The new City hybrid might seem expensive at Rs 21 lakh but offers a hybrid powertrain with excellent efficiency plus more aggressive styling.
Key Points
- The new Honda City facelift features aggressive styling with slimmer LED headlamps, a light bar, and a sharper bumper, linking its design to the global Civic.
- The updated cabin includes a larger touchscreen, 360-degree camera, ADAS, sunroof, powered handbrake, and ventilated seats, enhancing comfort and technology.
- The hybrid version, available in the top-end trim, offers a spectacular claimed fuel efficiency of 27.2 kmpl (real-world 18-20 kmpl) and a smooth, fuss-free driving experience.
- Despite its premium price of Rs 21 lakh, the new City hybrid's blend of comfort, space, aggressive styling, and excellent efficiency aims to attract new buyers.
- While not the most fun to drive compared to rivals, its focus on efficiency and comfort is expected to appeal to current Indian car buyers.
The City was once unbeatable in the sedan segment and established Honda in India while being on sale close to 30 years.
From the iconic 'Vtec' version to the 'Dolphin', the City has had various avatars over the years but recently the fondness for SUVs has made the City brand less appealing for the Indian car buyer, resulting in sedans slipping in desirability.
However, Honda is back now and the new City has been given an extensive facelift with the new look dominating the limelight.
We drove the car in Bengaluru to find out whether it can claw back its market share.
Aggressive Styling Enhances Appeal
While being a facelift, the new City looks all new from the front thanks to the slimmer LED headlamps flanked by a light bar along with a sharper looking bumper.
The design links itself to the global Civic and adds a sleek touch to the car while completely changing its appearance.
The side profile remains the same save for new alloy wheels while the rear styling gets a tweaked tail-lamp design with a smoked effect. There is a new black colour being added to the range as well.
New Features for Enhanced Comfort
The new City also gets an overhauled cabin design with a larger touchscreen, which kind of looks a bit aftermarket but offers a much better infotainment experience than earlier.
Other new equipment includes a 360-degree camera, ADAS, sunroof, powered handbrake and ventilated seats, although powered seats are a big miss.
The dashboard mercifully has plenty of physical controls and the digital cluster mimics a traditional dial set-up for an analogue meets digital experience.
Space is in plenty with excellent legroom, and the seats are comfortable too. Headroom could be an issue for tall passengers, though.
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Hybrid: The Efficient Choice
The hybrid version comes with the top-end trim only and develops 126 bhp and 253Nm with an eCVT gearbox.
Being a strong hybrid, the fuel efficiency is a spectacular 27.2 kmpl.
We drove the hybrid and you start off in silence with the electric mode and during coasting it seamlessly switches between the engine and the motor.
Real world efficiency is around 18-20 kmpl, which is also brilliant while you can get better on the highway.
The driving experience is smooth, fuss free but the City hybrid feels best when driven with a relaxed pace as driving it hard makes the gearbox a touch noisy.
The suspension is soft as well but offers a comforting ride quality.
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Is the New City Hybrid Worth Buying?
The new City hybrid might seem expensive at Rs 21 lakh but offers a hybrid powertrain with excellent efficiency plus more aggressive styling which is bound to attract new buyers.
It remains a comfortable, spacious car but now with added style and features.
It is not the most fun to drive, though, like the Volkswagen Virtus or as well-equipped as the Hyundai Verna but its blend of comfort and efficiency will win buyers in today's age.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
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