[TusharK]

Honda is celebrating 25 years since the City was launched in the Indian market. The popular mid-size sedan went on sale in 1998.



To date, Honda has sold over 9 lakh units of the City in India. The car is sold in 80 countries across the world and has generated cumulative sales of 4.5 million units globally. India accounted for over 28% of its sales in the Asia / Oceania region during the period of January-August 2022.



Currently, in its fifth generation, the Honda City is offered with two engine options. The 1.5-litre petrol engine makes 119 BHP and 145 Nm, while the 1.5-litre diesel puts out 99 BHP and 200 Nm.



Earlier this year, Honda introduced the City Hybrid in India. It uses a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine paired with two electric motors, offering a combined output of 124 BHP and 253 Nm.

Link to Team-BHP News

[rahulskumar]

But where are the cars? Even after 25 years Honda could not capture the Indian market, nor do they have car in all the body segments.

[ritedhawan]

The quintessential 'Bread-and-butter' offering by Honda. Never to let her down , the rate at which the City continues to sell. I remember, my sister after her marriage , used to have the second and third generation Honda City 1.5 MT in her family. I tried my hand on both and loved the slick manual shift, with its puny gear selector. Both felt little light in weight while the steering was so easy to rotate. I couldn't find anything wrong with the 'City'. The rev-happy petrol engines were the icing on the top.

This car for Honda is like an 'Impregnable castle' . It withstood the competition from its adversaries and yet it prevailed. Its adversaries threw everything at it and it stood the test of time (Figurately speaking!).

I dread the day, when the sales of 'City' bottoms out. The next day Honda packing its bags.

[lionheart_mm]

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

But where are the cars? Even after 25 years Honda could not capture the Indian market, nor do they have car in all the body segments.

Rather than capturing the market what I preferred was for them to remain as a semi-premium carmaker selling niche products, but they ruined that reputation with half-baked products like Mobilio and BRV.

[TejasKinger]

A few notable videos featuring Honda Citys both old and new from the recent past.

From Evo India

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSliktHfBYI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yiRLs6BgOk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6j1taqbTPs

From Autocar India

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9CAeKFLPDo

[GTO]

Still the benchmark you-cant-go-wrong allrounder sedan in the C2 segment. Only the VAG twins come close, but they will never match the long-term reliability & dependability of the Honda City.

Congrats to Honda on the silver jubilee . What's especially noteworthy is, each generation of the City has been the best in segment when on sale. That's not easy to do consecutively with 5 generations!

I still remember the wild nature of my 1st-gen City Vtec:










Crank your speaker volume up & just listen to her sing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdsCul-rtmE

106 BHP at the wheels @ 70,000 km:

Originally Posted by Rehaan

106 bhp!! Definitely an impressive figure for the relatively minor mods that were carried out. To be honest, i was pleasantly suprised!

Look at the linear climb of horsepower, and the relatively FLAT torque curve all the way up to 6,700rpm, with a peak of 91 lb-ft @ 5,400rpm.
Karan mentioned that a FPR would put up the power by another 2-3bhp and also increase throttle response.

If you notice, the graph isn't drawn past 6.7k even though the engine revs till 7.1k! I checked with KS and he said this was due to tyre slippage (and clutch slippage too). Remember that the "RPM" reading is coming from the rollers and not the engine - so even though the engine might have been at 7.1k, due to the slippage the rollers think it is at 6.7k.

Keeping the above in mind, its best to use RPM as a relative reference between many runs on the same car. For eg, to see how your powerband shifts up or down the RPM range after certain mods.

But wait. 106bhp ?!?! Isn't that what a bone stock OHC Vtec is supposed to put out?

Well yes, but the difference here is that this HP is being measured at the wheels instead of at the engine's crankshaft (which is the standard procedure for all manufacturer horsepower claims).

Whats the difference? Well, horsepower at the wheels is always less, due to frictional losses in the drivetrain, inertia of drivetrain parts and a dose of clutch slippage. Typically an average guesstimate of around 15% is added to wheel horsepower (whp) to get a decent guess of the hp at the crank.

So, even if we take a reasonable window for drivetrain losses, (say 10% to 20%), this Vtec would be putting out 116 - 127 bhp!

As i said earlier, I'm pleasantly surprised!!

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by GTO

Still the benchmark you-cant-go-wrong allrounder sedan in the C2 segment--

Even today, the numbers say it all. The undisputed King of its segment.



Link (Honda City outsells the Skoda Slavia & VW Virtus)

[5252rpm]

India respects Honda City and name plate is quite popular across the country. Aspirational product for many middle classes, IMHO.

Interestingly, Honda came with City as entry level offering. 25 years later, City is their flagship offering. Trivial!

[Dieseltuned]

Proud to own the 5th generation of the City. Kudos to Honda in delivering a reliable and bullet proof product.

[Rohan1511]

Proud owner of 4th Generation Honda City CVT. An absolute piece of refined machinery.

[Gsynch]

I am a very happy and satisfied owner of 3rd Gen City for the last 12 years and continue to be. In fact, today morning wife was suggesting going ahead with a Hybrid Honda city as a replacement for the older one

Apart from the regular maintenance and few insurance claims for dent/paint job, I haven't spent an extra penny on it, and The City keeps running smoothly. We did a family trip to Pune, the same day returned 400 odd KMs, and I enjoyed it immensely.

[GTO]

Based on a request from BHPian Voodooblaster, we have just added a poll to this thread .

While the 5th-gen City is the best car so far, I have voted for the 1st-gen City. Reason:

- It was the model that established brand "Honda" in India.

- The wild, insane, raw nature of the 1st-gen City Vtec hasn't been seen in any of the subsequent generations.

[TrackDay]

All though I own the 5th gen, I voted for the 3rd gen City for it's looks . I believe the design language in that gen was way advanced for it's time. It still looks neat and clean even after all these years. The 5th gen is great when it comes practicality and fuel economy. However the one thing that has baffled me is the absence of the temperature gauge from the second generation onwards

[sam264_2000]

Voted for the 5th Gen as I own one. The 3rd gen is good too. I also like the facelifted version of 4th gen - it looks beautiful. Have a couple of those in my friend circle and family and I was seriously contemplating buying one but waited for the 5th gen. No regrets. It's a well rounded-you-can't-go-wrong sedan. Been driving for a year and my 45 km daily office commute is a breeze.

[Dippy]

While the City has grown leaps in terms of features etc. I have voted for the first gen car. It has oodles of character even today, something that generations that came after it couldn't match. Drove a 1.5 EXI AT for 10 years and 1.5 lakh kms. A well kept one still looks the part even today in a sea of modern cars.



I still miss my car even to this day. Wouldn't have sold it if not for parking issues.