[parrys]

Mod Note: Team-BHP's Official Review of the Honda City has been uploaded at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the review thread.


Honda India unveils the 4th generation City in India. The car will be available in both, petrol (1.5L i-VTEC) and diesel (1.5L i-DTEC) variants. Pricing & specifications have not been announced, with the actual launch slated for January '14. Honda has officially started accepting bookings for the new City.

High points:

• Has been developed & designed for India.
• This is the 4th generation car; the first gen City in India was launched in 1998.
• Over the past 15 years, Honda has sold 4.3 lakh units of the City. Globally, the City sells in 55 countries with over 2.2 million units sold.
• Dimensions : L x W x H (in mm) : 4440 x 1695 x 1495. Wheelbase has increased to 2600 mm.
• The new City has a 50 mm longer wheelbase. It is 10 mm taller and claims to have backseat legroom that's equivalent to cars from a segment above.
• With the new body shell, Honda has managed to achieve 24% more rigidity.
• Instrument cluster gets a blue surround, while the dials + digits are backlit in white. The engine start button & A/C controls are of the feather touch variety. Cruise control too.
• LCD audio head-unit with Bluetooth, USB, Aux-in, iPod connectivity, CD and 3 different types of reversing displays.
• Rear seat gets an air-con vent. Car has a total of four 12V charging points! Sunroof will also be available.
• Honda claims that the City diesel will be the most fuel efficient sedan in its segment. The Amaze' diesel : petrol sales ratio is 70:30.
• The new Jazz will be the next car to be launched by Honda. It has already received 62,000 bookings in 1 month in Japan.
• Honda has expanded its production capacity (at its current facility in Noida) by adding a third-shift.

A big shout-out to .anshuman for accompanying me at this event, and for his additional inputs.


Previous generations lined up at the entrance:


The front end isn't drastically different. The bumper is new, but the car looks like more of a facelift than an all-new generation:


Dual-pot headlamps. Fog lights surrounded by a honeycomb mesh:


Big chrome grille at the front:


Side profile is similar to the outgoing car. Apart from a few crease lines, the City continues to look the same. The dimensions, however, are different:


New tail-lamps. Bumper has integrated reflector strips. Rear 3-quarter is uncannily similar to the upcoming Maruti YL1 (scoop thread):


15" alloys wheels. Not a fan of this design:


Closer look at the rear end...


....and the tail lamps:


Shark fin antenna:


Reverse camera under the "H" badge:


Down under. No chrome tip for the exhaust:


Nope, not an independent rear suspension:


Longer wheelbase. Hopefully, the ground clearance has been increased (specs not shared yet):


Boot space looks good:


Spare wheel isn't an alloy:


Naked boot lid, just like in the Amaze:

[parrys]

New interiors are completely different from the outgoing City. Black dashboard with silver accents:


Passenger-side view of the dashboard:


Leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio & phone controls. Notice the cruise control buttons:


Closer look at the steering-mounted controls:


Instrument cluster looks sweet! This is obviously the one for the diesel:


Engine start / stop button:


Head-unit with LCD & reversing display. The black section below is a feather-touch panel housing the air-con controls:


ORVM controls move to the dashboard:


Two cabin lamps at the front. Sunroof controls in between:


A look at the sunroof:


Nice leather seats have a bucket-like feel to them:


Each door pad hosts a speaker & tweeter:


The glovebox:


2 cup-holders, ahead of the gear lever. 12V power outlet and Aux + USB slots above:


ABC pedals are adequately spaced out:


The short gear lever. Some storage spots around the handbrake:


Integrated headrests on the backseat. Notice hump in the center:


Sufficient legroom:




Independent rear air-con vents. 2 power outlets below:


Parcel tray positioned higher than the rear seat. Looks weird, no?


Two reading lamps at the back:


Even the rear door pad has leather inserts. Small bottle holder:


The 1.5L i-DTEC:


The 1.5L i-VTEC:

[swiftnfurious]

Overall length remains same
Wheel base increased by 50 mm
Height 10 mm more @ 1495
Space compared to cars from 2 classes above

[Equus]

This is getting too high end and it seems like they are essentially positioning this car as a replacement of both the City and the Civic..

[an_and]

Four charging points for occupants, nothing about the transmission options though

[jessie007]

To keep up with the competition, Honda is offering:

1) full fledged 5" touchscreen entertainment system - AM/FM, USB/Aux-in, bluetooth, CD & MP3 (CD playback now available when technology almost outdated)

2) MID with all the tech stats (Fuel average, Distance to Empty, avg journey time), external temperature display, and even a gear indicator. Fuel and temperature gauges seem to be digital.

[RavenAvi]

Civic-inspired front, all-new rear, and side profile resembling the current gen City. In short, I love it!

Going for the top variant now. Can't wait to get my hands on it come January!

[<Badguy>]

No Major changes in exteriors of New City. Probabaly minor revamp of headlights and rear lights.. Honda after those initial sketches you raised our hope but as of now I am disappointed from Honda

[CRV2010]

Its a DVD Player and not just CD Player.. a segment first ?

[Flash777]

Hmm...Looks like more of an evolution than a revolution!

On the design front, seems like a missed opportunity. Haven't really touched the old civic kind of magic.

Features are spot on though and hopefully good engine specs.

[Equus]

Why are they calling it 4th gen? Its not revolutionary. Though changes on the internals do seem revolutionary from initial thoughts..

"frugal engineering"?

[for_cars1]

Just watched the live broadcast of the unveiling of the 4th Gen City. They talked about improvements in all aspects over the outgoing City but didn't mention ground clearance . They need to provide higher ground clearance atleast for India.

[S2!!!]

So except the increased wheelbase and height, the dimensions of the car are more or less same as the older one. The car looks similar on first appearance to the outgoing City albeit with some improvements on features, power and engine options. Apparently, it comes with an all new chassis and does actually qualify to be termed as an all new car and not just a mere facelift.

Should it be touching the ridiculously high prices as speculated on the forums? NO. Will it retain its position as the market leader? Most Definitely!!

Edit: doesn't the rear resemble a mix of the previous gen 3 series and the fluidic Elantra?

[srishiva]

Well, the car could be all new with not much changed on the looks front carrying forward something that was not broken. Really interested in the interiors since they have put in a lot new features.

Will the top end touch 15 lakh?

[pyrodrive]

Seems more of a facelift than a new model. Anyway, this car is sure to sell. Finally the diesel engine and some much needed features added. The previous car had nothing wrong with the looks anyway, the only issues were lack of features and diesel option. Now, lets hope they don't price it too high.