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

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhaas307 (Post 3345389)

All in all, it is a fairly impressive car, save for a few things that I'd like to see addressed. I'm eagerly waiting for the CVT.

Thanks Suhaas, anything on the way she behaved over the notorious Bangalore speedbreakers? This is the one point which I am concerned about, since our Mumbai roads are going from bad to worse and this may just be a dealbreaker for me.
To be frank, even though I was the second person to pre-book the diesel City at my dealer, I am not too enamored of the goodies like touchscreen ACC, pushbutton start, sunroof etc. Instead I'd want a car that did its primary job without a fuss and without needing to visit the workshop for underbody repairs. So, I've thought of Plan B, at the other end of the spectrum and had a look at the Terrano today. This option is because it comes somewhat close to my Qualis in terms of ride height, all-round view and the ability to negotiate bad, or waterlogged, roads without a second thought (I'm not considering the XUV500 or Storme here for various reasons)

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Originally Posted by //M (Post 3344663)

Here is the link to my initial ownership review:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...city-vx-d.html

Regards,
Arunabh

Congrats Arunabh for your new Honda City. Car is looking great in black.

I too checked a brand new black Honda City in flesh parked outside my organisation. From front I was not able to distinguish between the earlier gen model and this one. From rear it looked fantastic and head turning. Dimension wise there is not much noticeable difference as such.

Looking forward to see your ownership thread soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by narsi_6989 (Post 3345372)

Hello Arunabh, hearty congratulations on the car clap:. I am in the process of finalizing the City and have some clarifications.
What was the final quote for your insurance and which is the company? I spoke to the dealer and he is quoting ~37k for bumper to bumper 0 dep insurance and also says that I have to take insurance from Honda themselves (Honda Assure). But I am being offered a comprehensive insurance at nearly half the price (after including the NCB of the car I am about to sell) by another private insurance company.

I am not sure about the insurance amount, but I did ask them about getting insurance outside of Honda.
They did not have any problem with that. The SA said that Honda Assure would definitely be more expensive (5-6k) than other nationalized/private insurance. He was ready to match the insurance amount from other agencies outside of Honda.

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Originally Posted by FarPatel (Post 3345553)

Unfortunately, or fortunately for Dakshin Honda, there aren't any gigantic speed breakers in the immediate vicinity. :D

The only real sore-point of the City is the low ground clearance, and it is likely to be accentuated now that the wheelbase has been extended. Although Honda seems to have altered the suspension and made it more compliant with the road surface, it remains to be seen if they've made a car that does not bottom out on every speed breaker.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhaas307 (Post 3345754)

The only real sore-point of the City is the low ground clearance, and it is likely to be accentuated now that the wheelbase has been extended. Although Honda seems to have altered the suspension and made it more compliant with the road surface, it remains to be seen if they've made a car that does not bottom out on every speed breaker.

I 100% agree to this point. Iam pretty skeptical about the ground clearance and unfortunately I did not get a chance to take the car over some speed breakers during my test drive. Only owner reviews can shed more light in this area.I hope that the tweak in the suspension from Honda helps the situation , however looking back at the history I somehow think Honda has decided to ignore this point again like in all the previous gen city's.

I test-drove the Honda City Diesel. Simply put, I loved the car, the interiors, and the I particularly loved the drive! Sadly, this car is not made for 6 footers. I sat at the back to realize that my hair (would have made my mother proud types neatly combed) was touching the roof. The legroom at the back was amazing though with the driver’s seat set for my height. Now, the shocker! When I sat in the front passenger seat, with the seat pushed all the way back, my legs were still touching the facia! Honda's clever packaging to give maximum cabin space means that push back is limited :( . If I ever buy this car, the only place for me would be the driver’s seat. I also did not like the piano black finish, there were way too many finger prints on it, and it was really dirty to look at. Barring the legroom, and the finger prints, the car is really good!

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Originally Posted by SumitBahl (Post 3345633)

Thanks Sumit for a quick response. I casually inquired about the insurance during the initial TD and was planning to press hard while finalizing and booking the variant. Your experience has given me more confidence to do so. Also I am in no hurry for a car as my Fabia is still very good and this gives me more time to bargain and get a good deal. In the mean time user reviews will also give a clear picture about the GC which could not be covered in official TD.

I checked out the car in Pune and took a small test drive in the Viman nagar area. Its an impressive car. 1st thing you notice inside is how much spacious this car is. My 1st reaction was WOW. My running is not very high so I was interested in Petrol but as everyone mentioned, petrols are not yet available for test drive. But I test drive the top end VX diesel variant and drive ability was very good. Good, smooth linear power delivery and effortless pickup from 0 to 80. Gear box is good and precise, but could have been slightly smoother. May be it will become with little bit of usage. Ride quality is also surprisingly good at low speeds. Couldn't test the high speed quality. You start the engine, you will hear the engine start up noise but push the pedal and its smooth. No noise, no vibrations as long as you are easy on the pedal. But once you push hard, diesel engine definitely makes its presence felt with engine noise filtering into cabin.

Interiors are nice and dashboard looks much better in real then pictures. Same with the front grill, looks much better in real.

Overall a fantastic package and I am impressed.

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Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 3346148)

I am wondering from whom is Honda sourcing the 2 DIN unit? In the older City AVN the console was Caska, 2 DIN unit I am not sure Caska or MMI. Never got the manual from Honda, even after writing to them and the GM of the dealer!!

Sir,

It was Caska which was approved in Honda as a Hardware for 2DIN. MMI were only the map suppliers in the Old Gen city.

BR

Amit

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhaas307 (Post 3345754)

Although Honda seems to have altered the suspension and made it more compliant with the road surface, it remains to be seen if they've made a car that does not bottom out on every speed breaker.

I took a long test drive today. There were five people on board (with average weight of around 75 Kgs:D) and I went over quite a few speed breakers at different speeds and the Car didn't bottom out even once. I think Honda has taken care of the low ground clearance problem quite well.

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Originally Posted by aniyahr (Post 3346343)

Good to see this post specially from someone in Bangalore (city of speed breakers :)). This gives the rest of us some confidence on the ground clearance , however I would suggest we be vigilant for feedback from other folks around this.

Thank you very much for the update.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 3346148)

With my limited knowledge, the 2nd Gen Honda City had the unit from Alpine, not sure if they still sourcing from them