Features comparison: 2016 Honda Amaze vs Ford Figo Aspire vs Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire
Honda launched the facelifted Amaze at Rs 5.29 lakh (ex-Delhi). Honda's mid-size offering competes with the Ford Figo Aspire and the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire. We have already driven the new Honda Amaze, and you can read about it here.
The new Honda Amaze is available in four main trims – E, S, SX and VX – which can be configured with both petrol and diesel engines. While all trims get a 5-speed manual transmission, the S and VX variants with a petrol engine can be optioned with a CVT.
Honda will offer airbags as an option on all variants including the base E from May 2016. However, all diesel and CVT trims get ABS and EBD as standard. The manual Ford Figo Aspire is available in the Ambiente, Trend, Titanium and Titanium+ trims while the automatic is offered only in the Titanium. The diesel Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire comes in six trims while the petrol is offered with eight. The petrol can be optioned with either a five-speed manual or an automatic transmission while the diesel is offered with a 5-speed manual and a 5-speed AMT.
While the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and Honda Amaze offer driver and passenger airbags as an optional feature on the base variants, Ford offers it as standard right from the Ambiente trim. Additionally, the Figo Aspire also comes with side and curtain airbags on the top-end Titanium+ variant. The base variants have multiple features in common which include an engine immobilizer, a manual AC, a tilt adjustable steering column, fabric seat upholstery, internally adjustable ORVMs and a roof mounted antenna.
The automatic variants of the Honda Amaze, Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and the Ford Figo Aspire get ABS and electronic brake distribution as standard. The Figo Aspire, also gets ESP and traction control. The automatic Ford Figo Aspire also comes equipped with leather upholstery while the Amaze CVT and the Swift Dzire AT only get fabric seats. The Honda Amaze, Ford Figo Aspire and the Swift Dzire AMT get automatic climate control while the Swift Dzire petrol AT gets a manual AC. The Honda Amaze VX and the Ford Figo Aspire Titanium get Bluetooth enabled music systems while the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire VXi variant gets just a CD player with USB connectivity and an AUX port.
The Figo Aspire gets a voice activated Sync system with emergency assistance. This system can make calls, read out messages as well as operate the entertainment system. While the Honda Amaze and the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire lose out on that, they do get a more primitive double-din entertainment system. Overall, in terms of features, the Ford Figo Aspire scores a lot more points than the Honda Amaze and the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire.