Honda City" hspace="9" vspace="0" width="347" height="247" align="left" />The Honda City conjures up a vision of a car that’s fast , agile , fuel efficient and fun. With over a hundred horses to play around with , the first generation model was the fastest car available this side of the Ford Mondeo petrol. As the year 2003 drew to an end , Honda launched a new City. Hopes of a better car were shattered. Auto enthusiasts were disappointed and we all cribbed about the fact that Honda had replaced the potent vehicle with One that churned out only 77 bhp. Nonetheless , the second model made sense for India. The interiors were a huge step forward , the engine a boon during traffic and fuel economy remained as good as ever. A fun car was replaced by a practical one and the sales chart soared higher , and higher. The 100bhp V-tech was launched to satisfy those who still dreamt of the old City but that too felt like a mule.

Back to the future – October 2008. i was driving the latest City with a class leading 118bhp engine on the Delhi-Jaipur highway. With three adults on board , the aircon working overtime and typical heavy commercial traffic to deal with , I managed to keep the car at around the ton mark. However , once we hit a clear stretch of road , I decided to check if the new car had what it took to plaster a smile on my face. Even while being slotted in D mode , the urgency with which the needle climbed from 120km/h to 150km/h had me grinning from end to end. The memories of the good old City were back. Has Honda been able to incorporate the fun factor in the latest version?

Within weeks of launching the all-new City in Thailand , we got a chance to drive the car extensively through various kinds of traffic scenarios in India. The car felt nimble in Jaipur’s awfully slow rush hour traffic , returned astonishing fuel economy figures on the highway and ripped on the open NH-8 to my heart’s contentment. It looks great as well – the Honda FCX derived looks with a horizontal grille stacked between huge , striking headlamps dominate the front. The latest variant has a racy appeal; Honda refers to the design as ‘Arrow Shot Form!’ The relatively long bonnet swoops up at an angle giving a better front on look than the earlier cab-forward design. BMW-esque tail lamps complete the package with a rather short stubby boot. Longer and wider by 5mm than the outgoing model , it maintains the same ground clearance even though the car’s height has been lowered by 15mm. In effect , this leads to a sleeker and sturdier body shape. The wheelbase has been extended by an additional 100mm translating to a spacious interior. It is by far the best looking City ever and I can’t help but think about how it will look with low profile 16inch alloys. This car has a lot of potential to be drool tool.

Improvements are carried over to the car’s interior as well. Honda had set itself a challenge – to exceed every expectation and raise the benchmark further. With the old City already at the top of its game when it came to interiors , it was a pleasant surprise to notice that the new car has managed to up the ante. The steering wheel is a la Civic with audio controls and paddle shifts (for the automatic version). The two-tone colour combination looks grand and the vertically stacked central console features an advanced integrated iPod compatible audio system. The City scores big on convenience with a central armrest for the rear passengers and plenty of cubbyholes. The seats were a bit of a disappointment for my size as the front seats don’t go too far back. However a lower hip point and floor makes for a sportier seating position for the driver.

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