India was witness to what Honda will bring to the country in January next year. The all-new City was unveiled for all to see and the new car promises to bring in a lot more bang for the buck.
When the first City was brought in back in 1998, it created quite a stir in the market. Now, generations later, the new car looks set to grab its advantage once more. First off, the car is the same size, but features a completely new design, without a doubt, borrowing from Honda’s new ‘Exciting H Design!’ philosophy. The smooth but highly detailed front-end is complemented with flowing lines which wrap up nicely at the rear. While the length of the car is the same, it runs a wheelbase which is 50mm more than the previous model. It is also slightly wider and taller than its predecessor. Inside, it brings a new instrument cluster with cool-blue lighting surrounds and a typically Honda-class interior; high quality and well put-together. There’s also a 5” touch information panel, Bluetooth telephony, USB, Aux-in and a start button on the dash this time round.
The main changes, though, are under the bonnet. Honda will offer the City with 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol and diesel motors. While no details were revealed at the unveiling, with the developments overseas and the details revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, we expect the company’s new i-VTEC with direct injection to debut in the new car. It brings with it a slight bump – about 7-10% – in output. That would translate to a power output of about 130 PS and 150 Nm of torque, with improved fuel efficiency only making the deal even sweeter. The second option will be the 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel, which in all probability will be offered with a variable turbine geometry turbocharger, to improve output an driveability. The jump in output will see about 110 PS and 250 Nm pumped out of the upgraded diesel mill. Both models are expected to be offered with both manual and automatic transmission options driving the front wheels.
As of now, no prices have been revealed, but we can safely assume the car to cost only a tad more than the previous model did. The diesel model will inevitably be priced slightly higher than its equivalent petrol variant. Although bookings are already under way, more information about the car and the deliveries will become available as we near the launch set to take place this January.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Gaurav Nagpal
