Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Official New Car Reviews (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/)

-   -   4th-gen Honda City : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/145656-4th-gen-honda-city-official-review-36.html)

This depends on the dealer. In my case I was promised 100% refund however just to be sure I got this statement (Booking amount 100% refundable) written and stamped on the booking receipt.
You can talk to the dealer and get something similar done so that it is clear and no surprises later.

You will get 100% refund, no cancellation penalty. Its a std Honda policy.

BTW, only diesel cars are available for TDs as of now. Petrol Citys are expected by the end of this month.

Checked out the new City yesterday. Here's my 2 paise (on the petrol MT variant I checked out):

Anyone who needs a lot of space in the rear passengers seat, must go for this car. Even with the front seats pushed all the way back to their maximum travel adjustment setting, there is lots of legroom at the rear. 6 footers will definitely be happy.

The steering wheel, middle a/c vents seem to be made with nice durable plastics. I'm guessing they'll last long. The steering wheel especially is solid and of high quality. Even cruise control and audio control buttons feel robust and solid to use.

Gearshift (like my Fabia) is precise and sure slotting. Should be a pleasure to use on the road.

I'm 5"9 and I found the headroom at a premium. Seat height at the highest position had my head almost touching the roof, while seated on the driver's seat. No such headroom issues while on front and rear passenger seats.

Wish projector headlamps were at least an option. Similarly 6 airbags. Don't know why Honda didn't think it important to fit in 4 more airbags. I would have been happy to pay more for it.

Definitely a strong contender for my next car I'll be buying this year.


Just curious. What's the real mileage one can expect from the petrol manual in Bangalore city? [please don't quote Arai's figure].

Had the same opinion vsathyap. Chrome grill, though I still don't prefer it, wasn't that ugly to look at, head on, inside the showroom. It kind of blended with the headlamps.

Tats07: I didn't take a TD. I checked out the display vehicle at Whitefield Honda at KR Puram junction. They said petrol TD vehicle will probably reach within 2 weeks. Petrol deliveries only from March end, as Honda is prioritizing production to satisfy Diesel demand. But since Honda has enjoyed high equity with their petrols, I'm sure many like me (and you?) will want a petrol variant and Honda should immediately strategize to manage both fuel opted demands.

P.S: I clicked 'thanks' to your post accidentally, but no harm. :)

Without any doubt, as far as a diesel engine is concerned, you should opt for Skoda Rapid. The engine, IMO, is far superior to i-DTEC. No number of features, even in the VX variant of City, can compensate for the superior driveability - if THAT'S your priority. Do take heed of Skoda service though; they are possibly the worst in India as per reports in the forum.

@k_ajay: which dealer in Bangalore has a petrol MT for TD? Or is it only for display? I spoke to Whitefield and Magnum and those guys say no petrol TD till Feb/March. Seems other cities also have the same issue.

Wanted to mention this and now my previous post timed out for edits.

I was trying hard to feel wow'd by the City but for some reason that didn't happen. I'm not one normally trying to nitpick on negatives and I was trying to see all the positives in the car, but somehow the City didn't managed to make me go 'wow' on seeing the car. The thing I liked the most was the steering wheel. Bas!

I own a Fabia that I love, but I don't have any loyalty with Skoda. And I confess I immediately went 'Wow' on sitting inside the new Octavia. Heck, I was wow'd just looking at it. That's something.


The wait for the refreshed Skoda Rapid begins.

Absolutely no penalties and full refund of booking amount.

I cancelled my 07/11/2013 booking of the new City on 19/12/2013, and received the cheque via courier on 27/12/2013 for the full amount (they were having some problems with NEFT). This, without getting anything in writing from the Honda dealer. All I did was send an email to them mentioning my booking cancellation with a scanned copy of my booking receipt.

Anywhere between 11-12 kmpl in your day-to-day runs. In bumper-to-bumper traffic, it can drop to 9-10 kmpl, and that's the i-VTEC's absolute worst. Once the engine opens up, there is at least 2 kmpl increase in the above-mentioned figures.

This is what my Pegasus is giving, for the last 200-odd kms inside the city (snapshot taken just now):

Many have complained about the NVH of iDtech City. How do you feel about the refinement, noise insulation & ride quality of City when comparing to your Vista Quadrajet. I had a company provided Vista TDI. Had done extensive traveling in that car ( Chauffeur driven, I use rear seat). The NVH on highways @ 100 kmph from the rear seat & ride quality was impressive. Your quadrajet should be better than TDI, thus the query.

Thanks

As I have mentioned in my post I drove for less than a kilometer and that too on a one of the small and crowded roads of Bangalore (Hosur road - service road in front of Dakshin Honda). During that short drive, I felt the Engine noise in the cabin was a little more than my Vista, but no vibrations though. The overall ride quality was better.
I didn't find much of a difference in the driveability between the City and my Vista! In fact I felt the latter is definitely more fun to drive.

There are few features which I feel should have been included in SV variant (which I am sure wouldn't have cost much and would have avoided people from thinking that Honda is being very niggardly)

1. Back pockets on front seats - they are very useful. It is there only in the top variant. How much can it cost?!
2. Power outlets in the rear. It was a segment first feature. Should've been included in all the variants.
3. Dead Pedal. It is so very very useful. All the mods on this forum make an observation about this in all the reviews. I can't for the love of God, understand the difficulty in putting one. I am not sure what complex engineering has to go into incorporating this one!
4. Should've covered the inside of the boot door. It looks horrendous:Shockked:
5. Front fog lamps
6.This one I am not sure, cos this ain't cheap. Rear parking camera. But, installing an aftermarket one is a pain and you can never get it right. So, either it should be available as an accessory at the dealer or at least Aftermarket preparation for installing any other brand should have been there.

This alloy wheel is available as standard accessory. Costs Rs. 7500/- each. IMO definitely looks better than the stock alloy.

Isn't the dealer buying back the old alloys? I would've thought the difference between the prices is what should be paid, since it's not an addition, but a replacement of unused components.

Whitefield Honda I visited yesterday confirmed they will not buy back the stock alloys.


Thanks RavenAvi. I hope the new City will end up returning (post engine run-in) at least 12-13 kmpl. That would make it a great all-rounder.

Had a first hand feel of the 2014 Honda city at the showroom:

The top end VX MT Diesel beats (at OTR Bangalore 14.2 L) all the other C2 segment sedans hands down in the following areas:
1. Best in class Interior space rear leg room and rear seat comfort - Perfect rear seat recline angle.
2. Generous equipment level with Sun-Roof
3. It feels plush and Luxurious, feels like its from a higher segment without a doubt. Nothing comes close especially the rear seat comfort (Verna rear feels cramped, Rapid/Vento rear seat angle is too upright and not comfortable)

Some things that concerned me.
1. Ground clearance: It is 165 mm and its got stiffer suspension so shouldn't bottom out frequently but the couldn't help noticing the black engine cover between the front wheels which is so low from the ground.
This car may be good to drive in the City (metros) with well designed speed breakers but it won't clear those the speed breakers outside Bangalore on the highways (big mounds - rather Speed Mountains).
It needs very good paved roads to drive on for sure, taking it on bad roads is out of the question.

The common excuse manufacturers have is higher ground clearance will result in lesser high speed stability, but you release such a perfect C+ segment car like the 2014 Honda city and overlook this important ground clearance requirement in India, it is just going to end up like a home-office-home or City car.
Honda needs to give serious attention to Ground Clearance for the cars they release in India. This is the only major concern. Rest of the points below are very minor stuff like nit picks. GC should be atleast 170mm and do away with that low hanging black part between the front wheels. Make it higher/normal like in other cars and the front bumper overhang needs to be reduced and made higher that what it is now.

2. Small silly but essential things like height adjustable seatbelts, a basic plastic cover to hide those wires on the boot lid, full wheel arch cover have been omitted. Why so much cost cutting in these cheap areas. Its will be a miniscule extra amount to put on these plastic covers to complete the car.

3. The parcel tray behind the rear seat is too high and I'd expect to hamper rear visibilty atleast to a small extent. The rear seat has a big mound in the middle, the middle passenger will crib for sure.

The SV-MT variant "value for money" variant at 12 L OTR has all the essential features covered but after getting off the wonderful VX variant and sitting on SV version, the interiors in SV version feels too drab (especially the roof upholstery feels like a rough rug - just doesn't feel good)

Overall - A perfect C+ segment sedan better than everything in the market as of now, but ground clearance needs to go up to make it a more practical - take anywhere car.

Since I had prebooked Honda iDTEC, I had to do multiple rounds of TDs to finalize. As NVH was a concern highlighted across the board, I deliberately turned off the A/C and music system to observe the NVH. In the 3 short TDs I couldnt go beyond the 3rd gear and found the engine to be coarse and gruff whenever I raised a bit within these gears. It almost sounded like a 3pot engine doing duty on the City.

I TDed Terrano - 110 before City and loved the refinement and drive it offered. I sure dont want to compromise when I am spending 12.3L on City V variant. Mentally decided to drop Honda iDTEC, nevertheless asked my dad to do a TD and give his opinion.

Went for a TD at Ring Road Honda with zero expectations and I must say I came out not only booking the car but also mighty impressed.

The car is longer than the previous edition and also very well kitted out. I won't comment too much on the car, for that refer to page 1 of this thread and I am sure even Honda will exclaim that even they could learn a thing or two about the car from our Mod team reviewers. GTO and guys, if I ever could meet you folks treat would surely be on me.

Now back to topic, I booked the petrol because a) my running won't be high and b) The price parity between diesel and petrol is ever increasing.

Delivery is in March and they will call me for a TD of the Petrol car once the petrol cars start coming in.

Overdrive's Jan 2014 issue mentions the audio unit as a touchscreen even though actually it is not. Is it that the petrol version has a touchscreen and the diesel version has a non touchscreen unit?.