Honda Civic Type R went ahead wowing the audience at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March when it was revealed as a concept model.

The recently spy pictures of the production ready 2015 Honda Civic Type R, reveal and confirm to the previously snapped pictures that the car has indeed altered its exterior design to some extent and has dropped some of its dramatic design features. The same was shown in the spy pictures from Croatia when the Type R was snapped in the city of Rijeka, while the car was shooting for some promotional photos and videos.

The recent spy pics have also confirmed that the production Type R has dropped its ultra muscular fenders, while it does retain its fancy huge wing that grabs attention. However, one question still remains. That is whether the spied Civic Type R model was a final production model or another developmental prototype. The reason behind this new doubt is that fact that the car does not only lacks the fenders on steroids, but also some other crucial features such as the LED headlights, grounds kit and the vented bumpers that were flaunted by the concept model, which made it look like a vehicle belonging to a superhero.

Nevertheless, as mentioned before the car does retain its most remarkable design feature that is its gigantic wing at its back that seems to have been borrowed from an airplane.  The car also flaunted more LED lights and the patent aggressive diffuser with dual exhaust pipes.

Well, it seems that it still remains to learn more about this Civic Type R model. The car is expected to launch next year powered by a new 2 liter turbo motor from Honda which claims to produce over 280hp.

According to many auto majors of the world, especially the American General Motors, soon we will be getting in cars to find that the driver takes his hands off of the steering wheel of the car and relaxing, while the car drives on self-guided mode. Though still today the term “autonomous driving” remains a fantasy, many global auto giants are fervently working on the technology.

Honda Automated Safety Car

Nevertheless, some auto majors have also achieved great advancements in making their dream driverless cars as well. Japanese car major Honda Motors for instance has already got a nice hold of the technology, though we can’t really hope to gets its automated car soon in the market. To prove its point Honda’s Acura TLX for taken a quick drive down the roads of Detroit and was found to be thrilling. Usually the test driverless cars from the various companies work in controlled environments, but the Honda Acura TLX pleasantly surprised us by navigating its own way down the regularly used highways I drive on regularly, dealing with real life regular drivers on the road.

The Honda Acura TLX has a blurry spot on top it which is actually an array of radars, sensors and cameras working together to tell the car what is going on around it and where it should head to. Working together with the GPS data, the Acura manages to go on and off the freeway, driving on its own and even changes lanes or merges with traffic. The only problem with the car is that it will keep on driving at the posted speed limit entered in it, while the other cars will whiz pass it, but then this automated mode is really safe that should be mentioned as well, as there is no rash driving in the picture.

The car also detects the unusually low, legal speed limits and keeps to it strictly without changing it on the highways. Honda also said that this car can detect objects hundreds of meters away placed directly in front of it, and on the screen the pointed not only the traffic nearby but also its planned path for the next few seconds which is amazing. When the driving gets tricky with situations such as heavy traffic the car lets out an audio cue to prompt the driver to take over it. However, the car can manage to drive nicely in slow moving traffic, excepting the mergers.

Thus, the Honda Acura TLX automated car was a really great car to offer superior relaxation breaks from long monotonous driving and also offer safe driving, which is wonderful.  Honda though has not made any announcements as yet as to when it is going to launch this technology in the market. However, the industry experts have the opinion that the automated cars will hit the roads of the world by the year 2020.

While a lot more tests and technology improvements will go into the driverless cars, Honda is surely expected to offer a very fine automated car in the future.

Honda’s hot new SUV project is Vezel crossover; it’s a steaming global product. There have been several reports of the car in India, and debates on its arrival. Honda has hinted many times that India is not a central market for Vezel, but there is a sight of hope, an image of XR-V crossover is on the web, which is kind of like Vezel and sources feel it may be the car for Indian market.

Honda XR-V

The styling of XR-V is adopted from Vezel crossover, and sources could track the tricky Vezel discovery. It is a measure of how desirable Vezel is to the Indian population. Vezel has more couple like identity, and XR-V is filled with higher level of SUV character. The level of creativity is on par with Vezel, highlighted by inventively styled front grille segmented into two, creatively styled muscular fog light. The wheel arches on XR-V is more of a square than the regular round style theme observed on Vezel. So much of creativity is visible on the bonnet with sharp creases and well structured shoulder line. Honda has not exposed the rear view of the car, and the exciting bit is, the styling is expected to more emblematic than Vezel.

What makes sources assured that XR-V is on the lines of Indian taste buds lies in the styling alone. XR-V has a more muscular stance than Vezel, and the fascination for macho and rugged cars in India dates back to many years. The known information at the moment is the size; it is over four meters, with height, width and length dimension being 1605mm, 1770mm and 4275mm respectively. China is a launch hub of XR-V, it was showcased at the eminent Chengdu Motor Show, Dongfeng Honda mentioned that the vehicle will move on 1.8 and 1.5 liter engine capacity. The picture of XR-V on the web is similar to the production model, although it is still in the concept stage. If Honda gives the green signal of introducing the vehicle in India, it will run on the same engine fitted into Honda City.

Going by the abundant compact SUV launches in the past few years, XR-V appears to be the practical choice for Indian segment. Its arch rivals Nissan Terrano, Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster sports typical rugged and professional compact SUV demeanor just like XR-V. There is also fierce upcoming rivalry to look into such as Hyundai ix25, Maruti Suzuki XA Alpha and Mahindra Scorpio facelift.

XR-V is going to be another compact SUV excitement; it is exciting to learn that there is a possibility of Honda launching the car in India, especially after the vague response of Vezel launch. It is well suited for Indian taste; it looks rugged and professional at the same time. The off-road nature is visible on roof rails, a dynamic strip of ridge on the side and cuts in front, the layout of wheel arches makes it look like a typical twenty first century model, molded into neat club like structures.

Let’s hope for a good news of XR-V launch, and keep our fingers crossed.

The Honda Mobilio MPV was always expected to be a potent threat to many MPVs in India, especially to its primary rival, the popular Maruti Suzuki Ertiga compact MPV. Keeping to the expectations, the recently launched Honda Mobilio has outperformed its market competitor Maruti Ertiga when monthly sales are concerned within a month’s time of its arrival in India.

new images honda mobilio

The Honda Mobilio had done the same thing in the car market of Indonesia as well. In Indonesia the Mobilio outshone the Suzuki Ertiga and went ahead to become a super hit vehicle becoming one of the top selling cars there. The same story was expected to be followed in India and it did so. In the coming months also, the Mobilio with all its superior features is expected to stay ahead of the Ertiga which is very able but comparatively lackluster.

Honda Cars India launched the new Mobilio MPV in India on 23^rd of July this year, post which the vehicle received more than 10,000 bookings in just 20 days. The Honda Mobilio is the Japanese car major’s first venture in the Indian MPV market, and the first attempt in the segment has proven to be a very rewarding one for the car maker.

Honda sold 5,530 units of the sub-compact Mobilio MPV in the month of August this year as compared against Maruti Ertiga’s sales figure of less than 5,491 units, as this sales figure in an all inclusive utility vehicle number from Maruti including the Grand Vitara and Gypsy.

The Mobilio MPV is undoubtedly the third consecutive successful model from the house of Honda after the Amaze and the new City. The Mobilio has accounted for around 33 percent of the company in the overall Indian domestic monthly sales number.

Last month, Honda Cars India sold a total of 16,758 vehicles in the Indian car market that has given the company an outstanding 88 percent growth rate as compared against the sales in the same month last year.

Another pleasant surprise for Honda in the last month was that the Amaze emerged as the highest sold car from Honda India with the sale of 9,198 units.

Because of the high demand for the Mobilio MPV, the Japanese car major has kept the production of its bestselling car, the new City on hold for about a month now in order to increase the Mobilio’s production in its Greater Noida facility. Honda has announced that its new City sedan will be built in the company’s new Tapukara factory in Rajasthan within this week.

The Honda City is also the higher C segment leader in India, after it overthrew the previous segment leader the Hyundai Verna soon after it launched in India in January this year. On the other hand, the Amaze is continuing with its strong demands in the country ever since it launched in April last year turning the company’s fortunes almost overnight.

After Mobilio’s launch, Maruti Suzuki is trying to keep the customer interest in Ertiga by launching its Anniversary Special Edition model.

Honda Cars India surged through profit charts in 2014 August with fantastic 88% gains in domestic quarter. The company sold 16,758 pieces contrary to 8,913 units rolled out in the corresponding period. Amaze compact sedan is the highest sale contributor with 9,198 units, for a bit of startling information the recently launched Mobilio is a sale ripper with 5,530 units. The company sold 1,211 units of Brio, 757 units of all new City and 62 units of CRV. The firm exported 460 vehicles.

new images honda mobilio

On the magnificent profits yielded during the month a top Honda executive said, ‘’we are delighted to sustained our growth charts month after month, the festive season has begun which means greater cheer, we hope for more powerful profit outputs in coming months.’’

The all new City is a blockbuster hit, since inception it is the main profit contributor, sadly Honda has discontinued the production of the vehicle. The good news is the company will commence production and the new City will be manufactured at the established Tapukara unit in Rajasthan from September.

The star of 2014 August is Mobilio, it has just generated tremendous profit in a short span. Honda launched the car during the end of July and within a significantly short span the booking figures crossed 13,800. It was a hot new product months before launch. Mobilio is a MPV variant of Brio and among the best looking in its class. It is Honda’s debut venture in this segment for Indian markets; the car is concentrated around Asian markets and is a best seller in Indonesia.

With just a glance Mobilio drove the public insane, it looks plush and cozy at the same time. On the front is an artistically styled curvy headlight cluster, the grille is structured into a neat smiley shaped format covered with solid chrome treatment. The side view is great, with classy black furnishings on B and C pillar, the outer rear view mirror caps and door handles are covered with neat body color. On the rear is huge windscreen with black sash tape. The tail gate is covered with layers of chrome.

The inside of Mobilio is magical; it is a huge car with layers of vibrancy contributed by the amazing dual beige combination. The newly launched RS and V cars have refined wood finish on door panels and dashboard. The professionally styled black dashboard has speckles of silver inserts. There is a world class AVN system with 15.7cm touchscreen with navigation and in-car entertainment system. The driver’s seat is electrically adjustable, and all seats have head restraints and the other sources of enhanced comfort are arm rests, sun visor, bottle holder, cup holders and glove box.

There are diesel and petrol engines to choose from, the petrol Mobilio runs on an advanced iVTEC 1.5 liter capacity with splendid 1497cc displacement power. It has 16 valves and four cylinders and is engineered with the innovative overhead camshaft valve technology. The fiery engine pumps out 145Nm and 118bhp, and the diesel car is powered with an advanced i-DTEC 1.5 liter mill also filled with 16 valves and four cylinders and generates 200Nm and 98.6bhp. The diesel car runs on spark 24.3kmpl mileage.

For its superb fashion statement and features Mobilio costs Rs 6 to 12 lakhs.

Honda Cars India emerged victorious in 2014 August with massive 88% gains; the recently launched Mobilio contributed 5,530 units. It‘s a phenomenal achievement indeed, taking into consideration that it has been only a month since launch. So much excitement was centered on Mobilio months before launch; the attention grabbing characteristics was the size and fashion statement, vibrant and roomy interiors and world class 20 kmpl mileage.

honda mobilio front

The Indian auto market has a powerful line up of MPV cars; the year long legendary ruler is Innova. It is a common sight on the roads, and popular among the nuclear family network in the country. Mobilio is designed with a view to comfort mass Indians at cost-effective price. The same vision is visible on Innova. With just few days of its arrival Mobilio has over taken the popularity structure of Innova.

Mobilio is among the ace sale contributors in August; about a third of Honda’s profits were contributed by the car. Amaze is the highest contributor with 9,198 pieces and then Brio with 1,211 units. The sale visibility effect of Innova was not as pronounced as Mobilio, the profit output of Toyota was on the negative side. The company sold 11,215 units against 12,007 pieces sold in the corresponding year. The key profit drivers were Etios series, Toyota sold 1,169 units of Etios sedan and Etios Liva hatch.

It was an arch battle between Mobilio and Innova, Mobilio is smartly executed, and has superior power over Innova. Honda has priced the car with a lower value than Innova. Mobilio costs Rs 7 to 12.3 lakhs and Innova Rs 9.8 to 15.2 lakhs. Honda has managed to make stellar profits, despite the City not being in production for a month. The all new City has sparked customer attention since launch early 2014; it along with Amaze contributed highest sales.

Honda has been powerful with its new thinking, the introduction of its first Amaze compact sedan in 2013 turned into a magnificent profit driver. The company made month long profits even under pressurized circumstances when the market weakened at the macro-level. The innovativeness was visible in the potent 1.5 liter iDTEC diesel engine and class performing 25.8kmpl mileage and the same engine formula is used in Mobilio that offers 20.2 kmpl fuel efficiency and is noteworthy for its size.

Honda said most of the profits were driven by Mobilio and Amaze, the forceful growth momentum in August was contributed by massive demand for Mobilio and strong customer buying power of Amaze. The company is geared to encounter positive customer sentiment values during the colorful festive season.

The battle is not over; Toyota is working on a new next-gen Innova, which is the 2016 model. The expected arrival date is sometime in 2016, and it will come with a more premium dressing than the current car. The level of competition between next-gen Innova and Mobilio is going to be close. It will be interesting to observe the power of MPV battle between Mobilio and Innova in the near future.

Spy shots of a great dashing car model have hit the internet, which are believed to belong to the production version model of the all new 2015 Honda Civic Type R. Though controversial at the moment and nothing at the time really vouches for the fact that these two pictures of the dazzling winged car are really of the new Honda Civic Type R, the auto enthusiasts will be happy to have something rather than nothing when it comes to the upcoming Type R.

2015 Honda Civic Type R

The all new 2015 Honda Civic Type R has always been a dream car for the auto enthusiasts. Dubbed as a race car for the urban roads, the Honda Civic Type R raised eye brows and dropped jaws of many onlookers even when the company revealed the first sketches of the upcoming Type R. The 2015 Honda Civic Type R went on to wow many more audience when it was most recently seen as a concept at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show held in March.

Coming back to the recently snapped possible production version 2015 Honda Civic Type R, the spy pictures look really baffling as the car has some of the Type R’s design features, while some are missing. The snapped car was spotted in the Croatian city of Rijeka and the car was seen shooting for promotional photos and videos.

Though these pictures do not reveal much of the car, from whatever can be ascertained this car seems to be missing the study concept Type R’s massive wheel arches. Moreover, as was seen in the pictures from the Geneva Motor Show, the 2015 Civic Type R’s killer slits at the front and rear fenders are also missing in this spied car. On the other hand, the spied car does draw attention by flaunting the typical 2015 Type R’s colossal rear wing and a modified version of the same rear diffuser.

Nevertheless, a closer and better look at the car can only tell for sure whether or not this car spotted in Croatia is really the 2015 Honda Civic Type R. However, given the real fact that most of the concept car models get heavily modified before they actually hit the production, this could very well be the 2015 Honda Civic Type R’s production version. The concept models usually go through a series of modifications before they hit the market in order to be more practical and also to keep the price on check. The recently spied car model could be the production version of 2015 Civic Type R that will be offered for sale in European car market next year.

The Japanese car major, Honda Motor has already confirmed that the all new Honda Civic Type R will be launching the global market powered by a 2 liter turbocharged inline 4-cylinder VTEC motor that has the capability to produce max power of more than 280 hp offering power to the car’s front wheels.

The Japanese auto maker Honda Motor always had a strong reputation in the global car market. Honda cars are best known for their superior styling, smart and comfortable interiors and refined performance. Moreover, Honda cars also offer great safety for the owners. As per the reports of the New Car Assessment Program from Association of Southeast Asian Nations, two Honda cars have got the highest safety ratings in the test conducted.

All-New 2015 Fit/Jazz

The all new Honda City sedan and the all new Jazz hatchback have managed to obtain 5 stars rating which is the highest, in the safety tests. In the same safety tests conducted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Indian car maker Tata Motors has been awarded three stars for the Tata Vista hatchback.

The mentioned two Honda cars that passed the crash tests with flying colors were the Thailand made versions, while the 3 star rated Tata Vista was made in India. The top of the range models of the Honda Jazz and the Honda City car models have received 5 stars in the tests conducted for Adult Occupant Protection (AOP). On the other hand, in the same test, both the City and Jazz’s base model trims managed to score 4 stars. Then again, in the other test criteria which involved the Child Occupant Protection (COP) parameter, both the Honda City and the Honda Jazz obtained 4 stars. In both these tests conducted by the auto body, the India made Tata Vista managed to score 3 stars.

In terms of all over points, the all new Honda City sedan has proved to be a better car model, as the car has managed to score 15.80 out of a total 16 points. On the other hand, the Honda Jazz premium hatchback managed to score 15.58 points upon 16 points. The made in India, Tata Vista could not score very impressively and managed to procure only 9.24 out of 16 points.

These high safety ratings are very important for the car manufacturers, as the modern car buyers are getting very conscious about the safety aspects of the cars they buy. The various countries governments are also putting strict rules and regulations to reinforce the safety standards for cars to ensure that the car passengers are safer.

The all new Honda City is a very successful car in India. Launched only in January this year, the new City grabbed the top spot in its own segment in India in no time at all. The new City is very much praised for its new looks, great features and safety features, while also offers the best in industry diesel mileage.

Honda Cars India is also going to launch the all new Jazz in India sometime early next year.

The Indian government is also implemented strict safety standards recently, and going by these standards even the Indian made cars will have cars will have high safety scores. The Indian car makers are also expected to churn out super safe cars in future.

Honda Cars India has emerged victorious in August 2014, with spectacular profit gains of 88% in domestic market. It is a two fold increase from the previous year, the company in the month sold 16,758 pieces contrary to 8,913 units a year ago. The highest sale contributor is Amaze with the flow of 9,198 units; the next best seller is Mobilio with 5,530 units. The company managed to sell sufficient number of Brio cars with the flow of 1,211 units. The all new City was not in production for a while, and only 757 units were sold. There were 62 buyers for CR-V and much of the profits were concentrated in the domestic market, the export volume was not so significant with only 460 units.

Honda Amaze Anniversary Edition

On the creditable profits Honda said, ‘’we are delighted with the constant growth month after month. The festive season has begun, which means we are in for greater customer sentiment responses, we are ready for superior profits in coming months.’’ The all new City is a best seller, since launch in early 2014, it continuously generated highest profits, and sadly the production of vehicle was discontinued for about a month. Despite its discontinuation Honda India managed to rock the profit charts and most of it was contributed by Amaze.

Amaze is Honda’s first diesel venture for Indian markets, and also its debut project in sub-four meter compact sedan category. Since its arrival in 2013 April the company has been making month after month profits even when the economy weakened at a macro-level. It was a risk to dwell into a new venture with a diesel sub compact car at a crucial period. What was a menacing risk turned out to be fruitful.

Amaze is a new surprise in compact sedan segment, the structure of the vehicle is true to its identity, it will amaze you indeed. Sources are so inspired by the nature of the vehicle that they have placed it in the luxury car segment, it is that startling. It portrays a vivacious and youthful stance, the design on the front is eye catchy contributed by the inventively styled headlight cluster and grille. The styling of the grille is as dynamic as brio, and is covered with a solid chrome treatment. The rear section is attractive as well, the tail lights look classy and the creativity lies in the extension of boot from the side to boot door.

The insides of Amaze is magical, the cabin room is so vast that consumers don’t get the feeling that they are sitting in a compact sedan. The beige and black color theme adds vibrancy and color, the layout of the front dashboard is simple and elegant. The audio system and air con are strategically placed, for optimum comfort there are arm rests and ample storage facilities.

Amaze has ripper engine power and mileage, the petrol car moves with 1.2 liter iVTEC capacity and diesel vehicle runs on an advanced iDTEC 1.5 liter engine. The petrol car gives out 86.8bhp and diesel 98.6bhp, and both engines are coupled with five speed manual transmission gearbox and there is an optional automatic transmission system on petrol car. The diesel vehicle offers world class 25.8 kmpl mileage and petrol gives 18kmpl. The vehicle costs Rs 5.1 to 8.2 lakhs.

All the amazing characteristics of Amaze made it a best seller in 2014 August.