Tag: CITY

Overview

So, I am going to review the 2015 Honda City Diesel which is the 4^th Generation City in its lineup. The very first City hit the Indian market in 1998 and since then the trust in that Honda badge has only gone up over the years. But as the 3^rd gen City neared the finish line Honda was struck by the lack of a diesel engine in its cars. Therefore, a new 1.5L i-DTEC motor was unveiled, this motor debuted in the Honda Amaze. Since long the City has been christened as the number #1 sedan in India, the brand has everything the Indian customer wants in a car- be it features, good mileage, resale value, customer service, reliability. 

First Impressions/Features 

My expectations for driving a Honda City were higher than usual for any car because people have had a very positive feedback for the car and now that it had a diesel engine as well, people who didn’t buy a Honda because they wanted a diesel motor would go out and embrace the new City. Once you have entered the cabin you are greeted with a premium feel. The interior has got a makeover as well as the exterior. The piano black finish of the center console along with the feather touch automatic climate control system grabs your attention instantly.

The cluster has also been changed to this beautiful 3 circle setup with a digital MID on the right and the tachometer on the left. The lights in the cluster change color depending on the drive mode that you have selected or the way that you are driving. It is nothing like the hideous old orange light cluster of the last generation City. Moving on to some of the flaws in the cabin and that is the over-use of hard plastics and a cheap-feeling gear knob which just robs away all that premium feel. The car comes feature-loaded for 2015 car – A sunroof has been provided and that just makes up for the hard plastics used! Push-button start, passive entry, a screen with buttons on the side (not a touch screen) **note that the newer models come with a touchscreen**, rear parking camera, steering mounted controls, ABS with EBD and 2 airbags as standard across all variants, etc.

Along with the sunroof the City also has another party trick up its sleeve that is whenever a person with the key in his pocket walks up to the car he/she doesn’t have to press the request sensor to unlock the car but just slide his hand into the door handle and voila the car’s unlocked. Although you do have to press the button to lock the car.

The Ride

This might just be controversial for all those Honda fanboys out there but the new diesel motor is just not at par to Hondas levels or that of the i-VTEC (I would try out the petrol motor soon and give you my honest opinions). The ride isn’t the best when the company has fitted the City with narrow tires and that too of a low profile. The motor produces 100ps of power and 200 Nm of torque and redlines at just 4000-4500 rpm! The suspension and the ride height too hinder the City’s performance on Indian roads. The 6-speed manual gearbox just gives it superb mileage (26kmpl ARAI mileage, that translates to 20kmpl in real life). The insulation isn’t best and the noise does come into the cabin. 

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The Verdict 

The Honda City is a brilliant day-to-day car with its 510 ltr. boot space, good ergonomics, spacious cabin and good front and rear leg-room but on the other side, I just couldn’t stop ranting on that horrendous diesel motor. If you are considering to go for a Honda City then I would recommend you go for the petrol variant because that is just the better one. An engine is the heart of a car and the one thing that would bring a smile to your face as you drive it daily to work or whatever your destination is! Combining the i-VTEC and i-DTEC motors with Honda’s new “Earth Dreams” technology, Honda aims at better fuel economy, purer drives and reduced carbon footprints. This just adds to the very name of the car – “CITY” as it keeps getting better at what it was made to drive in and around.

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**Seriously I mean it, please go for the petrol and not the diesel ;)**