[keeprevving]

Looking at the Chinese version, I can state that this will be the first car that will easily get space in our Pics of weird and wacky mod jobs thread, without actually going in for any any after-market modifications. Seriously, give a beautiful thing to the Chinese, they surely know how to make it look the most weird. Going by the looks of it, I guess, Honda China can hire me to design a few of their upcoming cars. It wont be as bad as this Chinese Honda City .

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Really urgent info that I seek for which I shall be eternally grateful.

I am close to buying either a City VX AT or Corolla V AT to replace my Etios VX. City VX has the advantage of being in my budget.

Today evening I got a TD of City SV AT when I came back from office and just after getting out of Etios VX (which I had taken to office for valuation).

All is fine with City but one thing struck me immediately on driving the City (note that I had driven the Etios just prior). The tyres seem to drag and somehow it felt like that something was missing in road grip/friction/drag (if you understand). The TD model was SV AT.

Has anyone noticed this or this missing in V AT (which I plan to buy). I have to make a commitment either way tomorrow (to buy City or not and put up the booking amount). Is this an issue or just my perception. Reading the review here could have biased me but it was perceptible to me. I am not a believer in tinkering with stock tyre config so it is the entire company package or none.

First things first. That's an absurd comparision of cars from two different segment.

The build quality of Toyota Corolla is definitely better than the City. That's why you are paying 5L Extra although City VX AT might have all the goody stuff.

With regards to the tyres, did you check how the SV AT had run, what brand tyres it had and what was the condition of the tyres. I don't think the City is that badly under-tyred to provide such an experience. We already have a good amount of satisfied City owners. So finally it's your call.

[kalyan_hyd]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

All is fine with City but one thing struck me immediately on driving the City (note that I had driven the Etios just prior). The tyres seem to drag and somehow it felt like that something was missing in road grip/friction/drag (if you understand). The TD model was SV AT.

Has anyone noticed this or this missing in V AT (which I plan to buy). I have to make a commitment either way tomorrow (to buy City or not and put up the booking amount). Is this an issue or just my perception. Reading the review here could have biased me but it was perceptible to me. I am not a believer in tinkering with stock tyre config so it is the entire company package or none.

Sir,

The stock tyres on Honda City seem to be optimized for the best mileage. I drove 50k kms on the stock 175/65 R15 tyres and I had been traveling to some cities, over the highways, the semi-urban and some rural places without any major issues.

But, the general consensus on the forum is that 195/60 R15 are the best tyres on the City for better grip/ cornering and perhaps high-speed stability. As it was time to replace my stock tyres, I got the upgrade done to 190/60 R15. I am yet take the car out to the highway but within the limited driving I have done within the city after the upgrade, the stability and cornering have definitely improved.

Since you are not interested in tinkering with the stock setting, you can check with the dealer about the upgrade.

[vasudeva]

First things first in reply to comments: last time in 2007, I started with City, then Civic, and then bought a Corolla.

Having owned two Toyotas, my heart is with the Corolla, but the purse says City which is in absolute terms itself worth buying long term. Corolla will cost me Rs. 10 lakh extra in EMI.

I am absolutely comfortable with everything in the City including the financial outgo. However, you will appreciate that I had this perception and wanted clarification/solution. I simply do not dig maintaining 2 Corollas when total travel in family is 800-900 km/month.

So if general consensus is 195/60 15, is it feasible at dealer level and extra cost approx. Also it wont make any difference in odo/warranty, etc.

I am doing another TD drive but will try to do some highway run so that I can get a better idea.

Thanks to all and please if you have something more, please help.
I saw this thread and definitely will consider 195/60 15.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...-thread-8.html

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

So if general consensus is 195/60 15, is it feasible at dealer level and extra cost approx. Also it wont make any difference in odo/warranty, etc.

I am doing another TD drive but will try to do some highway run so that I can get a better idea.

The dealer will not let you do any tyre profile changes at the Dealership level. The same needs to be done outside through a tyre shop. The dealership are notorious in scaring people by indicating warranty issues.

It's an absolute personal call whether to upgrade the tyres to 195/60 or not. Advise would be to look at what stock tyres are coming with your car. City has been coming with three brands usually. Michelin XM1, Bridgstone & MRF. Michelins as stock are good enough. There are BHPians who have run on stock Michelins for over 25K Kms now without any issue. And there are some like me who have upgraded to 195/60 on Day 1 (Despite having Michelin XM1 as stock) and run the car for close to 30K kms too. (I have run only 15K kms yet on the upgraded tyres)

Again, while taking the TD do take a look at the tyre too to understand their condition, so you come to know whether the grip levels will be better or same on your vehicle too.

P.S. If you are going for the VX AT, I hope you are ready for the loooooong waiting period (Ranging from 4-6 Months).

Mods: The long word typo was intentional. Hope it's fine. If not, do change it.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by tejas08

P.S. If you are going for the VX AT, I hope you are ready for the loooooong waiting period (Ranging from 4-6 Months).

Mods: The long word typo was intentional. Hope it's fine. If not, do change it.

Here is the status just now. In Delhi NCR, around 4-5 dealers have City VX AT Silver and I have verified from one who is a friend of mine. Almost all have VX AT but they are white, red, or titanium. Silver AT VX is with 4-5 dealers as of now.

With that in mind, I have provisionally booked it just now (provisional for 24 hrs while I decide between City and Corolla).

If the dealer (ACe Honda) keeps to his word, the delivery is on Sun 28.6.15 morning. The tyres are Bridgestone 175/65 15.

The exchange tie up for Etios is with dealer only. I am getting 5K less than in market but that is compensated for by dealing with a dealer rather than some 3rd party who is not known.

I drove the V AT with MRF and frankly I did not see a huge issue. But anyway could consider on upgrade to 195/60 15. Since expected driving on City is 300-400 km/month, keeping stock tyre size means 6-7 years.

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

All is fine with City but one thing struck me immediately on driving the City (note that I had driven the Etios just prior). The tyres seem to drag and somehow it felt like that something was missing in road grip/friction/drag (if you understand). The TD model was SV AT.

I experienced the same feeling when I took a test drive of the City. In hindsight, I guess its the City's stock tires that are the culprits here with their woefully inadequate road grip. In fact, my Civic with tires that are due for replacement gripped the tarmac better than the City that I test drove.

[vasudeva]

Today I TD both the City AT and Corolla top end manual (was planning to buy AT but dealer gave TD of manual).

Having owned 2 Toyotas over last 8 years, I was strongly predisposed towards the Corolla. I have lived with boring dashboard (Corolla) and plain one (Etios). With Etios, there were other virtues like cost, overall performance, and Reliability. With Corolla, it has been nothing short of great (same with Etios). I could live with Etios dashboard because it was plain but not hideous.

I was willing to pay 7 lakh more for Corolla AT over City AT. However, one look at the dashboard totally turned me off. Although performance was worth paying 7 lakh over, I would have wanted a 10 lakh discount to live with that dashboard.

Now looks are subjective, but in my opinion, there is no symmetry in the dash. You have a huge black dash with ugly grains coming up. Once you get a load of this, you see the air vents. Combined, I wondered if Toyota will make cars for old people like me again (48+). I simply could not live with paying 7 lakh more for such a dashboard.

So all thoughts of owning the Corolla went within 1 min of the TD and I have confirmed my City AT booking. Hope to get it by Sunday.

[themonster]

Hey Everyone !!
Completed about 33500kms on the ODO.
Got the tyres changed at 32850kms, on last Saturday (20/6/2015). Went for Bridgestone Turanza AR-20 195/60 R15. The stock Goodyears still had thread left in it, but had practically no grip while driving.
After the upgrade, the car felt like a different car. Road grip has improved, tyre noise has reduced considerably, ride comfort has improved drastically and handling has improved by a great extent. Car feels more planted now and more confidence inspiring.
Paid Rs.5400 per tyre and total was Rs.21,600/-

Originally Posted by rockporiom

Hi guys

My SV CVT is giving some issues.

1) there is a strange humming noise coming from the wheel wells of the car. My car came with good year 175 tyres which I immediately changed to Yokohama C drive 195/60 R15. I can't say if the noise is due to the tyre change since I have no experience on the stock tyres. I don't think its the tyres since the ride quality is excellent no complaints.


2)there is a squealing noise coming from the brakes when applied.

3) the rear left door rattles

4) there is whinning or whistling noise coming from the engine bay. According to Tejas08 it looks like its the alternator grinding noise.

5) Also there is RUST near the bonnet area where the hinges are which the ASC says is normal

1. Humming noise could again be related to the alternator grinding noise. All the things are connected on one another by belts and pulleys, maybe one of them became lose or worn out.

2. That might be a sign of your brakes needing to be replaced; if it happens in the dry conditions. If it happens in the wet/rain, then water might be entering the brake pad contact area (not sure of what it is called). This is normal, happens with me too.

3. Empty the door pockets and make sure nothing is present in any cavity of the door; then try driving or listening to music. If you still hear a rattle from the door, something must be lose inside.
It happened to me before. I always had a bottle of water (1 liter) in any one of the rear door pockets. Over bad roads, they used to move around and make a rattling noise. It took me a while to figure it out.

4. Yup, it's the same grinding noise. Welcome to the club. I saw your video, and the exact same thing is happening with most of the petrol owners, including myself. When the weather is cold/more chilly it takes an even longer time for the sound to disappear. The sound started for me around 30000kms. When did it start for you? and by the way, you havent mentioned how much is your ODO reading currently.

5. Ouch that's got to hurt. I don't know much about rust, but a quick visit to a trusted independent garage or to a 3M car care store may help you for that. 3M has an interior panel protection program if I remember correctly. I remember seeing in a youtube video, someone removing rust with the help of WD40.

Hope I helped you !

Originally Posted by tejas08

...City has been coming with three brands usually. Michelin XM1, Bridgstone & MRF. Michelins as stock are good enough.

How could you forget about Goodyear? It one of the worst tyres that come with the City and some members like me and BHPian RavenAvi have gotten it.

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Today I TD both the City AT and Corolla top end manual (was planning to buy AT but dealer gave TD of manual).

Having owned 2 Toyotas over last 8 years, I was strongly predisposed towards the Corolla. I have lived with boring dashboard (Corolla) and plain one (Etios). With Etios, there were other virtues like cost, overall performance, and Reliability. With Corolla, it has been nothing short of great (same with Etios). I could live with Etios dashboard because it was plain but not hideous.

I was willing to pay 7 lakh more for Corolla AT over City AT. However, one look at the dashboard totally turned me off. Although performance was worth paying 7 lakh over, I would have wanted a 10 lakh discount to live with that dashboard.

Now looks are subjective, but in my opinion, there is no symmetry in the dash. You have a huge black dash with ugly grains coming up. Once you get a load of this, you see the air vents. Combined, I wondered if Toyota will make cars for old people like me again (48+). I simply could not live with paying 7 lakh more for such a dashboard.

So all thoughts of owning the Corolla went within 1 min of the TD and I have confirmed my City AT booking. Hope to get it by Sunday.

Congratulations !! and welcome to our small but growing City club
The new Corolla, as I feel, is aimed at the youth. Camry on the other hand, still has a contemporary style (compared to the Corolla and the coming Vios)

Changing tyres is purely one's choice, but wider tyres makes a big difference in the handling and ride comfort department of the city. (speaking from personal experience)

[rockporiom]

Originally Posted by themonster

Hope I helped you !

Hi themonster thanks for your reply. My car has done about 7.3k kms And will complete one year in august. I visited the ASC today and they couldn't hear the noise so i showed them the video to which they were surprised and looked like they were hearing it for the first time.

I also told them about a few more issues in addition to issues in the previous post like:

1) boot not closing properly without using brute force.

2) Stock HU hanging and resetting

3) wiper water jet not working Properly.

They say they need the car for at least 2 days tp diagnose and solve the issues which is a headache as i have only one car.

Why Honda why no proper quality checks?

[vasudeva]

Hope to get delivery tomorrow afternoon (as per dealer's promise). If I get it, it will be 2 days flat from booking to delivery.

Made tentative booking yesterday, confirmed booking today. loan cleared today, and expected delivery tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then Sunday. 3-4 dealers have silver vx at in stock and I went with the person who showed the most interest in my custom.

Cannot comment on Corolla's interiors since it is a matter of taste. I looked at a new Corolla today (TD cars are usually dirty and can bias against). Even the new car was not to my taste with regard to the interior. Performance and ease of driving was as good (but maybe not better) than my present Corolla (2002-08).

There was a time in the mid 2000s when Corolla was the epitome of boredom on the inside/outside and on the road. Honda was known for edgier styling epitomised in the Civic. Now Toyota is moving in an edgier direction but I am not sure if it is a right direction for me at least. Would buy any Toyota hands down but not with this interior and at 20+.

Nobody has specifically responded to my request as to whether changing to 195/60 15 will compromise handling. Handling is important for my wife for whom the car is intended.
Very important to know what do I get and what do I lose. I am taking the delivery tomorrow and any upgrade is best done then.

[manishkapadia]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I drove the V AT with MRF and frankly I did not see a huge issue. But anyway could consider on upgrade to 195/60 15. Since expected driving on City is 300-400 km/month, keeping stock tyre size means 6-7 years.

I have been on MRF stock tyres on my 2010 City for about 5 years and recently switched over to Michelin XM2 195/60/R15 . The difference is so noticable in each and every way that i am repenting not having done this earlier .With this configuration there is nigligible difference in ODO . Frankly i did not even observe meaningful drop in fuel consumption .

You can go for it . Tyre upgrades are fairly common now and Honda though may not agree if you ask, they know too well that a lot of people are doing it right out of showroom.

I think i paid about Rs 5700 per piece.

[vasudeva]

The dealer told me warranty will not be void but that is his point.
What can I expect to lose per tyre. Existing is Bridgestone 175/65 15 but quality is not known.
I am planning to replace all 5 with Bridgestone 195/60 15 at 5.8/tyre.
Existing ones on City may be priced by tyre dealer at 4.5-5K/tyre from tyre dealer. Is a net amount of 10K to be paid reasonable. The dealer is Tyre Dynamics in NOIDA which is a Super Select Shop or some high preferred one.

[manishkapadia]

For a million rupee car additional 1 % ( Rs 10,000 ) that you will pay extra will be well worth the extra pleasure. Go for it . Since you spoke about Corolla , i think you may have a preference for quality of ride . In this regard the Michelins will better other brands. Though they may last a little less . Speak to a good tyre guy . Its also not the size but also make of tyre that will determine what you get out of it. My tyre guy told me that Yokos are better for handling , Michelins better for ride comfort and Bridgestone for longetivity .

[vasudeva]

Yes will keep everything in mind and thanks to all.
Must really stop now before the entire relevant posts are moved to Honda tyre upgrade thread. 10K is nothing and not spending that will result in 5-6 years of driving with 175/65 15.