Team-BHP - 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolguy_tej (Post 3395805)

Guys, I have a question regarding an accessory - Door Sash Decal (See picture).

I am very interested in adding this to my future ANHC, but IMO it is very steeply priced at 15K. They are just 4 chrome strips that are glued with a special adhesive above windows. What do you guys think about its pricing? Is it available at a 3M store or any other accessory dealer? If so, how much does it cost and is it advisable to do it outside?

For accessories that are more of stick on (no electric/drilling), I would wait for after market accessories to be available. Things such as chrome strips/spoilers are something you should be able to get after market and with a good quality as well. If that time you are not satisfied, you can always go back to Honda and have it installed from them. 15K is a high amount and I would wait.

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishnadevjs (Post 3393450)

Since I'm also taking the car from Capital Honda (Pondy), I guess trying for a discount from them on the alloys is possible.

Had a discussion with the guys in Capital Honda today about the handling charge they are levying (Rs. 8,000). They haven't mentioned it in the invoice, but it is a part of the 'Road Tax/Regn' charges that they have quoted. The sales manager bluntly said that I have to pay it or I can't have the car. To which I replied quoting the Supreme Court Judgement banning the same. He got pretty rude post that and said I can buy the car if I want to.

Not to take things lying down, I told him flatly that I wasn't an individual buyer and my purchase was from my organization, Godrej. If he wasn't going to supply a car to Godrej, a major customer for Honda, because we refused to pay an illegal charge, we could very well take it up with Honda and see where they would stand on the same.

This kinda worked as the now-perturbed manager toned down his voice and said he would refer the same to his Regional Office for resolution. He promised to revert tomorrow on the same.

I know 8k is nothing compared to the 12L I'm shelling out for the car, but it's the principle of cheating customers by not disclosing it that pisses me off. Hopefully, something will work out. Waiting for his call now. :)

PS: Waiting Period for my Golden Brown Metallic VX MT iDTec is 4 MONTHS! :Shockked:

Quote:

Originally Posted by outdoorlover (Post 3395425)

Hi adarsh, I have retained the Michelin XM1 tyres that the car came with. I have been mostly doing a mixed condition with some bumper to bumper traffic thrown in the morning (might ring bells in people familiar with Gurgaon traffic in the mornings, specially near the Cybercity).

Ok. In that case it's not a bad mileage. Are the paddle shifts really useful? I have never driven a car with paddle shifts. Is it igniting the power when we require?

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishnadevjs (Post 3396027)

In India we still don't have the culture of sueing and taking to court yet. Anywhere else, these kind of things would have not happened :Frustrati In any case, good attempt from your side clap:

And yes, the wait times for V/VX is on the higher side.

Official subsequent reply received at 4:49 PM today:

Quote:

rom: Customer Relations customer_relations@hondacarindia.com
to: Avi <ravenavi@gmail.com>
cc: gm_shubhhonda@yahoo.co.in
date: Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 4:49 PM
subject: Re: Kind Attn:Mr.Avinash
: Important mainly because it was sent directly to you.

Dear Ms. Avinash,

This has reference to your below communication received by us.

We would like to inform you that delivery of the vehicle to a customer is dependent on various factors such as MTOC (Make, Type, Option and Color) which is also linked to the booking sequence number, the allocation from HCIL and production planning of the particular MTOC based on dealer orders and booking.

We wish to inform you that at present your choice of MTOC is not in allocation to our dealership M/s Shubh Honda, Raipur and we do not have allocation plans available for the next month (with regards to your choice of MTOC) however same shall be informed to you by our dealership by end of this month.

We seek your kind cooperation and assure you best of our services.

Regards,
Nipun Gautam
Customer Relationship Management
Honda Cars India Ltd., Greater Noida

Looks like I am left with 2 choices - either go for a V MT or wait it out till next month (-end?) for the VX.

Debating right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavenAvi (Post 3396147)

Looks like I am left with 2 choices - either go for a V MT or wait it out till next month (-end?) for the VX.

Debating right now.

Given the differences, I would vote for a wait :D
1. Sun Roof (fancy IMO)
2. Leather Upholstery
3. Noise Dampening Windshield (worth the wait I guess) :thumbs up
4. Keyless Trunk Opening (useful)
5. Smart Entry Key System (cool feature)
6. Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa (Post 3396150)

My thoughts (purely for the debate purpose of VMT versus VXMT):

Sunroof - Would it be useful in dusty conditions and heavy rainfall? More than enough horror stories of leaking and jamming roofs on the Net because of clogged drainage channels, specially in dusty/rainy conditions.

Leather Upholstery - Better choices available from aftermarket.

Noise Dampening Windshield - Might really need it, considering the high NVH levels.

Keyless Trunk Opening - Very cool feature, specially for shopping on rainy days. Will be missed.

Smart Entry Key System - 50:50 on this. It's a cool thing to have but what if you are in the vicinity of your car's smart key sensors, someone else walks up to your car's driver door, gets in, fires up the Start button and drives off?

Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel - Can be bought aftermarket as well.

Also,

Gear Knob Finish - The leather surround looks tacky. Prefer the silver golf-ball stick over it.

Front Armrest (Leather) - Cover can be procured.

Seat Back Pockets - Will come with seat covers by default, if and when installed.

Engine Start/Stop Button - Nice to have but can be lived without.

Not to mention the Rs. 1,05,000/-ish difference between both variants.

Frustrating times ahead. Debating times ahead. And it's March Closing time as well!!

EDIT - vsrivatsa, can you post a pic of the set of keys you got for your V MT?
Are they like the keyfobs of the VX MT, minus the boot release button, or are they regular keys with lock/unlock buttons, like the ones for the earlier generation City's V MT variant?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavenAvi (Post 3396162)

I guess I missed the point related to safety and addl. Airbags/curtains.

In my case with BLR taxes I felt the V itself was overpriced and I missed the duty cut as well - so never considered VX. Will post the pics tomorrow - I guess its regular one with buttons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa (Post 3396166)

Safety features are the same in both V and VX. No additional airbags/curtain airbags on the VX (unlike our Southeast Asian neighbours who get them all).

Yep, you guys in Bangy have to pay a hefty lot of more money for the same car. Not fair at all, considering the high ex-showroom price over there and subsequent RTO charges.

Okay, thanks. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa (Post 3396150)

3. Noise Dampening Windshield - Having a V-MT iDTEC makes me wonder whether one could get this fitted from the Honda service centre later in the ownership period.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neel911 (Post 3395848)

Precisely. You can afford to go for after-market accessories for items that are not electric. But for electric, I would suggest you go for the OEM from Honda. I had a bad experience with an after-market illuminated door garnish which was available at less than 50% of the cost of the OEM for my Civic. However, the illumination conked out one after the other on all four doors within a few months. I had to go back to the OEM which was pricey and offered only illumination on the front side door steps but its been close to 3.5 years since installation and I have had no issues with them at all. A lesson well learnt !

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry10 (Post 3396390)

I drove both SV and VX during td and found the engine noise almost the same. So, it looks more like a marketing gimmick then of actual use.

You are right. In real driving conditions it might hardly make any difference. The only addition that I intend to do in the future is probably replace the 5inch player to a 7 inch touchscreen player found in the Malaysian Honda City 2014 or any good aftermarket player that fits well with the Honda dash.

Received call from dealership manager that the V MTs have left the Greater Noida plant yesterday and the ETA is next Thursday evening. One is petrol, in Urban Titanium Metallic shade, and the other is diesel, in Golden Brown Metallic shade.

Debated over everything and finally gave the nod for the V MT Earth Dreams i-DTEC in Golden Brown Metallic. Will be taking delivery next Friday.

The VIN given decodes as March 2014 make, as per wildon's VIN thread. All details to be posted in my ownership thread, currently in Assembly Line.

Big thanks to vsrivatsa, //M, neel911, harry10 and everyone else for all the inputs so far, and to GTO and the T-BHP mod team for THE blockbuster official review.