2013 Honda Amaze first drive

Honda have extended the wheelbase of the Brio platform, reworked the body past the B-pillar to integrate a boot as cohesively as possible, adding minor design updates to the front fender and a flat rear fender that brings the car smoothly under the four-metre mark. The underpinnings are more or less the same as the Brio - McPherson struts up front and the torsion beam set up at the back. The wheels are also the same size as the Brio.

More Brio cues lie on the interior and that's a good thing. The Amaze features the same uncluttered, functional, good quality layout and Honda have used the extended wheelbase to create a spacious cabin, keeping the rear passengers comfortable.

The important engine is the all-new 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel (and the 1.2-litre petrol from the Brio, of course). This engine will debut on the Amaze but will power many more Honda cars in India before 2013 is out. No official figures have been announced yet but this feels like a 100PS/200Nm diesel.

In driving, it is quiet but not utterly silent at idle, but refinement improves once you are on the move. Power is effortless and this will be a good car to drive. The handling too is clean and sharp but you cannot call it sporty because Honda has chosen to spring this car for a plush ride quality which means a little body roll. But on the tarmac we were given the car on, the ride felt promising.

Honda will officially enter the entry-sedan market with the Amaze early next year and we will be able to show you more of the car here on November 23. Or for a fully detailed first drive, check out the new issue of OVERDRIVE, on stands November 23, 2012.