Automatic cars have recently gathered a good amount of pace in the Indian Market. The reason for this is pretty obvious. With the rise in the number of cars and hence increase in traffic, the people have realised the convenience the Automatic cars offer.
But this wasn't the case before. Automatic cars were always criticized for their low fuel efficiency and expensive maintenance. The German luxury cars and Honda Accord were one of the few once which dared to offer automatics. The people who bought the luxury cars weren't much concerned about the costs but the Honda Accord took a hit when it came to automatics. The 4 speed automatic wasn't appreciated for the reasons mentioned above.
The AMT cars provided equally good mileage as the manuals and provided extra convenience by omitting the clutch. People loved the Celerio for its revolutionary gearbox. Maruti and Tata also started bring AMTs with diesel engines, which further boosted their sales.
But the problem with AMTs was that they didn't provide the flexibility or the performance that the other transmissions provided. Here came other transmissions like the DSG or the CVT. But DSGs were expensive and CVT was never actually tried for a budget diesel car.
It might seem a bit too soon but the Honda Amaze Diesel automatic might just be the best diesel automatic ever. It gets rid of the gear change jerking which the AMTs were notorious for and also eliminated the rubber band effect to some extent.
The reduction in the power and torque as compared to manual won't feel much in real driving conditions. The car feels smooth and noise is well masked too. Honda has indeed nailed it with the new Amaze. The fuel efficiency of the diesel and the smoothness of the CVT has proved out to be great combination. We might get to see something like this in the Next gen Honda City too.
Yes, the CVT might not provide the excellent fuel efficiency of the AMT but the smoothness and the refinement it provides does make up for it.
Such fierce competition among the carmakers has always been good for us consumers. We get to see new concepts and products which we wouldn't have even thought about ever. Honda proved this statement with the new Honda Amaze once again.
But this wasn't the case before. Automatic cars were always criticized for their low fuel efficiency and expensive maintenance. The German luxury cars and Honda Accord were one of the few once which dared to offer automatics. The people who bought the luxury cars weren't much concerned about the costs but the Honda Accord took a hit when it came to automatics. The 4 speed automatic wasn't appreciated for the reasons mentioned above.
Rise of Budget Automatic Cars
Many car manufacturers dared to launch automatics but to no avail. This was changed with the launch of Maruti's Celerio with its revolutionary AMT gearbox. The 'Hindustani Aam Janta' could now dream to buy an automatic vehicle without the hassles of unnecessary expense. The Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) from the firm Magneti Marelli worked wonders for the budget carmakers.The AMT cars provided equally good mileage as the manuals and provided extra convenience by omitting the clutch. People loved the Celerio for its revolutionary gearbox. Maruti and Tata also started bring AMTs with diesel engines, which further boosted their sales.
But the problem with AMTs was that they didn't provide the flexibility or the performance that the other transmissions provided. Here came other transmissions like the DSG or the CVT. But DSGs were expensive and CVT was never actually tried for a budget diesel car.
Honda's Take on Diesel Automatics
Honda has always tried to maintain its 'premium brand image'. Hence they deciding not to go with the trend but instead they launched their next gen Honda Amaze with a CVT diesel variant. This was a first ever engine gearbox combination ever tried in India. Everyone was surprised with the Honda's decision and was also quite eager to test it.It might seem a bit too soon but the Honda Amaze Diesel automatic might just be the best diesel automatic ever. It gets rid of the gear change jerking which the AMTs were notorious for and also eliminated the rubber band effect to some extent.
The reduction in the power and torque as compared to manual won't feel much in real driving conditions. The car feels smooth and noise is well masked too. Honda has indeed nailed it with the new Amaze. The fuel efficiency of the diesel and the smoothness of the CVT has proved out to be great combination. We might get to see something like this in the Next gen Honda City too.
Yes, the CVT might not provide the excellent fuel efficiency of the AMT but the smoothness and the refinement it provides does make up for it.
Such fierce competition among the carmakers has always been good for us consumers. We get to see new concepts and products which we wouldn't have even thought about ever. Honda proved this statement with the new Honda Amaze once again.
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