[praveenp]

Originally Posted by nTorq

Does anyone else here feel the severe lack of torque in the new City? I knew it was going to be less (coming from a diesel, albeit a smaller engine), but overtakes on highways seem to take forever! Is there a specific way to drive a NA engine to make sure you don't feel the lack of power?

Never thought I would be writing this about a new car worth 16L, with just 1.4k on the odo!

I share your concern. Yes the new city's CVT is definitely not as quicker as it should have been. When you have to do a quick overtake you need to throttle harder. My car has done 1k in the ODO and I would be lying if I said I am all happy with the car.

[Stimpy]

Hi everyone, I had booked the VX CVT last month and my delivery is due for next week. As this will be my first time purchasing a car, is there any formalities that I need to do?

I have read the Team-BHP PDI checklist and it mentions going to the dealers stockyard. Unfortunately the stockyard is a long way away from where I live and I'm not sure if the dealer will allow me to visit the stockyard as I did ask him about this during the booking process but he kept changing the question.

Also, other owners have recommended me to do a ceramic coating on the car. Is it really necessary?

[nTorq]

Originally Posted by praveenp

I share your concern. Yes the new city's CVT is definitely not as quicker as it should have been. When you have to do a quick overtake you need to throttle harder. My car has done 1k in the ODO and I would be lying if I said I am all happy with the car.

Guess what. Mine is MT, and I’m still complaining. I wish the torque figures were another 30% higher for this car.

Also, speaking about things that aren’t great about the car, the flex that is seen when you press the door panel is simply unacceptable in a car at this price I would say. I might get some flak for saying this, but I sometimes feel that the plastics on my Ritz’s door seem stronger than the 5G City’s!

Anyway, I guess these are things I should have figured before making the purchase, and not one month after.

[RoadMonkey]

Originally Posted by Stimpy

Also, other owners have recommended me to do a ceramic coating on the car. Is it really necessary?

It's not necessary, it's just an additional layer of ceramic clear coat over the existing clear coat. It'll develop light swirl marks just like a clear coat might. Ceramic coating is more useful in rejuvenating the look of a slightly old car. Most people get it done 6 months - 1 year after getting the car.

As for paint protection, PPF on front and rear bumpers is what might be deemed "necessary", although even that's optional. As a rule, the coatings of all sorts aren't needed on a brand new car, be that anti rust or ceramic. They offer more utility on a slightly older car when the coatings that come from factory start to deteriorate.

[praveenp]

Originally Posted by nTorq

Guess what. Mine is MT, and I’m still complaining. I wish the torque figures were another 30% higher for this car.

Also, speaking about things that aren’t great about the car, the flex that is seen when you press the door panel is simply unacceptable in a car at this price I would say. I might get some flak for saying this, but I sometimes feel that the plastics on my Ritz’s door seem stronger than the 5G City’s!

Anyway, I guess these are things I should have figured before making the purchase, and not one month after.

I was actually under the impression that the MT would be lot better than the CVT. I used to drive i20 CRDi for almost 10 years and the punch that the Hyundai Diesel engine would offer was astonishing. I don't find that satisfaction with the city in terms of driving pleasure.

When I opened the fuel lid, I was surprised to see water floating as shown in the attached picture. This is something that I had not seen in i20. As you said, I have made the decision and will stick to it, hopefully, for sometime

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by praveenp

I share your concern. Yes the new city's CVT is definitely not as quicker as it should have been. When you have to do a quick overtake you need to throttle harder. My car has done 1k in the ODO and I would be lying if I said I am all happy with the car.

Praveen, while driving an automatic (CVT or torque converter) instead of pressing the accelerator pedal aggressively, use the paddles to drop one or two gears and then power out/overtake. Normally just the accelerator is fine, but tight situations is a big no go. Otherwise drive in a more relaxed manner which suits the CVT character.

The CVT will be lazy if you just press down on the accelerator pedal and could get dangerous during a quick overtake. Worst case scenario, in the middle of the overtaking manoeuvre you could lose power if the car decides to upshift as per the engine rpm.

I have a 2010 Civic (torque converter) and always use the S mode on highway drives with the paddle shifters for more control and ease of overtaking, making it like a manual without a clutch.

Cheers

[nTorq]

Originally Posted by praveenp

I was actually under the impression that the MT would be lot better than the CVT. I used to drive i20 CRDi for almost 10 years and the punch that the Hyundai Diesel engine would offer was astonishing. I don't find that satisfaction with the city in terms of driving pleasure.

When I opened the fuel lid, I was surprised to see water floating as shown in the attached picture. This is something that I had not seen in i20. As you said, I have made the decision and will stick to it, hopefully, for sometime

I drove from Bangalore to Mysore last night, and with the road-work + Dussera crowd situation on that road, it felt like both the car and I had to do a lot of hard work to be quick enough. The first time I drove to Mysore right after my car's delivery, I didn't feel this, because I was driving in a relaxed manner (was running-in until the 1k mark). The moment you want to drive it enthusiastically, you feel there's something missing. I had heard people say that the City is an enthusiast's car. Honestly, it is anything but that.

I had a completely different image in mind about owning a Honda, which seems to be fast-changing. The so-famous 'iVTEC' barely makes any difference in normal driving conditions. The quality of plastics and interiors is just average. Tyres are smaller than ideal. AC is not the quickest to cool the cabin. The list can go on.

What is more frustrating is that I had booked a Creta diesel, and waited for 6 months, and canceled it after it was allotted because my wife and daughter suddenly liked the City better! Each time when the feeling of regret kicks in, the only consolation I have is the fact that I chose a car that made them happy.

[sprinter]

Originally Posted by praveenp

I share your concern. Yes the new city's CVT is definitely not as quicker as it should have been. When you have to do a quick overtake you need to throttle harder. My car has done 1k in the ODO and I would be lying if I said I am all happy with the car.

New City does 0 to 100 in just over 10 secs. (11.5 secs in CVT). which is pretty good and the acceleration is only 1 odd sec lesser (or fraction of it) than its turbo counterparts. For 0 to 60 the difference is even lesser. The only thing missing is the turbo jerk as the speed increase is linear. The turbo jerk gives some sort of assurance apparently which is not there in city (& other NA cars). I know that even 1 sec is lot for overtaking but don't take split second risk. Drive safely

[nTorq]

Originally Posted by sprinter

New City does 0 to 100 in just over 10 secs. (11.5 secs in CVT). which is pretty good and the acceleration is only 1 odd sec lesser (or fraction of it) than its turbo counterparts. For 0 to 60 the difference is even lesser. The only thing missing is the turbo jerk as the speed increase is linear. The turbo jerk gives some sort of assurance apparently which is not there in city (& other NA cars). I know that even 1 sec is lot for overtaking but don't take split second risk. Drive safely

Honestly, these were the exact numbers that made me think that the City is quick enough earlier.

0-100 happens in 10.5 seconds if you redline it in both 1st and 2nd gear, which most of us don’t do in most situations.

However, it is the in-gear acceleration that matters more than 0-100, for all practical purposes. The 40-80 KMPH and 60-100 KMPH run is FLAT in the Honda City, and that’s where most of the driving happens.

[neeraj0272]

So I am going to take delivery of ZX CVT tomorrow or day after. Coming from a diesel A4 some previous comments is making me do some thinking, But I have accepted the fact that a petrol engine wont give the same pull like a diesel. Also my running is 95% in Delhi traffic so I hope that I wont need sudden acceleration. So I hope that this aspect and other benefits of City (exterior looks being the primary motivator) wont make me regret my decision.

[praveenp]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Praveen, while driving an automatic (CVT or torque converter) instead of pressing the accelerator pedal aggressively, use the paddles to drop one or two gears and then power out/overtake. Normally just the accelerator is fine, but tight situations is a big no go. Otherwise drive in a more relaxed manner which suits the CVT character.

Thanks for the advice. I will start using S mode on highways once I clock few hundred more kilometers in the ODO.

[praveenp]

Originally Posted by nTorq

What is more frustrating is that I had booked a Creta diesel, and waited for 6 months, and canceled it after it was allotted because my wife and daughter suddenly liked the City better! Each time when the feeling of regret kicks in, the only consolation I have is the fact that I chose a car that made them happy.

Before purchasing City, I back to back test drove Creta Automatic Petrol and City CVT. Here is why I went ahead with City and not Creta.

1. Safety was my primary deal-maker. Creta had 6 airbags only in the top end variant and it cost 3 lakhs more than City ZX CVT. I was not convinced that the 3 lakhs difference would do justice.

2. I was a Hyundai customer and had felt the steeper service cost as time elapsed. It was becoming extremely expensive to maintain diesel i20 though I had clocked only 65k Kilometers and the car was very well maintained. I can't remember an instance where my bill was less than 14k. The Hyundai salesperson with whom I was interacting inadvertently told me that she had a Venue and the service center had overcharged her car's service cost by Rs. 4k during her most recent service visit

3. When I test drove Creta, I felt that the wow factor was missing. My wife felt that the ride was slightly bouncier in Creta's backseat than in City's.

4. I had seen few youtube videos about Kia Seltos build quality and hence it was out of my list. I did not test drive Verna because the backseat was not as wider as the City's plus I wanted to try a non-Hyundai car this time.

5. My friend insisted me to check Harrier. The on-road price of one of the variants was coming to around 22 lakhs in BLR. I felt the car was too big in size and the hydraulic steering felt heavy to maneuver within congested roads.

In short, you hardly have any options between 15 and 22 lakhs segment. City felt like the ideal one and hence went ahead with it. When my wife asks me whether I like driving the City, I give a half-hearted look.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by neeraj0272

So I am going to take delivery of ZX CVT tomorrow or day after. Coming from a diesel A4 some previous comments is making me do some thinking, But I have accepted the fact that a petrol engine wont give the same pull like a diesel. Also my running is 95% in Delhi traffic so I hope that I wont need sudden acceleration. So I hope that this aspect and other benefits of City (exterior looks being the primary motivator) wont make me regret my decision.

Honda City as a "performance" car was a thing back when it was launched about 20 years ago because of the VTEC technology. It continued to enjoy this reputation until about 5-6 years ago, when the new wave of compact crossovers with powerful turbo petrols and diesels began to wow the customers. So the expectations from City as a "performance" machine now have to be tempered appropriately. It is still an adequately fast car and a deft handler, but dont expect it to win highway battles with other crossovers. You wont be able to do sudden acceleration the way you perceive a turbodiesel or turbopetrol can deliver. At best, you can move the car to S mode and use paddle shifters in anticipation of an overtake. Then again, if you have 4 adults and luggage, forget zipping past traffic without the powertrain whining. For that you need at least a 2.0 litre NA petrol engine, to get any semblance of performance.

[nTorq]

Originally Posted by praveenp

Before purchasing City, I back to back test drove Creta Automatic Petrol and City CVT. Here is why I went ahead with City and not Creta.

All valid points. When you drive a Creta petrol and City petrol, the iVTEC feels better any day. No doubt about that. However, in my case, I was completely sold on the diesel Creta, and then had to change my mind.

I think I’m making it sound worse that what it actually is (at least that’s what my wife told me a while ago when I was talking to her about it!). The City is powerful, no doubt. It is that flat-ish mid-range that is making me say all this.

BTW, just to feel better, I was doing a bit of calculation, and it looks alright.

The power to weight ratio of the City is much higher than that of Creta diesel. 108 hp/tonne vs. 87 hp/tonne

The torque to weight ratio looks less worse than the original numbers. 186 nm/tonne for Creta vs 130 nm/tonne for the City (50 nm difference better than 105 nm! LOL!). Of course the peak torque is at a lower RPM in Creta.

[shibulijack]

Originally Posted by nTorq

I think I’m making it sound worse that what it actually is (at least that’s what my wife told me a while ago when I was talking to her about it!). The City is powerful, no doubt. It is that flat-ish mid-range that is making me say all this.

I showed this thread to my wife and she said I’d sound like you if I buy a City For some context, I want City but she wants Astor. Seeing that you’re in Bangalore, any remarks on the ground clearance? Almost every one of my colleagues has an SUV and they cite the moon like craters of Bangalore roads as the sole reason.