Honda City facelift first drive

• Published On: 15 February 2017
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Honda's popular City gets a mild refresh, more features and a loftier price tag.

Since the time of launch, the City has been the go-to model for mid-size sedan buyers, and it has been a bestseller for Honda in India. Of late, it has been facing some serious heat from the Maruti Ciaz, and hence, Honda has given it a much needed sprucing up.

Updates to the City come in the form of revised front and rear ends; the top new ZX variant comes with more equipment and a bigger price tag. While the range-starting petrol manual is priced at Rs 8.49 lakh, you’ll have to shell out a hefty Rs 13.56 lakh for the fully loaded ZX diesel (ex-showroom, Delhi). These prices make the updated Honda City costlier than the older model by anywhere between Rs 20,000 to over Rs 1 lakh, depending on the variant. That begs the question – how much better a car do you get for the extra money?

On the outside

This update for the Honda City is a facelift in the true sense of the word. You’ll immediately notice the headlamps (nice and upmarket LED units on the ZX variant) and the sharper, edgier bumper, while the thinner chrome strip across the grille requires closer inspection.

Also new up front are the LED fog lights, while around the back, the tail-lamps are reprofiled, and there’s a trunk lid spoiler stop lamp. What also improves the City’s stance are the new 16-inch alloy wheels, which come shod with broader tyres. However, these are only available on the fully-loaded ZX variant.

On the inside
The outgoing City already packed quite an impressive interior, and the new car has carried over the best bits as is, while also adding some upmarket touches. For instance, the City finally has a touchscreen infotainment system, a feature that was sorely missed on the older model. Available in the V, VX and ZX variants, the unit is a 7.0-inch capacitive touchscreen that is quite legible and easy to operate. It comes with navigation, MirrorLink smartphone integration, 1.5GB of onboard storage, and even connects to the internet via your mobile phone. It also gets two USB slots, two microSD card slots and even an HDMI port, which means that connectivity is never really going to be an issue.

Now, the cabin also features soft-touch plastics and smartly-positioned chrome bits all around the dashboard, all of which surely dial up the interior’s premium quotient. As before, the City’s seats, especially the ones at the rear, are the best in class, and are even better than those of some costlier sedans.

There are additions to the car’s safety equipment list too. For instance, all variants now get ISOFIX child seat mounts as standard, in addition to dual airbags, ABS and EBD. The ZX variants even gets curtain airbags, but, given the hike in price, ESP or traction control would have been welcome additions.

What’s it like to drive?
The City carries over its 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines as is from the older model, and that’s no bad thing to begin with. The diesel motor makes 100hp and 200Nm, and offers good low-end performance and is quite smooth. Yes, like before, the engine is still quite noisy, and you can feel that despite the improved levels of noise insulation. While you can still hear the engine rattle, ambient sounds are noticeably lower.

The brilliant 119hp 1.5-litre petrol is of course the one to go for if you like to drive. It’s a nice, rev-happy engine that, when pushed to high revs, is a hoot to drive. It does get vocal when spun hard, but in a sporty sort of way.

Like the engines, the gearbox too remains unchanged over the last model. The diesel is still offered only with a six-speed manual, which is a bit of a disappointment since most of the competition is offering automatic gearboxes on their diesels; perhaps the next City may offer one. The petrol, however, can be had with a seven-step CVT automatic, while a five-speed manual is standard.

Honda hasn’t made any changes to the car’s underpinnings or suspension either, and so, the City’s ride remains unaffected. It takes to the roads quite well, but the ride isn’t the best in class. The car still leans quite a bit when going around bends, and you can hear every undulation, bump and rut that the tyres go over. Thankfully, the fatter tyres and bigger wheels haven’t affected the ride, which is nice as they surely add to the car’s appeal. 

Is it worth the money?

The City has always been a hot seller in the segment, if not the best. With the update, Honda has taken all the strengths of its stalwart – performance, space, comfort, reliability and premium feel – and dialled it up further. Yes, the ZX variant makes the City a good bit costlier, but it has also made the sedan a more premium offering.

That said, it’s worth considering that the fully-loaded City ZX diesel is around ₹1.2 lakh costlier than a top-of-the-line Verna, and a whopping ₹4 lakh more than the top-end diesel variant of its chief competitor, the Maruti Ciaz!

Of course, you get more features and a more appealing car for your money, and, not to forget, the City is capable car to begin with. However, Honda will now have to heavily rely on its brand image to keep its bestseller the ace in its segment.