Urban Legend: Honda New City

Honda has launched the latest version of its best-seller City. With the launch of the car in the country, Honda is back at doing what they do best – completely demolishing the competition. We test drived the car and to say the least, we were mighty impressed with it. The new City is 5mm longer and wider but sits 25mm lower than the model it replaces. In addition, the car rides on 15inch wheels, an inch up from the current one. Combine this with a futuristic front (reminding us of the Civic and the FCX Clarity) and the big grille with the Honda logo plastered in the center and you can’t stop admiring how much better the latest City looks. The longish front bonnet, however, doesn’t quite go along with the small stubby boot. But make no mistake, at a claimed capacity of 506 liters, it shames the competition by a huge margin. We also noticed the rear bumper is placed too close to the body. Low speed impact from the rear might have the tail lamps taking a toll! Overall, the car has a compact yet dynamic cab-forward design. We won’t be surprised if rich spoiled brats put in lower profile tyres on 16 or even 17inch wheels to further enhance the car’s racy looks. On the inside, Honda claims the new City has class leading interior space. Not just this, we feel the car is very practical as well. With no less than seven cup and bottle holders, ample storage spaces for knick-knacks and space under the rear seats to put an umbrella along with shoes. Finding a comfortable driving position in the earlier City was never an issue. With an adjustable steering wheel (with audio control – something that’s missing on the Civic!) for both reach and height, Honda has made this car even better when it comes to ergonomics. A three pod instrumentation console greets you with displays for average and instantaneous fuel consumption in addition to the regular information. The integrated music system looksgood, but doesn’t take in CDs. Fret not, it is compatible with MP3s including iPods. The interiors are solidly built, however, the quality of plastic seems a bit cheap. Legroom is more than ample – a virtue the City was always known for. What’s noteworthy are the split folding rear seats (with a central armrest) which can even be reclined back a little for comfort. Airbags, ABS with EBD will come standard in the top end model in India. As the name itself suggest, the City is the best urban tool around. The super smooth 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine gets more poke and churns out 120 horses now. This is 20 percent higher than what the VTEC variants in India manage. With the latest model being just sixty kilos heavier, expect impressive performance from the new car. The City will come with an option of both five-speed manual and a five-speed automatic box with paddle shifts. Driving impression has been positive with a peppy response from the engine and a commendable fuel economy of 13-14kmpl in actual city driving conditions! The electro-assisted steering wheel remains ultra-light at crawling speeds, becoming stiffer as speeds build up. However, you do miss the feedback one expects at higher speeds for confidence. Pricing will play a very crucial role in the success of this car in India. With tougher competition, Honda has to play the money game carefully. It looks and feels the best in its segment and the most practical of the current lot of contenders. Honda cars also have the best resale value in the market. The gem of an engine is the icing on the cake – frugal, fast and smooth. More photos:

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