[PhX]

Originally Posted by sidoza

With the improved ground clearance

Hey, I was thinking about this, and I suppose this would be the best thread to raise this point. The GC in the old City was 160mm, and in the new one it is 165 or 168. Does 8 mm of extra GC really make a difference?

[sidoza]

Originally Posted by PhX

Hey, I was thinking about this, and I suppose this would be the best thread to raise this point. The GC in the old City was 160mm, and in the new one it is 165 or 168. Does 8 mm of extra GC really make a difference?

Hello PhX,

The facelift now has a GC of 165 mm. And I am sure the 5 mm will certainly make a difference.

Although I have not driven the facelifted City to actually test this, but if I remember correctly, they had done a similar fix for the Civic facelift in 2009 that completely solved the GC issues.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by sidoza

Hello PhX,

The facelift now has a GC of 165 mm. And I am sure the 5 mm will certainly make a difference.

Although I have not driven the facelifted City to actually test this, but if I remember correctly, they had done a similar fix for the Civic facelift in 2009 that completely solved the GC issues.

In case of City and Civic, more than the GC it was the saggy soft suspension which was the culprit behind the scraping issue. At the time of facelift Honda stiffened the Civic's rear suspension which took care of the issue to an extent.

I know of cars with GC of 165mm which fare much better on same obstacles compared to Honda City. Even the Civic originally had a very impressive on paper GC figure of 170mm, which was good enough to convince most prospective buyers when they compared just the brochures. Apart from GC figures, a lot of factors like placement of various components in underbody, overhangs, suspension sag etc play an important role in determining real world GC performance.

[sidoza]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

In case of City and Civic, more than the GC it was the saggy soft suspension which was the culprit behind the scraping issue. At the time of facelift Honda stiffened the Civic's rear suspension which took care of the issue to an extent.

Hello Anshuman,

Perhaps we now know why the facelifted City was undergoing road tests? Only time will tell, but I am sure if Honda looked into the matter (by increasing the GC by 5 mm), at least they would not have worsened the problem, and in all probability fixed it.

[bluevolt]

+1,

Even My Maruti WagonR and Hyundai i10 has 165 mm ground clearance but they will not scrap in most conditions whereas City will.

So in the end it is the soft suspension because of which the car scrapes speed breakers.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

+1,

Even My Maruti WagonR and Hyundai i10 has 165 mm ground clearance but they will not scrap in most conditions whereas City will.

So in the end it is the soft suspension because of which the car scrapes speed breakers.

It is not just the suspension, it is also the wheelbase in combination with the soft suspension. City has a greater wheelbase than the Wagon R and the i10. But yeah, the suspension on most Honda cars sold in India are definitely on the soft side.

[bharatbs]

I was reviewing the 2012 Honda City SMT model, what i noticed:

- Price remains the same 8,31,000 ex-showroom Bangalore (but no discount at the moment)

- SMT model gets the old 5 spoke alloys and not the new alloy design

- Turn indicators on OVRM, cruise control, new alloys are available in VMT model and upwards

So in effect 165mm ground clearance, cosmetic interior and exterior changes and alloys (old design) are the only new features on the 2012 SMT model

And on further review what you notice is:

- The 2012 EMT in fact can be compared to the earlier SMT (except steering mounted control, seat height adjuster) and similarly the 2012 corporate edition can be compared to the earlier EMT.

- Very clever strategy by Honda in reducing prices further by adding features on existing models and by introducing a new low end (corporate edition) model.

I think the CE is the best value for money, you can always add your own ICE, Alloys and leather.

[PowerTrained]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

+1,

Even My Maruti WagonR and Hyundai i10 has 165 mm ground clearance but they will not scrap in most conditions whereas City will.

So in the end it is the soft suspension because of which the car scrapes speed breakers.

Effective ground clearance is function of
1. GC
2. Suspension
3. WheelBase
4. Brake in-progress/released (or simply load on the car!)
5. Speed
6. Angle of approach

really! Ask this to any Bangalorean... masters of monster-humps
Cheers

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

I am booking the new City on 29th December. It will be the Corporate Edition and will be fitted with a Caska unit, component speakers, side-step illuminated garnishes, art leather seat covers, and fog lamps. Rest to follow (alloy wheels, etc.) one by one as I save enough money.

Hey congrats! Is this a replacement booking for the Jazz, or you are getting both cars? CE with black interiors should be great, and all the safety features are anyway coming standard across all versions.

What colour you are opting for?

[libranof1987]

Can someone please confirm 2 things :

1) can the new tail-lamp cluster be fitted to the 2008 City

I'm extremely interested in replacing the current ones on my City

2) can the sun-roof be completely retracted

This is just curiousity

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

2) can the sun-roof be completely retracted

This is just curiousity

I think so, atleast thats what I gathered from the 360 view in the Honda website yesterday (the 360 view is strangely missing from the website now).

Any idea if the refreshed City have a CD player?

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I think so, atleast thats what I gathered from the 360 view in the Honda website yesterday (the 360 view is strangely missing from the website now).

Any idea if the refreshed City have a CD player?

Nope, it doesn't. It's the same USB+Radio. And I think it makes sense; in the current USB age, it would be a step back to have CDs playing.

Again, to each his own.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Nope, it doesn't. It's the same USB+Radio. And I think it makes sense; in the current USB age, it would be a step back to have CDs playing.

Again, to each his own.

Thanks! Saw the CD slot in the Honda City here, and so thought to confirm if we also got it as a part of the refresh

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by PhX

It looks beautiful, and congratulations on your decision. It's really pleasant to note that you had such an awesome experience and they let you take photos and even dropped you back home!

Did they mention by when will the deliveries begin? And may I ask why you've chosen the Corporate Edition?

Thanks.

Deliveries will start by the third week of January. Right now they are busy getting all the old stock cleared, which should stretch till mid-January, I believe.

The reasons I chose the CE were many -

1) I hate excessive chrome/beige in a car. The beige interiors have become a turn off for me. And I am a big sucker for black interiors. Other than being easy to maintain, it makes your car stand out.

2) I don't mind not having steering mounted controls. It's not a big deal for me, because I will be driving mostly, while others will be fiddling with the HU. So a good HU (preferably touchscreen with navigation and USB support) with a remote is good enough.

3) I am tall (6'0") so I don't need the seat height adjust feature.

4) There are many superb aftermarket stuff available out there - the range of designer alloys is mind-boggling, excellent company fitted HUs, and customising my City will keep me occupied.

5) Other than these features, the City is basically the same across all models in it's entire range - same engine, body, tuning, wheelbase, etc. In other words, the most important part of the car remains the same. Only the interior/exterior features are different across all models, which is not a deal breaker.

6) I have no use for Cruise Control, sunroof, etc. All are frills which are of no use to me. The car should be good enough, and the City is the best petrol sedan in the country today. Easy choice.

7) Even in the CE, ALL the safety features are given. That is a HUGE plus for the new City range. I am impressed by this move by Honda. Compromise on anything, but no compromise on safety.

Originally Posted by PhX

Hey, I was thinking about this, and I suppose this would be the best thread to raise this point. The GC in the old City was 160mm, and in the new one it is 165 or 168. Does 8 mm of extra GC really make a difference?

Originally Posted by .anshuman

In case of City and Civic, more than the GC it was the saggy soft suspension which was the culprit behind the scraping issue. At the time of facelift Honda stiffened the Civic's rear suspension which took care of the issue to an extent.

I know of cars with GC of 165mm which fare much better on same obstacles compared to Honda City. Even the Civic originally had a very impressive on paper GC figure of 170mm, which was good enough to convince most prospective buyers when they compared just the brochures. Apart from GC figures, a lot of factors like placement of various components in underbody, overhangs, suspension sag etc play an important role in determining real world GC performance.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

+1,

Even My Maruti WagonR and Hyundai i10 has 165 mm ground clearance but they will not scrap in most conditions whereas City will.

So in the end it is the soft suspension because of which the car scrapes speed breakers.

+1 to what Anshuman and bluevolt said. More than the GC, it's the suspension which plays a big part in scraping/not scraping breakers. Honda has tweaked the suspension of the new City (like they did to the Civic in it's last facelift avatar) and they claim it should not be a problem anymore. The new V MT which I drove for about 15 minutes didn't feel as if it had a soft suspension and it didn't scrape anywhere, despite me driving down a rough patch of road. Even the wheels did not bump into the wheel space with a thud, which usually happens with softer suspensions. Honda has definitely done some suspension homework for this new City.

Originally Posted by bharatbs

- Very clever strategy by Honda in reducing prices further by adding features on existing models and by introducing a new low end (corporate edition) model.

I think the CE is the best value for money, you can always add your own ICE, Alloys and leather.

Exactly. They have hit a bullseye in terms of model spread and pricing, which should be enough to sustain sales till they bring in the diesels. Of course, they also have their discount margins to fall back upon, when sales start dwindling. Smart and clever, indeed.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Hey congrats! Is this a replacement booking for the Jazz, or you are getting both cars? CE with black interiors should be great, and all the safety features are anyway coming standard across all versions.

What colour you are opting for?

Thanks, my friend!

No it's not a replacement booking. I am still looking for a hatch which should be coming next year. And I loved the pics which I have seen so far of the all-black interiors. Black-white striped leather/art-leather seats should look dashing, combined with a white/silver exterior color combination.

I have opted for Alabaster Silver Metallic. The CE comes with only two color options - that and Tafeta White.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Can someone please confirm 2 things :

1) can the new tail-lamp cluster be fitted to the 2008 City

I'm extremely interested in replacing the current ones on my City

2) can the sun-roof be completely retracted

This is just curiousity

I think so. The dimensions of the new tail-lamps and the old tail-lamps are the same, only the design is different. But the slanting white lamps in the centre (two of them) have their own bulbs and lighting - I don't think that can be done in the old City. You have to change the entire tail-lamp assembly for that.

Sunroof can be completely retracted, from what I gathered at the dealer. Although a small part protrudes and remains visible in the end. They said it helps in smoother functioning and sliding action of the entire sunroof section.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Any idea if the refreshed City have a CD player?

Nope, vb. It is the same HU as the one in the old City.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

I think so. The dimensions of the new tail-lamps and the old tail-lamps are the same, only the design is different. But the slanting white lamps in the centre (two of them) have their own bulbs and lighting - I don't think that can be done in the old City. You have to change the entire tail-lamp assembly for that.

To replace tail-lamps, you have to change the entire cluster anyway, right?

I think the entire unit is one piece - not like the glass area being a separate part and the rest another.

As for the new one having 2 white bulbs, I hope the guys at Honda A.S.S. will make 2 connections.