[mdsaab]

My parents were on the lookout for a new sedan, to use mainly within the City but with the occasional highway trips thrown in for good measure.
There was no extreme urgency in the purchase, nor was price really an issue. So this buying decision and process could take it's own course.
We had sat down many a times and discussed various cars which were possible contenders for the esteemed parking slot at their home.
some of the contenders were :-
1. Corolla Altis
2. Skoda Superb
3. Chevy Optra (thanks to Poitive and others on the Fab under 12 lakh diesel thread)
4. Chevy Cruze

However for some reason or the other these cars did not make it any further in the buying progress.

My Mom had always liked the City, She liked the exterior looks and found the car appealing from the inside too.
and as fate would have it...
When Chicca got rear ended, we visited the Honda workshop in Pimpri which has a showroom next to it.
Went in, experienced the City first hand and we all were quite impressed.
So I decided this is a good time to speak about discounts (now this was before price reduction went public)
The following was offered :-
Free Insurance
10K Loyalty Bonus
So as any serious car buyer does, I started haggling.
Another 10K by the way of Loyalty Bonus was added.
is mdsaab going to stop there? ofcourse not! Further Haggling got us;
20K by way of free accessories.
Now i was pretty satisfied with the deal given to us.
Scheduled for a test drive in a few days.
Took a little test drive and found the car to suit pretty much what was going to be asked from it. Informed the sales rep that we would visit the showroom in a couple of days and proceed further. He asked what colour we preferred and we zeroed in on Bold Beige. He said that since he did not have it in stock he would have to place and order for it and requested that we make the booking amount ASAP.

In the meantime i called up another dealer in town to get their best deals. Special thanks to Remington Steele and others for this pointer. Though they were not able to match up with my current offer. It is always better to know you got the best possible deal by comparing what other dealers are offering.

A few days later, Chicca was ready with all her repairs carried out and it was time to pick her up from the workshop.
and so it was time to make the booking amount for the ANHC too.
Paid the booking amount of 50K and completed the formalities required. and yes true to mdsaab style, before the cheque was handed over the smallest free accessory which was not discussed earlier was requested and promptly the body cover was thrown in by the sales rep. Now the deal was sealed with a booking amount.

Variant Selected :-
ANHC 1.5 L IVTEC 5 speed AT with paddle shifters
Exclusive Variant with Jahtak chrome all over and Leather upholstery for the seats and rear armrest.
Color Selected - Bold Beige
Expected Delivery lead time - 10 days
Free Accessories Chosen - Ducktail Spoiler & Illuminated side step Garnish.
The above two free accessories amounted to a little over 20K but was rounded DOWN to 20K and nothing extra was charged.
Paid Accessories - Foot well Light Kit, Door Protectors, Upgraded zero dep insurance from Bajaj Allianz, Chosen number plate All amounting to approx 21K. Will give breakup if anyone would like to know.

The VIN Decoding :-

So as mentioned above the car was promised in 10 days but in the end took around 2 weeks. More due to the speed of transportation or lack of it during the monsoon. We weren't in any hurry so we let things take their natural course of action.
In the meantime has requested for the VIN number from the sales rep which was promptly sent to me within 2 days.
Visited Wildon's brilliant VIN Decoder thread, decoded the VIN very easily following Wildon's simple, easy to follow, clear cut instructions. found it to be a Feb 2011 vehicle, was not too happy with that. So posted on the thread for others to confirm. Special thanks to Wildon, Remington Steele and others for confirming it to indeed be a Feb 2011 vehicle. A little upset and disappointed with that, called up the Sales rep and he assured me that the vehicle has been freshly ordered from Honda and is not an example which has been lying around in the stockyard. I had told him while booking that he would have to take us to the stockyard once our vehicle arrived. And so a day after our car arrived at the stockyard i got a call from our sales rep and we agreed upon a date and time to make a visit to the stockyard.

The Visit to the Stockyard :-

and so on that appointed day, he came over to my parents home and we were driven in a White AT ANHC which was their TD vehicle and to be noted was a brand new example at that. and so...
My parents, My Baby Daughter and I squeezed into the back.
Now i won't lie here. We were not supremely comfortable. But comfort levels were definately above average.
Legroom was not the issue here, nor was middle passenger floor space. Thanks to the flat floor and positioning of the fuel tank in the front meant that sliding your big shoes under the generous space beneath the front seats is never a problem.
What we would have appreciated is just a tad more seat width and the corresponding shoulder space.
The drive from my parents home to the stockyard is approximately 30-45 minutes and is on the relatively smooth Pune-Ahmednagar Highway. The ride at the rear was smooth, with only a few undulations seeping into the cabin at lower speeds. and even this gets ironed out as speeds build up. The driver who drove us to the stockyard was an enthusiastic chap and would attempt a few flat outs each time he got a clear road ahead. The sound of the IVTEC snarling is indeed intimidating and nudges you to take grip of the well sculpted steering. I get a grip on myself and in this controlled state look out the window and watch the scenery blur past.
A few moments later our sales rep whips out his iphone and connects it to the integrated media player. The ease with which is connects to and ipod or iphone is truly marvelous, Allowing you full control of your device from the head unit or steering mounted controls. and you somehow wish you had it on your pre 2009 Civic.
The sound quality too is rather good from the OEM unit and most will not feel the need for an upgrade. The two tweeters on either side upfront making their presence felt and contributing the the Acoustic quality within the bright and airy cabin.

At the Stockyard :-

We arrived at the stockyard in good time, and our car was located and shown to us. Ofcourse in the usual dusty condition, but that's how all the cars are at the stockyard. Infact if your car is clean, shining and absolutely dust free it would be more a cause of concern rather than delight.
I verified the VIN with the one which was sent to me earlier. Both by the sticker on the window. as well as the plate located on the pillar once you open the passenger side door which matched. All seemed well. But me just being me. I had to go and visually inspect as well as decode the VIN of each and every City in the stockyard, and mind you there were quite a few of them.
Condition of each and every vehicle was dusty, some more than others. some even had their driver's side window rolled down too.
A complete VIN inspection of all City's present revealed that all were 2011 Vehicles.
Some from Jan, some from Feb and some from April.
To be noted however is that the April 2011 models were not with Factory fitted Leather seats. So i was satisfied that Feb 2011 would do. As all Leather examples present were Feb 2011 built. Actually the combination of Leather plus AT was harder to find and there were only a total of 3 such examples present in the stockyard. one of them being ours.
Also i spoke to the truck driver who had just brought in a load of cars. He pointed to the cars he had just unloaded which were a mix of Feb and April 2011 models. And now i was fully satisfied that our allotted car would be just fine.
and requested for a short spin of our allotted car within the stockyard. Fired her up. Checked the ODO. Switched on the AC and took a short spin. Tooted the horn, rolled down and up all the windows. You know, all the basic checks. All seemed well.
Could not check the media player though as the fuse for the same was not in place. After being fully satisfied that All iz Well. I gave the final nod to the sales rep and we set off to my parents place.

At Home after the visit to the Stockyard :-

Upon reaching my parents placed we invited the sales rep in for some tea and refreshments(yes the driver got some too, remember he did play some IVTEC music for us.) over which we discussed the date of delivery, accessories, insurance etc. Basically all the final nitty gritty's
He requested us to make full payment upfront after which the vehicle would be taken for PDI, registration etc.
Looking at my parent's the excitement, the smiles on their faces. I agreed.
However reminding him that when we bought the Civic we had made the final balance payment by DD on the day of delivery.
Anyways within the next few days full payment was made. car was prepared and accessories such as chrome sash molding, kit foot light, illuminated side step garnish etc were fitted.
However due to non availability at Honda the Ducktail spoiler and door protectors were not installed.
The sales rep said another 5 days were needed for the same. So we decided why leave the car at the dealership for 5 days which may stretch to a week or even longer. and decided for delivery as scheduled the very next day.

D Day :-

Delivery was scheduled for 2:30 PM. but things were delayed and we ended up getting the Car for Puja only at 4:00 - 4:30 PM
Puja was done very well with the Honda folks being extremely well prepared. After breaking open the coconut. They burst a confetti celebration all over the car and us too, and even gifted us a Cadbury Celebrations box. After which a couple of Polaroid photo's were clicked with the huge Honda key being handed over by the sales rep. Overall the feeling was very special and Honda had taken it one step further than when we had taken delivery of our Civic.
Lemons squashed under the four wheels. I piloted the Golden Beauty out of the dealership and towards her new home.
Special mention which i almost forgot. The body cover was shown and put in the boot without me having to ask for it. As well as the requested extra paper mats. Since it's monsoon season and till we go to the accessories shop to get some rubber ones.

It's been a week ten days since we brought the Golden Beauty home. 2 days later i could not control myself. and actually parked my Civic (no need to rub your eyes, you read that right) at my parents and brought the Golden Beauty home. and since then she has been with me. Why you ask? my parent's are out of town, and yes i have a problem, but a good one. that whenever i see a new car even if it's a small hatch i want to drive it and keep it for my personal use. In my case bigger is not the catch it's newer that get's me hooked.

Let's take a look at a few pictures on D day now shall we.


Out come's that Son of a Gun spray again.


Men at work! You just gotta love it when a team of men are sprucing up your ride.



A few frontal shots.



The Jhatak chrome sash moulding.


At first i thought it was too garish, but after using it for a couple of days i have grown to like it.


The media player is a true gem. and works like a charm. two thumbs up!


The illuminated side step garnish, with the word City which glows up in a nice shade of blue. adds that little touch of class and looks swell.


The rear ones have the word City on them but are not illuminated. Would have been nice if they did though.



They did a good job with the car decoration. Not over doing it, subtle elegance is what came to mind. They did fly of before we reached home though. LOL!



The leather seats that come standard on the exclusive variant.


The well decorated Honda Showroom at Pimpri. The man in the centre(my Dad) is the one who you want to take, if you have any issues with after sales, or at the workshop. and oh yes, the nifty little antenna.



They Keys were in and my hands itching, while the Puja was going on.


Honda you have your badge, we have ours.



Lemons under all 4 wheels ready to be squashed when driven off the showroom floor.


Coconut broken!


Confetti was thrown all over the car from above.


My Mom getting the big key from our sales rep Sagar.

[mdsaab]

So as i mentioned earlier the car has been with me for a few days and poor Chicca is parked at my parent's place. But hey she is getting her much needed rest.

So what have i noticed about the ANHC so far...

The Exterior
The City looks extremely aggressive up font. especially with those well designed headlights. and the ORVM's are well shaped too.
From the side the sleek and sporty profile give the car a nice flowing look.
The boot is well integrated and completes the look. Though the tail lights look decent enough. I feel Honda could have done better with the design.
Overall the ANHC is quite a looker. and is not overshadowed even in the Civic's company. From a personal point of view, i like the chrome sash molding which gives the ANHC a more upmarket sophisticated look. The rear extra chrome on the boot could have been avoided though and seems like overkill.
Note : there are no pics of the rear yet, as the ducktail spoiler is yet to be installed.

The Interior
The dash design of the ANHC is pretty neat, and the design which works on 3 layers flows well. Maybe the aircon vents could have been a bit larger. The silver finish in the center of the dash looks alright, but could have been of better quality or a different finish altogether. The rotary knobs of the AC are appalling baring the center one. It puzzles me why Honda has not changed all three knobs. more on that later.
The orange instrumentation takes some time getting used to but once your there, they are easy to read and not so in your face anymore.
The door pockets in the front do the job, but no door pockets in the rear not even thin ones is shocking. The Leather seats are of good quality, and are quite comfortable. Missing though are Leather door pads. There are some great cubby holes around the cabin, will review them in detail later.

How is it to drive?
The smooth IVTEC idles beautifully, and the cabin is super silent and vibration free.
The AT forward crawl is pretty strong, and you can put it to good use during traffic situations. There is a little lag though when you want her to pick up her skirt and start running. But once past the initial lag, she can rev hard all the way to the red line.
Power is more than adequate. and she will not let you down wanting more power.
The AT gears are extremely smooth and at times you can't feel the shift up.
The steering is extremely light and makes light work pottering around town.
It also weighs up decently when you want to have some fun behind the wheel.

Ride Comfort
The ride is not extremely supple. You do feel the bumps and road undulations. But it's not bone jarring either. It does crash through some bumps when you expect it to sail through. But overall the ride is rather adequate within the City, have not taken her out on the highway yet. But from a small open stretch i can tell you, the ride is pretty good at highway speeds. The tire pressure as usual was not set right from the dealership, and once i took her to a tire shop and got the pressure adjusted the ride improved rather dramatically.

Interior comfort
I am extremely comfortable driving this car, and at 6.1" with shoes i have not pushed the seat all the way back. So space upfront it pretty good. And had someone ride in the back the other day, and they did not complain or ask me to push my seat up front a little. So far we have been extremely comfortable in the City, and the only gripe with the interior comfort would be the tight shoulder space with 3 adults at the back. any less than that and you would be supremely comfortable. And ah, oh yes, one more small gripe. I would have liked to have adjustable head rests at the rear too.
Also to add to the interior comfort the media player comes with a nifty remote, so folks at the rear can control the acoustic environment. Pretty neat.

Fuel Economy
Is it too early to comment on this? you bet it is! But let me give you some MID figures i have seen so far.
9.3 to 10.4 kmpl is the range i have seen so far.
Not too bad for an AT, it may be a little enthusiastic in it's reading but this is all i have to share till i do a tank to tank method evaluation.
Few nifty things.
The Instant fuel consumption bars are working over time. Yes it is a little bugging, the first 2 days was glancing down ever 30 seconds. Thank god have gotten over that now.
The Range is also displayed, which IMHO is a very useful piece of information to have.
Ditto for the current kmpl readout.

The Boot
The boot is well shaped, and is quite deep. Loading big bags for that out of town will not be an issue. and you won't have to pack light either.

Well this is what i have so far.
Will be updating this thread with the small yet significant things.
and a special comparison with the Civic will be coming soon.
So Stay Tuned.
Drive Safe!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Ownership Reports sub-forum. Thanks for sharing!

[i<3turbo]

Congrats the car looks great i love the leather seats and the illuminated door sills. Good luck with it!

[dot]

Ah, finally. The saab writes the much awaited review.

Congratulations. Or should I tell this to uncle? Nevermind, you can always convey! The City looks delicious. I am glad that you didnt go for the ugly chrome Goofy grills. The lighted side step garnish looks too cool. We would like lots of pictures going forward.

One question, we believe that the City comes with L series iVtec engine. Can you confirm that. All you need is to check the engine number and see if it starts with L.

Ok, another question! If you drive in S mode, with paddle shifters, does a display come up showing which gear is active, like the Civic?

[libranof1987]

Congratulations on the ANHC mdsaab. That's a nice machine you.. err, your folks have got there!

That illuminated "City" step garnish looks wonderful! I'm sure it gives a nice feel!

Since yours is an Exclusive, isn't the front grill diff. - with that huge chrome helping? Or that is extra that you didn't opt for.

The window chrome beadings do look a bit too much though - way too much chrome, even for an Indian!

So, what is the accessories list?

Wish you (read : your folks) a wonderful ownership!

[bluevolt]

Woo Hoo! The most awaited ANHC ownership thread on team-bhp.

Congratulations mdsaab for your brand new Honda City. The pictures are very nice along with review, rating five stars.

Please do update the thread regularly with important updates and more pictures.

Wishing you happy and safe driving.

[dkaile]

Nice thread mdsaab; many congratulations...

[prabhuferrari]

Originally Posted by dot

Ah, finally. The saab writes the much awaited review.

Congratulations. Or should I tell this to uncle? Nevermind, you can always convey! The City looks delicious. I am glad that you didnt go for the ugly chrome Goofy grills. The lighted side step garnish looks too cool. We would like lots of pictures going forward.

One question, we believe that the City comes with L series iVtec engine. Can you confirm that. All you need is to check the engine number and see if it starts with L.

Ok, another question! If you drive in S mode, with paddle shifters, does a display come up showing which gear is active, like the Civic?

I just came back from the test drive of ANHC AT. Yes it does show which gear you are in when you drive in the S mode.

Congratulations mdsaab. I just did the test drive and could relate to many points.

[fangface]

Congratulations mdsaab! This was an enjoyable read, and quite an impressive show by the showroom guys when giving you delivery of the vehicle!

[Guderian]

Hi mdsaab,
Congratulations !

I can almost smell the new car thanks to all the snaps and wonderful report. Great car and a great decision.
Of course - so now you keep the Golden 'Booty' and Chicca for the folks ?!! Naughty thought indeed.

[Delhiwarrior]

Congrats Mdsaab!

I must say that the color looks great. Great pictures, the sales people really spruced up your car with those decorations.

Leather seats and illuminated side step - WOW!

Safe driving

[Poitive]

Firstly - Congrats mate

A very practical vehicle which is even better value after the price cut. With your record, was thinking that they should have a special mdsaab-honda loyalty bonus. And sure enough you did mange that extra 'loyalty' bonus!!! ha ha

some of the contenders were :-
1. Corolla Altis
2. Skoda Superb
3. Chevy Optra (thanks to Poitive and others on the Fab under 12 lakh diesel thread)
4. Chevy Cruze

Interesting to note that with this list, including a Superb etc one buys a City. Talks of it's appeal; even with newer launches.

Lemons squashed under the four wheels.

Symbolic importance of what one would to do the 'lemons'?

The tire pressure as usual was not set right from the dealership, and once i took her to a tire shop and got the pressure adjusted the ride improved rather dramatically.

In our excitement, this is something most of us forget. To get the tyre pressure checked as soon as we get the car. It is usually too high and can cause accidents as overinflated tyres skid VERY easily. Am pointing this out for others who may check this thread before their new buys.

Will be updating this thread with the small yet significant things.
and a special comparison with the Civic will be coming soon.
So Stay Tuned.

Congrats once again mate. Wishing your parents (and you) many happy miles ahead.

That comparo between City and Civic should be worthy of another thread. With a suitable title, it should get more people comparing it and would be a fruitful discussion for ones considering those cars.

[RavenAvi]

Wow..Hearty Congratulations, my friend!
I read through your wonderfully detailed review and kept thinking "but Mdsaab was zeroing on the Jazz, wasn't he?" till I came across Uncle's pic and I re-read the first para again, and it suddenly became clear.

It's a great car no doubt, and a stunning one at that. I hope Uncle (and you too) enjoy it for many, many miles with absolutely hassle-free ownership.

Nice pics! I chuckled at the one where all the guys were furiously at work with the interiors of the City. And so much chrome! Enough to last for a lifetime!

A few queries -

What was the final OTR, btw?

Did you go for the Bajaj Allianz insurance outright? Or did you get the Honda insurance first?

Originally Posted by mdsaab

The boot is well integrated and completes the look. Though the tail lights look decent enough. I feel Honda could have done better with the design.

Definitely. Though the front of the boot is stuffed with chrome, which looks like a bit of an overkill. It's like the design guys said to each other "let's throw in plenty of chrome between the tail lights for that exclusive bold look".

Originally Posted by mdsaab

The rear extra chrome on the boot could have been avoided though and seems like overkill.

Oops..you already said it!

Originally Posted by mdsaab

The silver finish in the center of the dash looks alright, but could have been of better quality or a different finish altogether. The rotary knobs of the AC are appalling baring the center one. It puzzles me why Honda has not changed all three knobs. more on that later.

They should have got the ACC at least for the top-end AT by now. Even the new Fluidic Verna has it. Those manual knobs are a big turn off. Maybe the face-lifted City will have it, who knows?

Originally Posted by mdsaab

The door pockets in the front do the job, but no door pockets in the rear not even thin ones is shocking.

Honda is clearly missing out on an important thing here. Rear door pockets is a must!

Originally Posted by mdsaab

The smooth IVTEC idles beautifully, and the cabin is super silent and vibration free.
The AT forward crawl is pretty strong, and you can put it to good use during traffic situations. There is a little lag though when you want her to pick up her skirt and start running. But once past the initial lag, she can rev hard all the way to the red line.
Power is more than adequate. and she will not let you down wanting more power.
The AT gears are extremely smooth and at times you can't feel the shift up.
The steering is extremely light and makes light work pottering around town.
It also weighs up decently when you want to have some fun behind the wheel.

More or less like it's manual cousins, although the AT makes up more than enough for it's absolutely no-fuss city driving.

How light is the steering though? Does it give enough feedback, specially at higher speeds?

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Will be updating this thread with the small yet significant things.
and a special comparison with the Civic will be coming soon.
So Stay Tuned.

Waiting eagerly, specially for the City-Civic shootout from an owner's point of view.


Drive safely, and enjoy your passionate times with Honda!

[vb-saan]

Mdsaab, Thanks for the excellent ownership review! And loved the pictures from the showroom.

Honda has a way with their exterior colours. It looks as exquisite as it sounds – Bold Beige, Urban Titanium etc

Footnote: Its raw injustice to your trusted Chicca. When she is in need (after the hospitalization) you abandoned her. Or maybe you left her alone to rest and recuperate