We evaluate Honda’s fourth-generation City, which gets an oil-burner for the first time.
Story: Piyush Sonsale
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
The new 2014 Honda City carries forward the legacy of three successful generations of the sedan and a brand-name that has been popular in India for 16 years. Honda have introduced the i-DTEC diesel engine option in the City for the first time along with a new design and other upgrades to keep up with the stiff competition. Let’s see if the fourth-generation City does justice to its lineage.
First of all, it can be easily identified as a Honda City unlike the previous cars since the new design is an evolution of its predecessor. Honda have adapted the ‘solid wing face’ ideology of their new design language by adding a chrome bar with the ‘H’ logo to the front end without changing its look too much. The bumper and fog-lamp surrounds are edgier and the bonnet has been subtly re-designed too. The new City has large fenders and its 15-inch wheels have new five-spoke alloys that resemble turbine blades. The shoulder-line of the car rises towards its rear end and there are pronounced creases on the sides that make the car look muscular.
The City has acquired a shark-fin antenna on the roof while the rear end has a re-shaped bumper and new wrap-around tail-lamps that extend on to the boot-lid. A chrome strip connects the two tail-lamps and has a parking camera below it. The ‘Honda’ and ‘City’ badges have swapped places while the engine badge is placed on the lower right side of the boot-lid. As a whole, the new car looks more elegant but lacks the solid feel.
Our test car was the top-end i-DTEC VX variant, which has a dual-tone grey and beige interior and leather upholstery. The dashboard has been re-designed and looks futuristic due to the five-inch digital screen and glassy touch panels, but the colour changing information panel looks a bit flashy. The rest of the cabin feels more or less the same as in the previous car. Honda have upgraded the list of features, which now includes remote keyless entry, electrically opening ORVMs, start/stop button, climate control, auxiliary port, and a CD-player, apart from the ones already present in the previous car.
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