New 2012 Honda City : complete road-test and review
06 Feb 2012 5:49 PM by
Somnath Chatterjee
in
Single review,
Introduction
Ever since its launch in late 2008 , the new look City has been a huge success for Honda. Infact before the Brio , it was Honda's bread and butter. The City is a car that you , me and everyone else is familliar about. In various forms , the City has won many followers over the years.
.jpg)
After its 2008 debut , the Honda City went straight at the top of the charts. It was easy to see why as it had futuristic looks , a spacious cabin , good quality interiors and ofcourse the fantastic Honda engine and great after sales service. However recently things started to change. The price of petrol was climbing steadily and consumers started to feel the pinch. That led to the shifting in favour of diesel cars and here , Honda was found wanting. The Vento and the new Verna all with their diesel engines stole the City's crown. Now Honda knows that the best way to combat this is to make the City even more value for money. That is what exactly they have done with the new face-lifted City. It has got a mild change in looks and some new features plus a new starting price of only Rs 6.99 lakh. Somnath Chatterjee drove the top-spec manual variant in and around parts of Delhi and have the answer to the most obvious question - does the new City get back its crown? Lets see.
Design
The current generation Honda City has been around since 2008 and yet it still looks fresh even today. The futuristic design is razor-sharp and is a big change over its predecessor. With the new City , Honda has made some small but significant changes to the exterior. In the front you get a chrome front grille , new front bumper , ORVM with turn indicators and 10 spoke alloy wheels. All that makes a difference as the new City now looks classy and especially with that chrome grille it looks luxurious.
.jpg)
The rear has also seen some changes with a new tail-light and rear bumper with reflectors. Honda has added two new colours to the City product range- Carnelian Red Pearl and Sparkling Brown Metallic. We think the City looks the best in the new red pearl colour. Overall the changes make the City look fresh and up to date and the car can still holds its own in front of newer rivals like the new Fiesta , Verna and the likes - this with a design that is now almost 4 years old!
.jpg)
Interiors
The City was always known for its quality laden and spacious cabin and the new One simply improves on this , even if by a small margin! Step inside and you will be greeted by a familliar cabin. There have not been many changes to the interior but there are some small ones that escape your eyes the first time. The Civic like steering looks cool and the centre-console looks futuristic and quality is good all over the cabin.
.jpg)
An addition to the steering controls apart from the audio is the new cruise control functionality. Now , while some feel that cruise control in India is not very practical especially since you don't know what is going to suddenly come in front of you , the fact is that on open highways and roads , this does come in handy. Take a car to the open vasts of NH-8 in Rajasthan and you will get our point!
.jpg)
Also there is an Eco lamp that flashes when you are driving economically , encouraging you to do so. We were driving the manual version but the auto version also has paddleshifts. When driving , the all new blue combination instruments looked great , especially once it gets dark outside. You will also find an electric sunroof but only in the top V variant. The audio system has an USB/MP3/AUX/AM/FM player and you listen to music through USB. The system by the way sounds amazing!
.jpg)
Space has always been the City's strength and the rear seats are spacious and thigh-support is good. This car will take 5 full sized adults easily , though the ground clearance in this mode will be an issue!
Engine
The engine in the new City is a 1.5L 4 cylinder , 16 valve i-VTEC , developing 118 PS of max power at 6600 rpm - the same one as the old version. Read the last line again : 6600 rpm! This motor loves to rev and the engine is a gem. The power delivery is smooth and when you do high speeds , the engine does not feel strained at all. The refinement of the engine is also very good and something that not all other rivals can match upto.
.jpg)
Another reason for the good performance is the 5-speed manual gearbox which is a joy to use as the throws are light and the shifts are quite positive. In the city traffiic conditions , this Honda is easy to drive and park thanks to its light clutch and gearshift. The handling of the City is also very good as there is no body-roll and the car feels athletic and responds quickly. . Another important question is fuel economy as these days prices of petrol are touching sky high. The City delivers 16.8 in manual and 15.6 kmpl in the automatic version which is one of the best in its segment - these figures are as per ARAI standards.
Suspension
The front suspension in the City is McPherson Strut and the rear has torsion beams. The ride is much better now but some potholes are still felt in the cabin. At low speeds ride is good but still we feel some improvent is needed to be up there with the best. That said , drive the car in a spirited manner , and it will leave a smile on your face for sure.
.jpg)
The ABS in the City does well to make it stop quickly. Steering feels way to light with the EPS power steering - boon for city , crawling speeds and for the fair sex. We however want some more feel from the steering.
Verdict
The new Honda City price range starts with the base 'Corporate' starting at Rs 6.99 lakhs ex-showroom. This variant is good value for money but is without features such as audio system , steering controls. The one we drove was the 'V' Sunroof variant priced at Rs 9.5 lakhs ex-showroom. The automatic variant comes only in 'V' variant with or without sunroof.
.jpg)
The one that makes the best sense is the 'S' model at Rs 8.2 lakhs ex-showroom which has most of the features and is good value. The City may not have a diesel engine but it has got enough to make it a force to be reckoned with and is one of the best petrol sedans under Rs 10 lakhs. Infact , Honda has shown that even without a diesel unit , they can still sell thousands of these each month - the reasons? We just spoke about them above!
Content courtesy: 
on 10 May 12 at 7:21 PM
nice to see in a test drive. But where is one line statement.....
on 10 May 12 at 7:21 PM
Fluidic verna or new city
on 10 May 12 at 7:21 PM
Honda city Carnelian Red
on 10 May 12 at 7:21 PM
one of the best car in its segment
on 10 May 12 at 7:21 PM
Iam Abraham Daniel proud owner of a honda city purchased in 2010 Nov from Trivandrum it has run only 9000 KM fantastic vehicle,Now i plan to buy an automatic version of the same car can i exchange it with new honda city AT .
Introduction
Ever since its launch in late 2008 , the new look City has been a huge success for Honda. Infact before the Brio , it was Honda's bread and butter. The City is a car that you , me and everyone else is familliar about. In various forms , the City has won many followers over the years.
After its 2008 debut , the Honda City went straight at the top of the charts. It was easy to see why as it had futuristic looks , a spacious cabin , good quality interiors and ofcourse the fantastic Honda engine and great after sales service. However recently things started to change. The price of petrol was climbing steadily and consumers started to feel the pinch. That led to the shifting in favour of diesel cars and here , Honda was found wanting. The Vento and the new Verna all with their diesel engines stole the City's crown. Now Honda knows that the best way to combat this is to make the City even more value for money. That is what exactly they have done with the new face-lifted City. It has got a mild change in looks and some new features plus a new starting price of only Rs 6.99 lakh. Somnath Chatterjee drove the top-spec manual variant in and around parts of Delhi and have the answer to the most obvious question - does the new City get back its crown? Lets see.
Design
The current generation Honda City has been around since 2008 and yet it still looks fresh even today. The futuristic design is razor-sharp and is a big change over its predecessor. With the new City , Honda has made some small but significant changes to the exterior. In the front you get a chrome front grille , new front bumper , ORVM with turn indicators and 10 spoke alloy wheels. All that makes a difference as the new City now looks classy and especially with that chrome grille it looks luxurious.
The rear has also seen some changes with a new tail-light and rear bumper with reflectors. Honda has added two new colours to the City product range- Carnelian Red Pearl and Sparkling Brown Metallic. We think the City looks the best in the new red pearl colour. Overall the changes make the City look fresh and up to date and the car can still holds its own in front of newer rivals like the new Fiesta , Verna and the likes - this with a design that is now almost 4 years old!
Interiors
The City was always known for its quality laden and spacious cabin and the new One simply improves on this , even if by a small margin! Step inside and you will be greeted by a familliar cabin. There have not been many changes to the interior but there are some small ones that escape your eyes the first time. The Civic like steering looks cool and the centre-console looks futuristic and quality is good all over the cabin.
An addition to the steering controls apart from the audio is the new cruise control functionality. Now , while some feel that cruise control in India is not very practical especially since you don't know what is going to suddenly come in front of you , the fact is that on open highways and roads , this does come in handy. Take a car to the open vasts of NH-8 in Rajasthan and you will get our point!
Also there is an Eco lamp that flashes when you are driving economically , encouraging you to do so. We were driving the manual version but the auto version also has paddleshifts. When driving , the all new blue combination instruments looked great , especially once it gets dark outside. You will also find an electric sunroof but only in the top V variant. The audio system has an USB/MP3/AUX/AM/FM player and you listen to music through USB. The system by the way sounds amazing!
.jpg)
Space has always been the City's strength and the rear seats are spacious and thigh-support is good. This car will take 5 full sized adults easily , though the ground clearance in this mode will be an issue!
Engine
The engine in the new City is a 1.5L 4 cylinder , 16 valve i-VTEC , developing 118 PS of max power at 6600 rpm - the same one as the old version. Read the last line again : 6600 rpm! This motor loves to rev and the engine is a gem. The power delivery is smooth and when you do high speeds , the engine does not feel strained at all. The refinement of the engine is also very good and something that not all other rivals can match upto.
Another reason for the good performance is the 5-speed manual gearbox which is a joy to use as the throws are light and the shifts are quite positive. In the city traffiic conditions , this Honda is easy to drive and park thanks to its light clutch and gearshift. The handling of the City is also very good as there is no body-roll and the car feels athletic and responds quickly. . Another important question is fuel economy as these days prices of petrol are touching sky high. The City delivers 16.8 in manual and 15.6 kmpl in the automatic version which is one of the best in its segment - these figures are as per ARAI standards.
Suspension
The front suspension in the City is McPherson Strut and the rear has torsion beams. The ride is much better now but some potholes are still felt in the cabin. At low speeds ride is good but still we feel some improvent is needed to be up there with the best. That said , drive the car in a spirited manner , and it will leave a smile on your face for sure.
The ABS in the City does well to make it stop quickly. Steering feels way to light with the EPS power steering - boon for city , crawling speeds and for the fair sex. We however want some more feel from the steering.
Verdict
The new Honda City price range starts with the base 'Corporate' starting at Rs 6.99 lakhs ex-showroom. This variant is good value for money but is without features such as audio system , steering controls. The one we drove was the 'V' Sunroof variant priced at Rs 9.5 lakhs ex-showroom. The automatic variant comes only in 'V' variant with or without sunroof.
The one that makes the best sense is the 'S' model at Rs 8.2 lakhs ex-showroom which has most of the features and is good value. The City may not have a diesel engine but it has got enough to make it a force to be reckoned with and is one of the best petrol sedans under Rs 10 lakhs. Infact , Honda has shown that even without a diesel unit , they can still sell thousands of these each month - the reasons? We just spoke about them above!
Content courtesy:
nice to see in a test drive. But where is one line statement.....
Fluidic verna or new city
Honda city Carnelian Red
one of the best car in its segment
Iam Abraham Daniel proud owner of a honda city purchased in 2010 Nov from Trivandrum it has run only 9000 KM fantastic vehicle,Now i plan to buy an automatic version of the same car can i exchange it with new honda city AT .