[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Rakmo

But worth noting is that by slightly modifying an old platform, A car's safety rating can be increased from 4 to 5 stars.

City always had a 5-star safety rating in ASEAN NCAP, all the way from 3rd generation onwards.

3rd generation - 5 stars.
4th generation - 4 stars (2 airbags) & 5 stars (6 airbags, ESC and SBR)

None of these were Indian made or Indian spec cars though! Even the Ciaz has a 4-star rating in ASEAN NCAP.

[StrangeWizard]

I drive a 4th gen Honda City petrol MT and I've driven the new one (all variants). The interior quality is definitely better than the outgoing model. Yes, it's not the best in segment but does feel more polished. The 4th gen was known for some dashboard rattles; I'm hoping this isn't present on the new car.

The i-VTEC engine has always been fantastic but can't deny the fact that the new car has better low-end performance. It feels a bit more responsive. The mid-range and top-end are power packed just like before.

The car is aimed towards comfort now, evident with the softer suspension setup and the fair amount of body-roll present if you drive hard. Overall, it will appeal to lots of customers for sure. Pricing will play a key role now.

[srvshaun]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

...The previous gen City is at #101. Look at the enthusiast cars below it (Abarths and GTs).
Attachment 2023283

The "AutoCar" track day performance makes many cars BHPians love; look silly.

If AutoCar was my dope, I would've had very little respect for vRS, Abarth, VW GT or even GTi. For me, AutoCar for me is just another business. Thank god for T-BHP!

The Honda City for last many generations seems to be a great family car with an engine that maybe feels out of place.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by John316_WRC

If you've driven a large variety of cars, then by now you must know that most petrol engines need to be revved for max power, unlike a diesel. And since you prefer effortless acceleration, I'm guessing you like diesels more than petrols.
!

This simple explanation of the differences between Petrols and Diesels is being blown apart by the advent of Turbo Petrols. They give you the best of both worlds - the effortless acceleration at low revs as well as the great high end performance. Honda refuses to bring this technology to India, stuck in year 2005 thinking that we are a third world nation with poor quality fuel. They deserve to lose the past glories of having the best engines in each segment due to their lethargy and paternalistic attitudes towards India.

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

The SA clearly mentioned that only standard 50K offer given by Honda is there and nothing else. His main point was that the Next Generation Honda City will at least be in the range of 14Lakhs to 17 Lakhs Ex Showroom so anyways people will continue buying the older generation.

Honda can't have missed the biggest headline in this segment in the last few weeks - The launch of the Rapid Rider! I am sure they are watching what Skoda has done with the Rapid Rider. Given the tremendous interest the Rider has generated, I have just a little expectation that Honda will pull a surprise out of its hat and make available a base version of the current City at a similar price point - i.e., 7.5 lakhs. If Skoda can make an expensive imported Turbocharged engine and 6 speed gearbox along with a decent feature list available, at the price point of the Rider, Honda can surely easily afford to do the same - considering it is a less expensive-to-make NA engine that can be domestically sourced. This will make the mid-size Sedan segment really interesting and force Hyundai to drop Verna's prices considerably.

[DJ 0909]

I really like the sedated clean look of the new City , the front resembles a lot with the Corolla Altis that bulbous chrome grill and sleek LED headlamps. The rear as usual Honda-style copying bits from BMW. Can’t comment on the interior quality and plastic bits but with all the refresh , Honda has tried to make it look like a corporate car , the same which can be felt in Ciaz’s interior. From a 4th gen owner perspective I didn’t find anything extraordinary or exciting , may be we have reached at levels where we can’t have anything revolutionary just like smartphones. With grown up dimension’s and reviewer’s repeatedly mentioning it at par with Civic i think they are feeding the public to get ready to pay a premium for it.

[Carpainter]

Being a 4th gen City owner I'd say I'm underwhelmed. As powerdrift reviewer Rohan has said, every previous generations of the car were almost leaps and bounds ahead of its previous generation but this car is more like a facelift than an all new generation. Infact, from pictures atleast, I'd say I love the looks of the 4th gen or even 3rd gen more than the 5th gen car. And if they say exterior is more like a baby Civic, I'd say the interior is more like a grown up Amaze. Yes the MID is good but the design of the dash is pretty ordinary for a car of this segment. Even the small 185 section tyres look terrible with longer front and rear overhang. City remains strong in areas where it was strong before like rear seat space and comfort, luggage space, NA petrol engine etc. but hasn't improved on anything that was its weaker point like CVT, build quality, poor ICE and last but not the least not diesel automatic etc.

Overall I'm really not impressed. Add to that the premium Honda is going to ask for this and it's not even value for money. Now I do believe the C segment is dying. The best offering, the City is not special anymore, the Verna is not spacious and not really a driver's car, Rapid has got a good engine but it's a decade old model with A.S.S worries. Yaris is dead already and Ciaz is just another MSIL car. With SUVs getting stronger day by day, I think C segment is going to end up like D segment in coming years which is sad really.

[itsashishsharma]

We are discussing engines here? Why? Yes, we should have gotten the 1.0L turbo petrol option as well, but the City's 1.5L vTech is a lovely engine. Low and mid end grunt used to be lacking earlier, with this Earthdreams series in the 5th generation City, they have addressed it, reviews say this. So please, let's not talk engines here. Yes, Honda has lost quite a bit of the game. But City's petrol engine has always been it's highlight and it still is.
Now, I want to crib about making the suspension softer. Yes, it has improved ride quality, but body roll has increased. And then why City's steering couldn't have the kind kf feel and feedback the Civic's steering has got? I don't understand why Civic with a sporty chassis and steering can't have a manual either. The City and the Civic used to be enthusiast's cars. This was the USP. Why would one not buy an SUV like the Creta and buy a City instead? What is the City's USP with a lifeless steering with a slack in the centre position and a soft suspension that makes a sedan roll? As an enthusiast now, what are my options? Only Skoda Rapid, is that it?

[blackwasp]

Thanks to Karanbir Satija for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

Please find attached the pictures of the 2020 Honda City ZX and VX variants which have arrived at a Honda dealership.

[Reinhard]

The front and rear overhangs extended while keeping the wheelbase unchanged would be an immediate deal-breaker for me if I was shopping in this segment. OverDrive was the only review probably to challenge Honda's claim that even with this design the approach & departure angles have stayed unchanged. Its a mathematical impossibility. OD showed that the new one scrapes where the old one didn't. Its a no brainer.

The old city was already known to scrape at awkwardly designed ramp slopes and speed bumps (which are everywhere in India). A car that has even longer overhangs would go out of my list even before looking at the feature and spec list. Practicality is my 1st item of need. I wonder why Honda felt confident while doing this design decision. Then there is the un-premium resolution HU screen. Could have been better when claiming a premium tag. Cheap aftermarket Android head units also come with better resolution and clarity sometimes.

At the same time - I loved the interior packaging a lot. Nice cabin. Smartly spacious even with the unchanged wheelbase. A good place to be in surely.

[IntoTheStorm]

I am not a city fan boy! But I think it'll garner decent numbers ( if not more than 4th gen model), due to following reasons (IMHO)
1. Size matters! New City looks bigger - reaching levels of Civic - some customers want bigger car with better road presence
2. Looks - while it looks disproportionate from some angles, it has got striking looks - Especially with that sharp front end and interesting rear end
3. Rear seat space and comfort - As per Honda it has better leg room and more matured suspension - lot of customers will buy it to use as chauffer driven vehicle
4. Features- wouldn't be setting any benchmarks but has got some interesting features- Striking LEDs, Connectivity features, Lane watch ( didn't see anyone talking about it - surprising!), Large sunroof, TPMS, Configurable tachometer dial (I like the simple design), refreshed engine, 6 airbags etc
5. Handling - Ciaz and Verna still lags when it comes to overall spirited drive feel and some customers might be sceptical about Vento and Rapid due to service /expense related factors
6. Improved interior - overall design looks much more matured with some classy bits like climate control dials area and leather down below

[dr_davis97]

If I was in the market for a C segment sedan in India, I would pick the new Honda City without any hesitation at all. The only reason would be for it's sweet i-vtec motor mated with the short throw manual transmission.

And as the initial reports suggest, certain shortcomings of that engine such as the pathetic low end power delivery seem to have been rectified which makes it a no brainer for me.

Naturally aspirated petrols and manual transmissions are in reality a dying breed, leading to less and lesser number of choices for purists like me as the years go by. But hey, there's always the pre-owned market and nothing quite matches the advantages of a turbo. My only hope is Porsche, who have pledged to keep the NA petrols and manual transmissions alive, atleast in their GT models.


The centre console doesn't seem to be aligned in centre with respect to the gear console. This is a bit annoying. I wonder how it looks in person?

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

.... Now I do believe the C segment is dying. The best offering, the City is not special anymore, the Verna is not spacious and not really a driver's car, Rapid has got a good engine but it's a decade old model with A.S.S worries. Yaris is dead already and Ciaz is just another MSIL car. With SUVs getting stronger day by day....

Originally Posted by dr_davis97

If I was in the market for a C segment sedan in India, I would pick the new Honda City without any hesitation at all.

There will always be a buyer base for competent sedans. The sheer comfort, driving pleasure and fatigue free long distance travel offered by a sedan is way way superior to any SUV/MUV/Crossover vehicle in the market irrespective of its price band. There is simply no comparision.

When it comes to the exterior design, I still would rate the 4th Gen City to be better, more streamlined and elegant compared to the 5th Gen model. Even the 3rd Gen City with its Arrow shaped design is a more crisper one. I particularly don't like the hood and the deep crease formed by the hood on the sides.
Also the 5th Gen City has longer front and rear overhangs. It's like the car has tried to grow bigger than the wheelbase would allow it. The longer overhangs doesn't make it look that proportional compared to the 4th Gen.

The new dashboard is also quite boxy and the borders on the AC vent is digging too deep onto the dashboard above. The earlier dashboard designs of the 4th and 3rd Gen City were more fluid and classier.

The 5th Gen City will definitely carrying forward the superior DNA of its prececessor models. There is no doubt, it will be supremely comfortable and a pleasure to drive both in the diesel and petrol models and will continue to be a popular car simply because of the great, hasslefree and luxurious experience offered by a City, something its competitors will have a hard time trying to match.

[motorworks]

Not a big fan of the interiors of this new City. For one, the HU looks like a tablet just slapped on. Then the console below the climate control unit looks very tacky and cheap, with the USB ports exposed and im not sure what this console is actually for. Its hard plastic so whatever you keep there is going to rattle away to glory. Overall, the interiors look very boring, and lacks that special feeling that say the 2020 Creta or even the Seltos has.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

There will always be a buyer base for competent sedans. The sheer comfort, driving pleasure and fatigue free long distance travel offered by a sedan is way way superior to any SUV/MUV/Crossover vehicle in the market irrespective of its price band. There is simply no comparision.

Which sedan in this segment is that capable - to rival the likes of Duster / Kicks / Hexa / Compass in suspension comfort? And performance to match the 153hp Kicks / 138hp Seltos? None of these family sedans are real fun handling machines either (though they may be better than the crossovers - and the old Rapid is probably the most fun of the lot (Sireesh Chandran's words - not mine)

D segment sedans are already dead. And the C segment is dying. The numbers are plain and simple. Take the Honda City itself for example - sales have gradually fallen from 83k units in 2015 to 29k units in 2019.

Across segments - sedans had an overall market share of 24% in 2015 and is reduced to just 15% in 2019. The real numbers would be drastically lesser if we exclude the compact 'sedans', even just the DZire which single-handedly accounts for 50% of those numbers.

Originally Posted by motorworks

Overall, the interiors look very boring, and lacks that special feeling that say the 2020 Creta or even the Seltos has.

Agreed. Looking at the real-life pictures above - doesn't look like the interior design will age gracefully. Looks bland.

On the other hand - exterior looks much better than press images in the above pics. Classier than the 4th generation.

[sechebe]

While it's good to see Honda delivering their upgraded version of 1.5L i-VTEC Normally Aspirated engine for its fans, I still don't see any reason for the enthusiasts get excited about this New City.

Chassis & Suspension Setup - Pronounced Body Roll, Soft
Steering - No feedback, Slack around centre.
Tyres - 185/55 R16 (Looks terribly under-tyred for body size)

Of course it has a good engine for general uses, but is it tuned for true performance?

Honda already bills 1.0 L T-VTEC (122PS/173Nm) City RS in Thailand as a performance premium version, and Indian launch is under consideration (as per Overdrive and some other media). The same 1.0L T-Vtec is offered in UK Spec CIVIC with 126PS/200Nm, and I don't think this 1.5 NA can hold a candle to it on performance, especially the mid-range which is used the most, where it is a no-contest.

I get it that 1.5 NA is a free revving engine, but when a 1.0 T-VTEC (again who said those aren't free revving? 1.0 Skoda-VW TSIs too are, although not sure about Hyundai 1.0GDi) can produce more power and torque with lesser effort, what's so enthusiastic about this? It would have been easy to classify 1.5 VTec as a performance engine if it had a higher state of tune producing atleast 15-20% more power& torque.

For example, Swift/Baleno/Jazz/Amaze 1.2 NA petrols are good & free revving, but compare that to a Polo 1.0TSI/BalenoRS 1.0/Tiago JTP and you get the idea. Another advantage is the tuneability of Turbo engines, where a simple remap can extract another 30PS/50Nm.

I think Honda doesn't care about us Indian enthusiasts, else it would have offered City RS spec at launch or a 1.5L T-VTEC Civic with Manual 'box. What pains is that even with their 'regular' engines/suspension/tyres etc, they charge a bomb.