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

Superb comprehensive review! Great job by GTO and the Team BHP team.

Now, coming to the car, it is a mixed bag. There are hits and misses.

HITS -

Great cabin space, the best in the segment
Loaded with features - bluetooth, cruise control, sunroof, ACC, electric folding mirrors, start stop button with smart key and the shark fin antenna is a nice touch (segment first).
Great fuel efficient engines, again segment best.
Petrol engine continues to be a great performer.
Some parts of the interior are really impressive - the instrument console, the feather touch ACC, 4 charging points, 8 speakers (some segment firsts there)
Impressive looking rear end

MISSES -

Diesel engine - More than the power output, what will be a major turn off for prospective buyers is the bad refinements levels and NVH. I am surprised that Honda has not addressed this issue in spite of the feedback for Amaze diesel. How much it will hurt Honda remains to be seen
External styling could have been better - the garish chrome grill at the front, the horrible looking alloys and the skinny tires - this car could have been an awesome looking one if these parts were taken care of.
Glaring cost cutting in some areas - the uncovered boot lid (it's a Blunder), no cladding for the rear wheel, no placeholder for the toolkit (have same issues in my Jazz),no driver vanity mirror.
Dashboard design not cohesive, looks like a mish-mash though some elements look really good on their own.
Some elements like the gear knob, door pad and exposed reversing camera stick out as sore thumb.

Overall, it's a good effort from Honda and they have addressed the major drawbacks of the earlier city and loaded it up with features. But, it looks to be a hurried, unfinished effort and some elements of the car are definitely disappointing and takes away the 'premium-ness' factor.

I think it will sell well, at least, initially if it is priced alongside the Verna. But, I would expect Verna to give it a tough competition once the initial euphoria dies down.

I am not looking for a new car right now. But my advise to any prospective buyers would be to wait for 1-2 years if not urgent (particularly if he/she is looking for the diesel). I am sure Honda will come up with an upgrade which will address the rough edges in an otherwise competent car.

Question to GTO and team - Did Honda indicate any date from launch of the new Jazz?

Super comprehensive review GTO! Rating 5 star.

What was Honda thinking when they designed the front end? Yes the new dark brown otherwise looks ok, but i would still rate the outgoing model much more elegant compared to this "thing"! And those wheels. :P

Cost cutting is very apparent, they have splurged on interior gizmo's and given a huge thumps down to safety as well as other not so easily missed bits. Always wonder why the manufacturer's follow the penny wise pound thought to the T? Pricing would be the icing now. I won't be surprised as usual it will be placed in some other crazy horizon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu (Post 3323057)

Agre with Jaggu on this. The front looks off mark (remembered Steven Spielbergs spaceships). Somehow did not find the wheels that bad. 175 definitely needs an upgrade (its time).
still a proud owner of the 3rd-gen City :)

Any idea what could be the Pricing?

With this City being a possible replacement of Two Cars (Earlier Gen City & Civic) my guess would be the top-end petrol MT could end up at close to 11L+ on-road & for top-end Diesel MT close to 13.5L+ on-road.

With Amaze priced at 9.5L on road for Top-end Diesel, would the additional space and some added features be worth 4L considering that both will be sharing the same i-Dtec engine.

City Petrol would definitely score with regards to the engine, space & added features offered for the additional price but would City diesel be value for money considering the above argument?

Edit: Apart from the above:

Quote:

Originally Posted by adimicra (Post 3323173)

Why do you think it is a thumbs down to safety?
Agree on the other points you made

Powerful light car with 175 cross section tyre width? 175 tyres on the Swift Vdi was so scary that i went and replaced them the very next day, though i was almost bankrupt. And no i am really not a spirited driver also. :Frustrati I always blamed MUL for doing this, Honda has taken it to a new heights. These are 100 bhp + cars, they need better rubber to be safe! Our roads are no longer slow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adimicra (Post 3322975)

[*]Diesel engine - More than the power output, what will be a major turn off for prospective buyers is the bad refinements levels and NVH. I am surprised that Honda has not addressed this issue in spite of the feedback for Amaze diesel. How much it will hurt Honda remains to be seen

I think it has something to do with their diesel motor technology which produces all these sounds and vibrations. May be because its made from aluminum which is good for fuel efficiency but compromise in NVH. People in India are extremely picky about mileage and every other honda amaze owner I have met, they all brag about how good is the mileage!

However, I am sure if city has high NVH it will definitely effect their numbers because buyers in this segment will not like high NVH.

The rear design of the city looks great with it's bmw like kicked out tail. The chrome grille on the front looks too bling bling and Honda should have offered it as an option. But overall the design looks great - except for the tyres which as usual look skinny.

Paring the weight down to 1050 kgs odd puts the City in Swift territory with a 117bhp engine. Remains to see whether the "just enough" power approach to the diesel will pay off - I think pricing will be key. If Honda prices it's diesel City the way Toyota has priced it's Corolla diesel, I think sales are not going to be great. Even otherwise it's going to have stiff competition from the verna and the vento diesels.

Great review!

Drive on,
Shibu.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 3323183)

No rear disc brakes, only 2 airbags, no ESP. Nothing changed compared to outgoing car except the fact that it's got even lighter.

Comparatively the Verna has better safety kit and the Vento TSI gets ESP as well.

I feel rear disc brakes should have been definitely added.An option of extra airbags and ESP would have been good.But I think its a practical decision as not many people in this segment would pay for that kind of safety kit.

But you can't overlook the fact that City comes with airbags and ABS+EBD in all variants unlike its competitors which is a big thumbs up to safety.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu (Post 3323188)

Edit: Apart from the above:

Powerful light car with 175 cross section tyre width? 175 tyres on the Swift Vdi was so scary that i went and replaced them the very next day, though i was almost bankrupt. And no i am really not a spirited driver also. :Frustrati I always blamed MUL for doing this, Honda has taken it to a new heights. These are 100 bhp + cars, they need better rubber to be safe! Our roads are no longer slow.

Agree totally about the skinny tires. Not acceptable at all. The only reason is mileage and catch the imagination of FE-obsessed poeple with headline grabbing FE numbers. 185 for the diesel and 195 for the petrol is needed. Tire upgrade is mandatory I feel.