[adarsh76]

Originally Posted by i_see

I beg to differ here, the previous gen honda citys were no invincible gods- yes, but they were the best we had on offer at that time. i dont think they were over hyped at all !
the fuel economy figures are actually very good for the city. the mileage for our City VMT 3rd gen and Swift Vdi 2008 were almost identical for my driving style,especially on out station drives(with ac on 100% of the time).
in pure city driving, probably swift was ~ 10% more fuel efficient with ac on 100% of the time

Why I said over hyped? I have seen in many forums during the year 2007 - 2008 where users were reporting city FE of 14, 15, 16 km/h. Until one of my relative bought the 2nd gen City, I found out that the FE in real world driving conditions (Cochin city) was around 11.5 kms/l. There were no MID's that time, the FE was calculated by the tank calculation. The combined highway city driving returned from 13 to 16 kms/l. This was the maximum I ever saw in that car. My Accent used to return up to 13.5 kms/l in City Highway combined driving but the price of Accent was way below City.

On the contrary, I know quite a few people who owns the 1st gen city, refusing to sell their vehicles even after so many years. I still see a lot of 1st Gen City in Trivandrum, but the 2nd Gen is too less.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by adarsh76

....
But, in this price range if not Honda City, which car??? A car with good engines, interior space which can seat 3 persons in the back (at least a child in the middle) and comparatively lower maintenance costs. Yes, we have the Ciaz now with some good interior space but the seats lose out. It just doesn't have the comfort.........

we do not have a better option which suits as a family sedan....

Originally Posted by i_see

.... why despite test driving all the other cars inn the price range, went ahead and booked another city VMT ...

+1, I had gone out with an open unbiased mind before narrowing down on the City.

No other C-Segment car comes currently in the market even close to the 2014 City's rear seat comfort. It has been very thoughtfully designed and they have eliminated the ground clearance problem as well in the 2014 City.

If I could go back in time and make the decision again, I would still go with the City simply because there is no better alternative to the 2014 Honda City in the C2 sedan segment if your priority is comfort, space and fuel efficiency with reasonably good power (driveability)

I'm still surprised about how they have made the engine so frugal. It goes almost double the distance with the same amount of fuel compared to my previous car.

[mail4ajo]

A well researched post, I must say. This is very important for me as I intend to move up from the Jazz next year.

Yes, I certainly agree Honda is taking a not so comfortable route regarding quality and overall package. But they are definitely competing well with the leaders on price, engine options, features. So this is naturally expected. A short drive of the Mobilio, pending Civic and delayed Jazz replacement is enough proof.

Having said that, I do not believe this is an alarming issue. The City is a Asia specific product and ours has been stripped down further. This forum represents only the well researched and educated car buyers. But just look at the number of Honda issues being reported compared to VW/Skoda/Tata cars.
Someone talked about under spec tires, check what some ultra premium cars come with. At the same time, we grin when we see the 15-17km/litre FE on the MID. This is one of the reasons for a frugal car.
In India, we are used to stripped versions, all for saving a few thousand rupees. I read an article which said Indians are the most forgiving car buyers in the World.

Honda never undervalued us, we were never so valued in the first place. They are just trying to compete in bad times in a highly price conscious market where true quality is appreciated by a small section of car buying population.

[arunkk]

Is it only now that the Honda dealers and their sales reps have this arrogant take it or leave attitude? I went for a TD and was allowed a drive in the service lane only for just 2 kms. I couldn't even take it above 40kmph. I asked whether I can take it to the main road or NICE road to see its high speed handling, the answer was a big NO. So even the dealers expect the brand name of honda to sell and people should buy it without even taking proper test drives. Adding to it, the TD car had a punctured tyre and faulty seat belt warning which was never turning off.

[kaushal21fb]

When we went looking for a car a few months back, like most of our Indian brethren we were totally convinced that new gen Honda City was the best thing that happened since the last gen Honda City. So much so that we thought the test drive was merely a formality. But a test drive changed it all.

We were offered a City S (since SV and V were not available that time) for the drive. The interiors felt spartan for the price (10L+ on road) in the first impression. The car had about 5K Kms on the odo at which point you'd expect a very tight machine especially from Honda. However as we rolled on the rattles, engine noise and the loud crashing thuds from the suspension became evident. After a few gear changes the hologram on the gear lever fell into my hands. The experience was worse than my 1.2 lakh Km run Ritz Vdi. The explanation that SA gave was that "it is a test drive car and has been thoroughly abused by the prospective customers". I didn't buy his argument (after all he only let me drive the car for 4kms and I think that's what he did with other customers as well) and neither the car.

We've used Honda scooters and motorcycles and I think they're brilliant. Therefore, I was so much sold to Honda brand name that I thought test drive was a mere formality. But Honda let us down badly.

What baffles me the most though is why does the Indian media (watch any video from any news channel on youtube) sings so much praises for it without pointing out (even if they do its very subdued) the obvious niggles.

[kutoos]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Was it expected?

Brilliant parallel with the movies! There was a malayalam film called 'Udayananu Tharam'. Fully based on this theme and worth a watch incase you know malayalam/ or watch other language films.

Hello CD Sir,

Brilliant compilation. Appreciate your patience in summing up a list of petulance with the new City. I was planning to book in December, but now will do a lot more exploration on the City before i decide to book.

On the Other hand, completely off topic, cant resist quoting Srinivasn's Dialogue "kozhiku Mula Vannu ..... " from the above movie

Cheers

[DoctorKK]

Originally Posted by arunkk

Is it only now that the Honda dealers and their sales reps have this arrogant take it or leave attitude? off.

Well I guess that varies from dealer to dealer. I had a real pleasant experience as far as my dealer is concerned. I just called him once and the next day TD car was ready at my doorstep ( my house is 15 Kms from the showroom) I took two family members along with me for the TD and drove for about 5 kms( my wife drove it too) and tested the vehicle in all possible ways( high speed,sudden breaking,loud volume,jumped over a speed breaker at a high speed etc) without any complaint from the SA. Due to my tight work schedule,all my works were done sitting at home,including registration,loan processing etc.( I never visited the showroom even once except for taking delivery,which they offered to do at home too!!) I requested for TD of petrol vehicle and that was made available the next day.
I guess you should bring this attitude of the dealer to Honda's notice and they would definitely respond.

[void_001]

Originally Posted by arunkk

Is it only now that the Honda dealers and their sales reps have this arrogant take it or leave attitude? I went for a TD and was allowed a drive in the service lane only for just 2 kms...

Originally Posted by kaushal21fb

When we went looking for a car..But a test drive changed it all.

I have to say I completely agree. Had approached both Dakshin Honda & Magnum Honda for a test drive in Bangalore. I wanted a drive on the elevated toll way or the Nice Road to check the handling. Nope, not allowed to. They have a pre-determined route; well, 2 actually - one on the service road which is standard and another, on insisting that I wanted to check the suspension, on a pothole ridden road. But, nothing more than 2-3 kilometers.

Almost everyone knows that a test drive car would be abused due to multiple drivers, but that is what makes or breaks a deal for a customer. The City that I got for test drive at Dakshin was a really bad piece, one of the reasons I held on to the booking & didn't go ahead.

I am usually a overcautious person who always chooses to see how the product reviews turn out for first few months post launch. Going through this thread, do I regret not booking the Honda back then?
Sometimes - given that more knowledgeable folks have repeatedly pointed out, City has by far the best engine (on petrol atleast).
Sometimes not - looking at all the complaints that I am seeing on this thread.

Will I book a City now that I have gone through this thread?
Yes - compared to the competition VW, Skoda, Tata (excluding Ciaz - waiting for ownership reports to come in; and Hyundai - not a big fan of fluidic designs), City beat them to the mile (this is my personal opinion; no disrespect / offence meant to any other owners )

[fiat_tarun]

To add to what everyone has said, superb effort compiling all the data CD.

To be honest, I have not been reading the City threads, so this took me as a surprise. We had one generation of the City - the ZX and while I personally didn't like the lightness and over assisted steering, quality was exceptional and even after 3 years of use with frequent trips across the bad roads around Coorg, there wasn't a squeak / niggle to complain about.

With this background, it's really shocking to see so many complaints like water seepage, belt noises, highway stability, etc being reported. My grand-mum has the Amaze and while it feels a little cheap (acceptable in that segment), it has been holding up well, as expected from a Honda.(*touchwood*)

Again to add to a point already mentioned, Honda has earned the reputation they have and hope it hasn't gotten to their heads that they can get away with anything. It's so easy to throw it all away just like that. Hyundai is right up there and is only growing. I hope they take these complaints positively and look to address these problems.

Some of these problems are not acceptable even on an Alto / Nano (great cars, but owners are more accommodating in this segment)

I have not driven this Generation of the City but have been recommending it to people who want peace of mind over anything else, but this has now gotten me thinking.

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Honda never undervalued us, we were never so valued in the first place.

I think you nailed it. We only value how a car looks, how much chrome garnishing a car has, whether the interior is piano black or beige and whether a car can give 17.2 km to a litre instead of 17.1.

If no one is bothered about the "car", why would Honda care?

But again, I feel sad. Even if we are not valued, why would not Honda value themselves?

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by arunkk

Is it only now that the Honda dealers and their sales reps have this arrogant take it or leave attitude?

It all depends on the Dealership. I checked up with 3 dealers and almost everybody was ready to come to my house with the TD vehicle. Since I was not very much confident of driving at that point, did not abuse the car (High speeds, sudden braking etc).

But one of the dealers in fact made me sit in the co-passenger seat when i told him that I don't yet have the confidence to drive at high speeds. He actually abused the car right in front of me by suddenly pushing it to high speeds and hitting the brakes hard that too not on a tarmac road. It was kind of a rural 'ish' road. The whole selling experience depends on the dealers and has no real fault of Honda in this. My whole experience of buying the car was really good apart from 1-2 minor issues with regards to the commitment dates. (Which really even the dealer at times can't control)

[ag408]

Completely agree - I bought the Honda City for the only reason that I have always read and heard that a Honda car is without any niggles! And I have had a very different experience over the last year of ownership, some to do with the car and some with the dealership.

1. I had my horn replaced under warranty since the low horn was dysfunctional. I had to push the dealership to get this done and they finally replaced the horn only after I approached Honda 121. I still feel the horn does not function as it should but the service center folks are convined there is no issue.

2. Paint peeling off - the paint just came off in one corner towards the left back end portion. I am pretty sure that there was no collision leading to the paint peel off. It is just a nice round patch that has come off. The dealership again claimed that this was not an issue with the car and there must have been some impact. I didn't argue over this though.

3. Service issues - multiple issues with service with my City having to go back with issues immediately after a service. Once the front passenger door was misaligned and I could not open it without scratching the edges! Simple things are not taken care of - e.g. the gear knob was misaligned after one service!

Overall really leaves a really bad taste in your mouth. The City is a wonderful vehicle to drive - but the service has really let it down. I mean, do they expect their customers to call up Honda 121 every time to get things resolved?

[Raosaheb Desai]

We have two Brios, one manual and another auto.
Surely,the build quality is flimsy. Lots of road noise and wind noise at high speed.
Also the oem tyres are main culprit for the reported unsettled composure at high speed.
I had a tyre burst while returning from Baroda. Now changed to falken for both cars.

what's this "dick lid spoiler" in accessories list ????

[HarshVShrotriya]

Although I am no big Honda fan but, its always sad to hear about falling standards of brands like Honda. You really feel short changed being in India, specially if you have been abroad and seen the same models having a different finish and quality.
Hope Honda realizes that Indians bear allegiance to a brand only as long as it respects their belief. Volkswagen and other European brands, though behind right now, need to continue their good work and it won't be long before the Japanese Sun will start feeling a royal heat.

[trinity0114]

I have never been a Honda Fan & to be honest could not really understand why there is such blind faith in the brand in the Indian market. I mean i cannot find anything exceptional with their products(erstwhile or current) which explain the kind of fan following it has or the faith & brand image it has amongst the masses. I have driven the second & third gen Honda City & both cars were a mediocre drive with a pretty good engine but so so interiors, lack of features, soft & noisy suspension(3rd gen city) and a steering which was sort of disconnected from the wheels.

And they've always been milking their customers, the 3rd gen city didnt even have alloy wheels & many other features - they only came when the competition got fiercer & now with the amaze, new city & the mobilio they've given new definition to the word "cheap" especially with the mobilio & the saddest part is that all these inferior products are being accepted whole-heartedly by the Indian customer. The Indian car market has to be the most weird in the world.