Is the NHC all show and no go ?

[supremeBaleno]

Before the brickbats start, let me clarify a few things :

1. This thread is not a Honda or NHC hate thread. Far from being a Honda-hater, I am actually a Honda fan.

2. While this thread is based on another person's experience, he is known to me for many years and I know him enough to be sure that he won't make things up.

3. I did a complete search for related topics and did find some that were about the NHC's FE or about how it is priced ridiculously high etc. This thread is not about the NHC's FE at all. And neither is it about the high price.

OK, so now that we have put the disclaimers behind us, let me start off.

My friend drives an Accent. We both bought our cars around the same time (34 months ago) after testdriving a few cars together. He went for the Accent(P), while I got the Baleno. The only other car I considered was the NHC - dropped because I did not find it value enough for the premium paid. He considered (actually he was mad about it) only the Marina - don't remember why he dropped it. He did not consider the NHC due to it being above his budget.

Anyway, both of us are happy with the choices we made. Now, sometime ago, his FIL was planning to upgrade to a sedan and he was consulted on what car to buy. His suggestion happened to be the NHC, mainly because his FIL's budget covered the NHC.

And since his FIL was not a car-guy in any sense of the term, he went for the car suggested by my friend. Actually, his FIL hates driving and the NHC is driven almost always by the driver.

Last X'mas, my friend had planned his vacation at his in-laws place (Orissa) and one of the highlights of the trip was the chance to get to drive the NHC. All through the trip, he was the only one to drive the car and they did quite some kms (both city & highway), visiting various places of interest in Orissa.

He comes back from vacation, tells us about the places visited and the fun they had. And then, he says, "Man, I don't understand why people buy the NHC, especially after paying those ridiculously high prices. It sucks in all possible ways, be it pickup, overtaking, steering control etc. And to top it, it scrapes each and every hump and irregularity on the road. And the FE is also not what it is made out to be (he did mention figures, but I dont remember them, though they were nowhere near what we know on this forum)".

The only good things he had to say were about the enormous boot space, high seating (more comfortable ingress / egress), the various spaces inside the car to keep stuff (even under the rear seats etc).

Remember that he is comparing the car based on his experience with the Accent. Now, I have heard about the NHCs limitations when it comes to highway driving. But as I knew it, it was a nimble car (and arguably the best car in its class) for city usage. He junks this theory also. Having never driven the NHC, I didn't argue with him.

OK, so coming to the purpose of this thread, can we have some views from those that own or have driven the NHC extensively ? I know that Indians pay a premium for the H brand (not the slanting H), but at the same time, I dont think so many of us would be fools to buy a car at such high a premium, if it is not good enough.

I had planned for a long time to testdrive the NHC and the SX4 back-to-back. After this, I think it is high time I did it.

[hrman]

Nice to see another topic on the NHC. Although Ive driven it for 4 months, it may not qualify as intense enough, here are my observations.

1. FE is pretty decent. I get 12-13 kms per l in city conditions with AC 100%. I think my car cannot give more than this, as Im one of the most sedate drivers around.
2. Build quality.. The inners are quite good and give the luxurious car feel. The externals look bad when its scratched/ bumped. Dont know why, but a dented and scratched NHC does not look good at all. Could be my own observations
3.Pick up is found wanting sometimes when overtaking. Ive got the GXi and Ive driven a santro and feel it has got better pickup than the NHC.
4. Boot space and storage is massive. Really a boon.
5. Ground clearance is definitely on the lower side. Thankfully Mumbai does not have to many speed breakers. IM sure, Bangy public can comment on this, but the NHC does scrape some speed breakers which other cars of this size would not.
6. Aft SS is really rip off. The service levels and quality is good no doubt. But its clearly a rip-off. No doubts there.
7.Ive not seen too many complaints on niggling things/ manufacturing defects in the NHC. AS against this, the SX4, Swift do have its fair share of complaints on this forum. Does it say something about the Honda quality? I think so. They have taken more pains to give a product as defect free as possible.
8. Driveability is quite good in city conditions. I have driven a small car before and the NHC's small bonnet makes it easier to nose it in and out of traffic.
9. Noise in the cabin is Nil. Excellent sound proofing of the cabin.
These were somethings i could think of.
All in all, if you want good mileage, good interiors, good space, brand name and don't mind paying a premium, NHC is the car to go for.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

can we have some views from those that own or have driven the NHC extensively ? I know that Indians pay a premium for the H brand (not the slanting H), but at the same time, I dont think so many of us would be fools to buy a car at such high a premium, if it is not good enough.

Do you think, you will have honest admission from people, you yourself have answered what will prevent them.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I dont think so many of us would be fools to buy a car at such high a premium, if it is not good enough.

I was pushed a lot by relatives to buy the NHC. Took some of them on test drives, in the end, refinement and quality came out tops, but told them, I have not driven a car as boring as this one. That too coming from someone who was a huge Honda fan. But then, there are a couple of Honda City's in our family owned by the type who give two hoots about how a car feels like to drive.

[adentist]

I am not sure of the Gxi, but I have a Vtec and it is great to drive.
Also, it gives me a mileage of 14+ in the city and around 16 on the
highway. My car is pretty new( 3 months now), so things may change
over time.

[ramie2400]

I will be going tomorrow to TD the NHC and even see the Civic..but i am eyeing on the Civic,whereas dads thinkin for the NHC.. I personally feel the car is very boring to drive around,as a friend of mine has he does not drive to often as he don't like his dads choice of buying the NHC.. lets see what happenes with me,hope its not same as my good friend. :(

[Nikhilb2008]

Is the NHC being discussed here the Vtec or the i-Dsi ? coz when you talk abt highway driving, overtaking and similar stuff, the engine makes all the difference.

One thing I can agree is that the car bottoms out on most speedbreakers when it has 3 or more people.

[raul]

I am not an NHC fan, I just can't digest the looks. However I have driven it often on Pune-Mumbai trips and in Mumbai and as far as performance is concerned it seems adequate. I won't expect a car that looks that bad to perform anyway.

However I think the reason the NHC is popular is the feeling of comfort and luxury it gives once you sit inside and the spaciousness. For the average buyer this is the most important criteria. And you have to give it to Honda, they really seem to pay attention to interiors and driver and passenger comfort and it shows in all their cars.

Remember there is no performance car culture in India, just the other we were driving Fiats and Amby's and then 800. Very few people actually go for performance, other things come first and if the cars happens to be a good performer that's an added bonus.

And in the NHC segment we are not spoiled for choice. Just like the NHC, I don't like the Baleno looks. SX4 looks equally weird to me. Verna is also odd. Fiesta is ok but space is at a premium and interiors cannot stand up to NHC, for a family NHC will win out just because of that.

What else do we have, one step higher and Cedia is ok looks wise. And of course one step higher and we have the very good looking Civic.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by nikhilb2008

Is the NHC being discussed here the Vtec or the i-Dsi ?

Who cares. The VTEC maybe fast, but does it have the "life". It still feels very much doing its duties, without connecting to the driver. Maybe its too refined in power delivery and NVH, maybe the redline is lower (than the earlier VTEC).

Originally Posted by raul

Remember there is no performance car culture in India, just the other we were driving Fiats

Fiats were pretty fun to drive for people who knew how to have fun.

Originally Posted by raul

And in the NHC segment we are not spoiled for choice. Just like the NHC, I don't like the Baleno looks. SX4 looks equally weird to me. Verna is also odd. Fiesta is ok but space is at a premium and interiors cannot stand up to NHC, for a family NHC will win out just because of that.

We are not discussing the "Show" part, but the "go" part

Originally Posted by raul

What else do we have, one step higher and Cedia is ok looks wise. And of course one step higher and we have the very good looking Civic.

Looks are so subjective! Some people would look at the Cedia and say, thats exactly what a CAR should look like. Some would find the Civic as a very good-looking gadget but not a car (just because it has wheels and headlights)

[BUSA]

Well NHC is a overhyped car to a certain extent. It has good space, well laid out interiors, Honda badge and slightly better FE figures then the competition buttttttttttttt its plain boring to drive. Handling, Braking & Stability is not upto the mark. However for people going from point A to point B in the City, its a fantastic car and thats why it sells.

[motorheadinc]

I agree on this.
NHC is nowhere as good as the OHC.
The OHC was a car to die for.
It looked so sober and composed.

Overpriced ???
I think the Indigo CS makes everything else look overpriced now

Well not going OT, I hope people appreciate the fact that for a family comfort comes first and that is what the city provides in abundance, that is what makes it sell like hot cakes.

[islero]

NHC is an A-to-B transportation tool, and nothing more.

I found all the controls to be lightest in the NHC, be it steering, clutch, gearshift etc etc. Lots of interior space, good seating positions, good build quality, lots of boot space.

No throttle response, no good feel in any of the controls.

I feel, that for non-car-enthusiast Indian wanting a sedan, its pretty much perfect. There is no point criticising it from the point of view of driving factors. I cannot comment on the *** or long-term reliability though.

[AnniHilat0R]

Ahhh. Another NHC post. Well, to start of with, I had the NHC for 2 years and recently bought the NHC ZX too. Been driving it for quite a while. Though I wont debate on it much, as everyone has likes and dislikes. Overpriced, AGREE on that to the CORE. No ABS. Vtec's are stupidly priced soo in short I feel, yes NHC is NOT pricely correctly. But re-sale value. 2 and a half year old NHC. Had bought it at 7.55 sold it at 5.70. Not bad I felt.

Build quality. Hmmmm. Well inside you surely get a feeling of comfort and class, but when you sit in the drivers seat, you know in the back of your mind, you are driving a car made of plastic. I mean atleast I feel. And well, the pictures of various NHC accidents might back that too. Driving. Well to be honest, everytime I have hit 160 on the express way, even though ur heart feels like pushing the car more, and it might go more, but the steering is sooooooo da** light and feels so twitchy, that you just back out. But in the city, well, I JUST LOVE DRIVING IT. Excellent AC, a good FE. I feel a VERY good driving position and a good steering feedback, so love it. Anyways, well, just one thing. WHY BUY NHC NOW ????? The all new look NHC on the way. Plus with sx4's tough competition, Honda would definately try and pull out a better car. From whatever information I got from google on the car, I mean the "LEAKED" information. They looks are BETTER, not GOOD, but better. But the engine is a nice one. So looking forwarrd to it.

[akshay1234]

ive driven the cvt and i think its just fine for traffic. on an open road the thing cant move at more than 80. itll accelerate fine upto 80 then im pretty sure my innova will be quicker to 120 or 130.

ive also had the vtec for a couple of weeks. the acceleration is much better than the cvt but the engine dosent like to be pushed to the redline. it also gets limited before 7k rpm. the steering is so light i dont know how people have the guts to take it to anything above 120kmph. i know i wouldnt.

[diabloo]

NHC is a passenger car & Honda sells as one.
To all who don their racing gear and get into NHC, can't help

Note: To the thread initiator, if you want to know about NHC test drive one and find out yourself. Don't say something because somebody's aunt said so.

[BUSA]

NHC is a passenger car & Honda sells as one.

Then what is SX4? A non-passenger car or a race car?

The Vtec lacks the soul of the OHC Vtec, somehow even the Vtec doesnot feel special, as special as the OHC Vtec.