This is my fourth car and yet once again it's a petrol and yet once again it's an automatic.
Why Automatic?
I drove a friend's manual Baleno for almost a month since I sold my i10 AT and although I got a good hang of gears and gear shifts, in the end I still wondered 'why buy a manual car when you get extra comfort and convenience just for a few bucks more'? Buy an automatic while you can afford. Horribly crowded roads with lot of insane drivers on our roads, bumper to bumper traffic; ain't these enough for justification of an Auto shift?
Deal breaker in few words:
The NVH levels, the power of 1.5 IVTEC, the comfort of cruise control and the bucket seats were number one deal breakers. She has made life bit up class and bit more luxurious and I really feel upgraded now!
The long story:
Took test drives of Scorpion, TUV, Duster, Jazz, Ciaz and City. Later after a thoughtful consideration narrowed down to buying a Petrol. I guess because it's cleaner fuel option (fuelled by recent Delhi court decision to ban heavy diesel vehicles).
In the end I was left with three clear choices within my budget: Jazz, City, and Ciaz. My last vehicle was an i10 so Jazz really did not felt like an upgrade as I was by now craving for a boot; just a growing family! So ruled out Jazz and now left with two choices; City or a Jazz.
So Why Honda City over Ciaz? A) Reviews on this forum:
Threads by neel911, rajeevraj, screwdriva and ofcourse needs no mention; the official Honda City review by GTO (this very thread)
I trust followiing list will serve a good handy reference for Honda city buyers
GTO's official review (this thread):
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html
Tyre and Wheel Upgrade by Screwdriva
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...de-thread.html
White unicorn by neel911
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...e-unicorn.html
4G Honda City Niggles by crazy driver
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...e-anymore.html
AT threads by rajeevraj
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...ive-guide.html http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...no-ertiga.html B) IVTEC CVT:
Based on reading on this forum I come to conclusion that CVT offers far better mileage as compared to a torque converter. There is no CVT in petrol variants of Ciaz. One would ask, why not Ciaz Hybrid? Well one of the reasons as already mentioned, it's got to be a Petrol! Just cleaner fuel option IMHO. And secondly the most it's got to be an Automatic.
If Ciaz Hybrid were to offer an AT transmission I have little doubt I had not bought the Ciaz Hybrid AT. Even if that meant buying a Diesel
C) Repeat ownership:
I am a repeat Honda customer. My previous experience with Honda is of a peace of mind purchase. Two activas owned over the span of 15 years and a CRV owned for over four years (this one in the States) makes me believe that they are damn so reliable! I have read about niggles and complaints of deteriorating Honda City quality as started in a thread by crazy driver. But this is where heart won over my mind and I made the decision to bet on ICTEC CVT!
There are so many pictures of 4th Gen Honda City on this forum; inside-out, top-to-bottom,you name the angle and you will find the view you need! Just visit first few pages of the threads I have listed in this post. See e.g Neel911's or GTO's thread. In the interest of saving Internet bandwidth I have refrained from uploading pictures. Yeah, you may think of it a stupid conservative thinking. I believe in Clean-Pipe Internet; post only what's needed, be bandwidth conscious, don't blast people's machines with unwanted multi megabyte photos and videos.
As I said before this is my fourth car in a row and I must say I've fallen in love with this more than what was experienced during the first few days of previous ownerships. Even after several weeks since getting the delivery of my my new car. I still feel that I've made the right decision. The feeling of 'paisa vasool' does not seem to die down as of right now.
I got what I sought for after stretching my budget of 10 lakh by roughly additional 2: Cruise control, powerful engine, alloy wheels, Michelin shoes, AT, reverse sensing camera, anti rust coating, door protectors, chrome handles, Honda transparent mats, Honda display seat covers and fog lamps. All this may go well beyond 12lakh depending upon where you buy in India . The VX AT would be close to 14lacs. Way beyond my budget so I resorted to an SV CVT!
Those who need information regarding the pricing, dealer experience and any other personal queries feel free to PM / Email me.
Happy buying.