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Old 19th January 2015, 13:47   #3451
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Thanks To Rajeevraj, Carpainter, Bluevolt, KRN and DoctorKK for the helpful suggestions.

The Manager at the dealership in Worli called me at midday asking me if I had placed a complaint with Honda India. I agreed very confidently that I had, to which he replied that he will make sure that he replies with a confirmed VIN number by the end of today or early morning tomorrow.

He kept insisting to know if I a Honda City in Urban Titanium would be accepted , but when I inquired if one was available he denied it. To which I was most sternly stated that I must be asked about my color preference once a car is available.

I'm still quire puzzled to know why Honda cannot offer a car of my color choice. Is it always a Lucky Dip?
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Old 19th January 2015, 21:22   #3452
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

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Originally Posted by MMX View Post
to which he replied that he will make sure that he replies with a confirmed VIN number by the end of today or early morning tomorrow.

He kept insisting to know if I a Honda City in Urban Titanium would be accepted , but when I inquired if one was available he denied it. choice. Is it always a Lucky Dip?
It seems like they were not prepared for your sudden awakening and promptness. Probably they were thinking about delaying your delivery process a bit more. But one thing which is still not clear to me is that if he is in a position to tell your VIN number within a day then why is he still asking for another colour? I think they are going to give you a car which is actually allotted to someone else at the time of despatch. If this is a common practice across the Honda dealers then this is really sad.
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Old 19th January 2015, 23:17   #3453
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Originally Posted by themonster View Post

At the moment, the Philips Xtreme Vision on the low beam is comparatively more brighter than the stock high beams. The bulbs are a mix of white and yellow, somewhere around the 3500K colour temperature range.
Thanks to all suggestions, I ordered and received Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs from Ebay today and fixed them for the low beams tonight. Haven't driven around outside yet with the new bulbs yet; so cant give a verdict on their efficiency yet. Will update once I have driven around in them for a while.
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Old 20th January 2015, 13:21   #3454
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Can anyone help with the ownership experience of auto transmissions.
What are the maintenance and ownership costs involved? How much is otr cost for both the auto variants.
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Old 20th January 2015, 16:27   #3455
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

@abkett
The Auto is a dream to drive. I swear not going back to manual. This seems to be less of a headache if you follow all the manufacturer schedules of maintenance. My car has done only 3000 k bh now, so it's still a honeymoon period for me. It's very efficient, the highest I got is upto 18.5kmpl. And I am consistently getting 13 kmpl in city traffic. (It's a mix of both Mumbai and Pune)
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Old 20th January 2015, 16:43   #3456
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

My iDtec is now 4600kms old. I did 2 short road trips in Dec and Jan, of 1000kms and 1300kms. Drove about 600kms in single day twice.
Some observations. Maybe my observations will be relative to my SX4 Zxi which I drove earlier. My car is Vx model and I have changed to Michellin 195/60R15 tyres.

The bad
1) Ingress and egress is a pain. I am 6'2" and it's not comfortable
2) Underthigh support for tall drivers is not very good as the seat width is less and seat position low. The right leg does start paining in long runs. But have managed to solve that to some extent by keeping a pillow between the right leg and door. Really helps.
3) Getting correct seating position is a bit difficult, again only for tall drivers. Wish the seat height adjust were linear and not angular.
4) The left leg also touches the center console sometimes
5) In passenger seat, the space is constrained for tall persons, back seat is much better. This is due to the dashboard and center console design
6) Car doesn't handle curves that well at high speeds as the SX4 did. But this is not really a problem as it is actually better to tackle curves at lower speeds, not more than 100kmph
7) Driver armrest a tad short, a bit longer and it would have been actually useful.
8) Touch AC is good for show but not practical. Need to take eyes off the road to change anything
8) For a 12.5 lakhs car, touchscreen and voice commands sorely missed
9) BT calling works but the streeing controls don't work to select the call logs, phonebook etc. Have to use HU buttons, which is quite ridiculous
10) Wish the rear camera also had audio warnings which could be enabled or disabled
11) Steering is very light and sometimes feel this as a disadvantage on faster speeds and the car responds too fast. It takes some time getting used to.
12) The HU has a nice custom wallpaper feature but once that is selected, it does not display the audio details. There should be much more customization available in HU.

The good
1) Car is a pleasure to drive, undoubtedly. The engine has good power and did not really fall short even with 4 adults and boot full of luggage. No complaints in regard to power
2) Handling is very good, apart from curves. But one gets used to that also. Car feels planted. Drove the ghats at Mount Abu and was very comfortable. Could easily control even with one hand
3) Steering is very light and easy. At higher speeds it is initially a bit uncomfortable but once used to it, it is a breeze to drive
4) Clutch is super light and never felt any discomfort with left leg
5) Brakes are very good and number of occasions when braking from high speed, felt the ABS in action. Brakes do have some initial play and don't respond immediately. But once used to it, not an issue at all
6) No dead pedal but there is some place to rest the left foot so not a problem
7) Seats are comfortable and I felt back support was really good. No one had any back pain even after sitting for long hours
8) Back seat space is awesome, though at cost of seat width. But great nevertheless
9) Body roll is very well controlled in back seat
10) Suspension is good and ride very comfortable, even on somewhat bad roads.
11) The car did not scrap bottom anywhere even once
12) HU audio sound is very good for normal listeners. Plays the MP3 from USB without any issues. Controls are also easy to use. Custom Wallpaper is a good feature.
13) BT audio quality is very good.
14) NHV leves are good. When people are talking or music is on, one doesn't even feel the diesel engine. Only in silence and while accelerating, it is felt. However is in not disturbing at all. It's much less than in our Punto diesel.
15) AC is effective and quite silent too
16) I have upgraded the low and high beams. The high beam alignment is such that on proper highways, with properly marked lanes and reflectors, it illuminates till a long way ahead. But on roads without these, the high beam hardly seems to have a throw more than the low beam, which is good after lamp upgrade. The high beam seems to be going parallel to the road.

In the trip of 1300 kms, drove 600kms a day twice, filled diesel thrice and were doing high speeds. Got a fuel economy of 14-15kmpl, not bad for a new car and at high speeds.

But the car is a pleasure to drive and am very happy with the purchase. Though the cons may seem as many as the pros, the important aspects are all in the positive. The drive is not tiring. For shorter drivers, many of the complaints I mention will not exist at all.

Definitely looking forward to another trip in this gem of a car.
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Old 20th January 2015, 19:12   #3457
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@ knightrider - thanks for your inputs regarding automatics . Is there any resale value for automatics . Are the maintenance costs high ?im thinking of buying one
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Old 20th January 2015, 21:19   #3458
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by jesrani View Post
Underthigh support for tall drivers is not very good as the seat width is less and seat position low. The right leg does start paining in long runs. But have managed to solve that to some extent by keeping a pillow between the right leg and door. Really helps.
I am 5'10 in height. There was no problem with the under thigh support but it was found to be less. I bought the wooden beads and spread it over the seat and the back. There is enough under thigh support and the back pain on longer drives is also almost completely gone. The seat had to be lowered as the wooden beads when spread over the seat will gain some height.

Wish you many more happy miles with your car.
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Old 20th January 2015, 21:41   #3459
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In many ways, the advent of the current Honda City marks the dawn of the automatic generation in India by not mentioning Automatic on the latest gen. Prior to this model of Honda, all mainstream manufacturers used to scream AT / Auto / Automatic on the back or side of their cars just to let people know. I guess the trend was started by Maruti who tended to write every feature on the back like- AC, ABS, Automatic etc. I remember reading a recent article in the ET which showed the Indian market maturing in line with global norms. It also showed the roadmap for almost all vehicles in the market offering Automatic versions within the next two years.

Last edited by outdoorlover : 20th January 2015 at 21:42.
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Old 20th January 2015, 21:54   #3460
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by rambo1o1 View Post
Hey guys.
depending on how well the car performed.
On the performance front, one word , DEAD
Quote:
Originally Posted by rambo1o1 View Post
I really dint mean to offend you or any diesel city owners.
No offence taken After driving for nearly 11K Kms, all I can say is the Diesel City is pretty good on power and Torque and is highly fuel efficient.
In the cities, the plenty of torque at lower RPMs ensures very less gear changes and keeps the left leg relatively stress free while driving in traffic.

On the highways, it makes short work of distances without making you realize it. 600 KMs is easily do-able in half a day's drive on 4/6 laned roads (morning to afternoon) with very less fatigue.
I drive quite sedately but briskly and consistently within limits and make way for everyone who catches up to overtake without any ego issues.
There is plenty of power on tap and overtaking maneouvres are pretty quick and responsive due to good in-gear drivability even with full load. You end up frequently overtaking.
On occasions when I tried it just to test on empty stretches for a short duration, it pulls cleanly and quickly till 140-150, haven't tried beyond that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DoctorKK View Post
Overtaking was with ease and I never felt short of power even in difficult overtaking conditions on Kerala highways. I hardly remember anyone overtaking me with ease when my city was in full flow.


Quote:
Originally Posted by jesrani View Post
1) Car is a pleasure to drive, undoubtedly. The engine has good power and did not really fall short even with 4 adults and boot full of luggage. No complaints in regard to power

Last edited by for_cars1 : 20th January 2015 at 22:09.
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Old 20th January 2015, 22:32   #3461
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by adarsh76 View Post
I am 5'10 in height. There was no problem with the under thigh support but it was found to be less. I bought the wooden beads and spread it over the seat and the back. There is enough under thigh support and the back pain on longer drives is also almost completely gone. The seat had to be lowered as the wooden beads when spread over the seat will gain some height.

Wish you many more happy miles with your car.
Can you give me the link for purchasing the wooden beads?

Quote:
Originally Posted by for_cars1 View Post
No offence taken After driving for nearly 11K Kms, all I can say is the Diesel City is pretty good on power and Torque and is highly fuel efficient.
In the cities, the plenty of torque at lower RPMs ensures very less gear changes and keeps the left leg relatively stress free while driving in traffic.

On the highways, it makes short work of distances without making you realize it. 600 KMs is easily do-able in half a day's drive on 4/6 laned roads (morning to afternoon) with very less fatigue.
I drive quite sedately but briskly and consistently within limits and make way for everyone who catches up to overtake without any ego issues.
There is plenty of power on tap and overtaking maneouvres are pretty quick and responsive due to good in-gear drivability even with full load. You end up frequently overtaking.
On occasions when I tried it just to test on empty stretches for a short duration, it pulls cleanly and quickly till 140-150, haven't tried beyond that.
Agree completely. Never felt short of power. No turbo lag makes it more enjoyable to drive. I have also taken to max 150.

"I drive quite sedately but briskly and consistently within limits and make way for everyone who catches up to overtake without any ego issues". I folllow the same principle. If someone catches up from behind, it means he is driving faster, so have to make way. Unfortunately so many private car drivers simply don't understand this and rather than braking they start accelerating when they see someone coming from behind. It's definitely an ego problem.
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Old 21st January 2015, 09:26   #3462
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

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Originally Posted by jesrani View Post
Can you give me the link for purchasing the wooden beads?
My suggestion for you is to go to a car accessories shop, try out a few of them and purchase instead of getting online since your height is more. There are different types available. Choose one which is most comfortable.

Below is the link where I purchased the wooden beads:

http://www.ebay.in/itm/Wooden-Beads-.../111540582428?
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Old 21st January 2015, 09:35   #3463
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by outdoorlover View Post
In many ways, the advent of the current Honda City marks the dawn of the automatic generation in India by not mentioning Automatic on the latest gen. Prior to this model of Honda, all mainstream manufacturers used to scream AT / Auto / Automatic on the back or side of their cars just to let people know. I guess the trend was started by Maruti who tended to write every feature on the back like- AC, ABS, Automatic etc. I remember reading a recent article in the ET which showed the Indian market maturing in line with global norms. It also showed the roadmap for almost all vehicles in the market offering Automatic versions within the next two years.
Nissan mentions as CVT in the back of Micra and Sunny. I am of the opinion that there should have been a similar label at the back of City CVT (Not as Automatic, just as CVT) as well. There are many surprised faces behind me when the car accelerates so quickly from idle. Just to let them know it's a CVT .

My FE is constantly improving. The FE now in bumper to bumper traffic has increased to 11+ kms/l.
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Old 21st January 2015, 12:06   #3464
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

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Originally Posted by jesrani View Post
In the trip of 1300 kms, drove 600kms a day twice, filled diesel thrice and were doing high speeds. Got a fuel economy of 14-15kmpl, not bad for a new car and at high speeds.
14 - 15 kmpl on a diesel? What speeds were you going?

In the last month I took my iVTEC on long drives 480 km each way and I got 16.8 on the much outward trip and 16.4 on the return. (The change in mileage is because the return trip was more exploratory and meant longer stop times seeking directions and all) In both trips the cruise control was set at 120 and around 60% of the distance was driven playing with the cruise control. Total time was around 8.5 hours each including stoppages. When I started I had 25xx on the ODO which means it is driven less than yours.

I would say that your diesel mileage is shockingly low!
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Old 21st January 2015, 14:44   #3465
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re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

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Originally Posted by sun_king View Post
14 - 15 kmpl on a diesel? What speeds were you going?

In the last month I took my iVTEC on long drives 480 km each way and I got 16.8 on the much outward trip and 16.4 on the return. (The change in mileage is because the return trip was more exploratory and meant longer stop times seeking directions and all) In both trips the cruise control was set at 120 and around 60% of the distance was driven playing with the cruise control. Total time was around 8.5 hours each including stoppages. When I started I had 25xx on the ODO which means it is driven less than yours.

I would say that your diesel mileage is shockingly low!
On my recent trip of 1300 kms, in 3 tankfull-tankfull refills, I got avg of 13.1, 15.9 and then 14.8 kmpl. In many stretches I was doing 120-140kmph, also braking and overtaking left to right quite a bit.
I have seen that after 110kmph the average goes down quite a bit. Maybe this is the experience of other diesel owners also. Once had also got bogged down in traffic jam for 1 hour with engine and AC running. I also think I have a heavy foot and tend to floor the accelerator more than required.
Normally also I am getting 16kmpl by tankfull-tankfull method. The MID shows 1kmpl more generally.
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