[RavenAvi]

*****INDEX*****

1) My Comprehensive Pictorial Guide of the 2012 Honda City Corporate Edition #1

2) My Pictorial Guide Continued

3) My Pictorial Guide Concludes & Delivery Day pictures

4) Figures of Silver Pegasus' first Homeward-bound Trip

5) By Demand - Night Lights of the City Corporate

6) By Demand - Some more pictures and my chosen HU - Pioneer AVH-2490BT

7) Focal Access components and JBL Co-Axials installed

8) By Demand - A small Pictorial Guide again

9) A cost comparison of my fully modded City Corporate against the City S-MT

10) City Corporate's Interiors at night

11) Sun-film installation - Llumar

12) Some more miscellaneous pictures

13) By Demand - Storage spaces provided in the City Corporate

14) First moment of rashness - FIRST SMALL ACCIDENT!

15) FIRST FREE SERVICE report @ 1245 KMS (with Pictures)

16) Final tally of all expenses - Corporate + Modifications

17) Some observations on the "ECO" indicator

18) Another small Pictorial Guide

19) SECOND FREE SERVICE report @ 2587 KMS + MEETING THE PUNE TEAM-BHPIANS (with Pictures)

20) Electrical Problems due to After-Market Fitments

21) THIRD FREE SERVICE report @ 4333 KMS

22) FIRST MILESTONE - 5000 KMS DONE (with a small set of pictures)

23) A guesstimate of FE figures achieved so far

24) FIRST PAID SERVICE (4th Overall) report @ 5850 kms

25) A short trip to the State border

26) Scratches and Damage at the dealership

27) ONE YEAR COMPLETED! Happy Birthday!

28) SECOND PAID SERVICE (Pre-Summer Checkup) @ 7180 kms

29) A list of all accessories - official/aftermarket - fitted in Pegasus so far

30) Rear Speakers changed to JBL GTO 649C components

31) Reaching the 8,000 km-mark and a short trip to the state borders

32) Vijaya Dashami 2013

33) THIRD PAID SERVICE (not due but availed) @ 8820 kms



WARNING: The following post is long and detailed. Proceed at your own reading risk!


This is the story of a mortal who put everything he saved in his life (so far) into the chariot of his dreams.


Humble Beginnings:

Circa 2010, late-November.

I returned home on a cold evening and squeezed myself out of my M800. This is it, I thought. I have to get myself a bigger car.

Almost instantly, I could hear the booming voice of my father in my ears. "Do you have the money? Because I can't give you any. You are the one with the semi-new job; I am retired."

No use trying mother to convince him, either.

What next? A loan?

A short trip to the bank shot down the budgets. "We can provide you a loan of 4 lakhs, at most." My savings weren't great, either. A job which was barely 2 years old, and which was still at starter's pay stage (arrears hadn't been paid till then). Even the loan would attract hefty (read more than half of a month's salary) interest as EMIs.

But the strong conviction of owning a new car shut out all other thoughts. And so began the hunt.


Somewhere, out there, the King waited. Silently.


Early Contenders:

December 2010 - June 2011.

Running through the hatches available in that time, my eyes fell on the newly launched Chevrolet Beat. Smart looker (from the front), short and nippy, funky rear door handle design, and made famous from the Transformers films. A bit bulbous from the sides, but acceptable (specially to a fresh car enthusiast).

And the best feature of all - the price.

"Ma, this comes in my budget." Demo videos from youtube followed, with the sole intention to impress the negotiator of my family.

"You know I don't have any knowledge about cars. Talk to Dad." She was succinct.

"Are you crazy?! A newly launched Chinese product?!" Dad standing stern.

"It's not Chinese. It's American." My feeble counter-argument.

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" More a shot than a question.

"It's my money. I am the one taking the loan." My last, desperate shot for his approval.

"If you put it that way, then..." his voice trailed off.

I bit my lip.

Out went the Beat.


Enter - the Volkswagen Polo.

Dad: "They are still new in the Indian market. Besides, what guarantee do we have that they will maintain their high quality standards?"

Me: "European Car of the Year 2010, Dad."

Dad: "Keyword being - European."

Exit - Polo.


Enter - Toyota Etios. Q-Class.

Dad: "Toyota bringing out a 6-lakh car?! I think you need to think over this a lot more than me."

Me: "Come on. It's a Toyota!"

Dad: "Convincing yourself, again?"

Me: (stoic silence).

Exit - Toyota Etios.


In-between - somewhere during March 2011.

Dad: "Get an Indigo CS. Diesel, frugal, decent quality, Tata. Plus you can always sell it after you are done with it. Or even the Logan."

Me: "My car will stay with me for at least 10 years, if not more. I am certainly not getting any Tata stuff, specially the diesels."

Dad: "10 years?! Pfft! You have been changing your mobile phones every year. What was it that you told me about having the latest and the best?" Plenty of implied sarcasm in his voice.

Me: "Mobile phones are in an entirely different league, Dad. You should know that. We have to change and evolve with the changing times."

Dad: (quizzical look, and a small smile)

Me: (realising the trap I got myself into) Well...

End of discussion.


June 2011 - Enter Team-BHP's membership, after 8 months of lurking in the shadows. Petrol or diesel, I asked. And promptly got convinced that, with my daily usage, a petrol made the best sense, specially for the long run.


4th July 2011.

"Tata-Fiat have opened a sub-dealership in our city, Ma. I paid them a visit and told them to bring the Punto over for a TD. It will be arriving from Raipur tomorrow morning. They will drive it to our home." I was beaming.

Ma (with consternation): "Did you tell your Dad about this?"

Me: "You know he will find an excuse. I can't delay this any longer."

"And the money?"

"Loan. If you can, get me about 2 lakhs from Dad. Rest I can arrange and we can have the Emotion Pack model."

"I don't know. It would be better if you stayed quiet till next year, when you will get 3 lakhs paid from your policy. But, let me talk to him."

Evening, and the aftermath of a fierce argument (read fight).

Me (on phone): "Is this Mr Chauhan? I am sorry but I have to cancel the TD of the Punto. I will inform you about this in the future."

Heavy heart. Exit the Punto.


And the King said, "I am your destiny. And I await."


Enter - the company with the big "H"

Spurts in between July 2011 and September 2011.

"Ma, they have just announced price cuts on the City!"

"Huge price cuts on the Jazz, Ma. More than 1.5 lakhs!"

"New Jazz launched with even lower prices, Ma!"

"Huge discounts on the City, Ma. Team-BHP members reporting total discounts of around 1.25 lakhs, some even higher!"

And every time, the nail in the coffin from Ma.

"What about the money? You won't get it till next year. And Dad won't give you a dime."

Frustration, long sighs, and silence.

Entertained myself with repeated TDs of the Verna, Vento, Linea, Punto, Jazz, Polo. Calls rained from all company dealers asking for booking information - and all were told that they will be contacted soon.

Soon? Who was I kidding? But, to keep them interested (and myself involved), I kept asking for quotations from them. And received them duly.


A month later. Decision was taken.

"I have booked the Jazz X, Ma. Delivery is scheduled in 2 months. I might get lucky with a cancelled booking so maybe even in a month."

"Loan?"

"Yes, and my saved salaries."

"Good luck."

Then, the Thailand floods struck.

"Sorry, sir. We have to bump your delivery to February 2012."

"Sorry again. Most probably March 2012."

"Extremely sorry, sir. April 2012 is the best we can do."

Me: "Do me a favor. Just cancel my booking."

That was the end of that. For then.


The King smiled. "You are close", he whispered.


And then, my life changed

A beautiful little fairy princess came into my world, smiling and with her arms open. And priorities changed. Till now, it was just me, maximum frill features in my budgets, and my choices. But now, it was a matter of safety as well, and it preceded everything else. My car had to be bigger, and have safety features as standard.

I shifted my attention to sedans yet again. My budget was stretched to 8L OTR by now, so entry-level sedans with decent equipment (read Mid/Top variants) came in the radar.

Etios - I went back to one of my initial choices and did a long TD. Well-built, comfortable, superb rear seat, refined engine. But the problems were the center console (never a fan of this, and I find it very odd), and the very tacky interior finish. Hard to tell if this is a Toyota if one goes by quality alone. Plus, the Logan-ish rear and plain Jane looks didn't do it much favor either.

DZire - My brother-in-law bought the ZXi in August so I had a chance to drive it around quite a bit. Pretty spacious, nicely refined engine and pulled cleanly from the 1st gear itself. A great city car. The steering felt a bit vague and disconnected though. Plus those outlandish exterior looks which I was never a fan of. So, in spite of the convenience of getting the A.S.S. in my city itself, the DZire was struck off.

Fiesta Classic - Superb. That's the only word which came to my mind as I pushed the accelerator pedal. This is a real driver's car. Too bad Ford's A.S.S. has been getting a lot of negative attention around these parts, plus spares weren't easily available and were costly. Rear space wasn't a highlight either.

Sunny - A colleague of my friend had bought the Bronze Grey shade petrol. It looked awfully similar to the DZire from behind, although the front is inspired by the Teana. Oodles of space inside, specially the rear seat. Superbly refined engine, a perfect city commuter. But the nearest Nissan dealership is an awfully long way away (in Nagpur), and I couldn't afford to travel that far to get it serviced regularly. Plus it was a relatively new car in the market, so the future was still uncertain.

Never was a fan of Tata cars so didn't consider either the Indigo CS or the Manza. Thought about the Logan as well but the very outdated looks + Mahindra A.S.S. put me off.

Another problem which I faced in these cars was, except for the DZire, Sunny and the Manza, all other cars are made for comparatively shorter persons (driver & passengers alike). Headroom and legroom was a problem in most of these cars, except the DZire in which I felt the most comfortable with my 6'0", 95-kg frame.


I decided to shift my attention to sedans from a segment higher. In came the Fiesta, Verna, Vento, City and Linea.

City - I had been following a lot of City ownership threads keenly, specially mdsaab's, charthom's, bluevolt's, etc. The more I read about the City, the more I was impressed. No wonder this car was regarded as the King of the petrol sedan segment. It was always beyond my budget (until they slashed the prices by 66,000 in May 2011, bringing down the E MT's price to 7.66L), but now I could squeeze it into my radar. Bulletproof reliability of the i-VTEC, superbly spacious, a humongous boot, and fantastic Honda A.S.S. Best of all, no compromise on safety features. It was high on my list.

Verna - I got the brochure from my local Hyundai dealer and one look at the fluidic Verna on the cover took my breath away. Fantastic looker! And it came loaded with features! I referred to mathranik's and Tassem's threads for details on their Verna ownership and was more impressed. The TD of the SX(O) was enough to convince me. I went through the prices and decided to book the 1.6 (Mid variant). It came with plenty of essential features (no reverse camera, only driver's airbag, etc.). OTR quoted was 8.74L. I was willing to compromise. Wifey said "One airbag is enough." Plus I could get it serviced in my city itself. What more did I want?

The problem, you ask?

Take a guess.

Yep.

Dad again.

"You are plonking close to 9 lakhs in a car and going for a Hyundai?! Am I hearing you right?!"

Me: "What's wrong with it? It's a fantastic car, and clearly contemporary."

Dad: "Son, if you had decided on a hatch of about 5-6 L and decided on a Maruti or Hyundai, I wouldn't have said anything. Think over this seriously. Spending your hard-earned money on a car and compromising on anything is silly."

Me (exasperatedly): "Come on, Dad. I am tired of all this research. Let me just finalise one and just go for it."

Dad: "Why do people do research for this? You are not a millionaire to swap cars every 3-4 years. I spent 13 years with my Premier Padmini Deluxe BE, and 13 more years with my Esteem till I retired. You are pouring all your hard-earned money in this. 5 years worth of savings! Your accounts will be practically empty when you sign the cheque for payment. Will a Hyundai last the distance? That's why I said - reconsider."

I admit I was stung then, but he had a very valid point.

Okay, an entry/mid variant sedan of a trusted manufacturer (read - bullet-proof and eyes-shut reliability). What options did I have?

A certain German company entered the equations.

Vento - (it helped that Dad is a big fan of VW and all things German) Deep reading late into the night commenced, of nileshch's, souravc's, ninjatalli's, bala80's, noopster's, etc. threads, plus posted questions were answered in the official Team-BHP's Vento review thread. A superbly well-built, tank-like sedan which came with full safety features. The Highline Petrol came to 9.26L OTR. How far could I stretch my budget I thought? The Trendline was simply too bare to be considered. But my mind was set on the Vento, just for it's superb Shadow Blue shade, it's driving dynamics, fuel-efficient petrol engine (I got reports that it gave 14 kmpl on the highway, so around 10-11 kmpl inside the city was a given), and it's once-a-year service intervals. I thought of the Breeze edition, and decided to contact the VW dealership to send me a car to TD. The reply I got was, they didn't have a Vento for TD, and I have to wait for 15 days at least!

I called the VW guys repeatedly, but never, EVER got them to send over a Vento to TD. I had to travel to their dealership to TD it, and I was impressed. Then I read about the service charges. 75 rupees for a nut?! That's insane pricing. Still, when you are set for something, other stuff tends to go out of the window. But the problem here wasn't with the car, but with the dealership. They were simply not interested to sell me a Vento. Add to it their atrocious attitude of greeting me with silence for a period of 3 months made me strike off the Vento with a very heavy heart.


Linea - I have always been a big fan of Punto's looks, so Linea's dynamics had me floored. Decent equipment list, superb riding quality and handling. But the TATA-Fiat venture wasn't inspiring. Add to it the SP with whom I was in regular contact got fired, and two others after him. Made me wonder about the goings-on at such dealerships. Reports came in of suspect A.S.S. as well. Out went the Linea.

New Fiesta - The looks of the Fiesta had me completely bowled over! I instantly became a big fan of that fantastic futuristic front, specially in the blue shade. The rear looked awfully outlandish with that high boot, but it was compromise-able. Add to it a set of very decent equipment, with safety features standard across all variants. Ford's A.S.S. was a big question mark, and I got feedback that parts and maintenance was equally costly, but this shouldn't be a problem, I decided. All was going well till Ford India announced the prices of the new Fiesta. Did I read correctly? A staggering 9 lakhs for the entry variant?! Whoa! Despite my intense love for the car, I had to strike it off just because of this pricing bungle by Ford.

This left me with just one choice. And it was pretty unanimous after the above, wasn't it?


I am in your heart and in your mind, the King teased. You cannot resist me anymore.


December 14, 2011

The day the facelifted City was launched, and the new model range had a new Corporate Edition variant priced at 6.99L!! That's insane pricing by Honda, I thought. They are taking the fight right to the opposition. All essential features, and FULL safety features! Oh yes, thank you so much, Honda!

But the reports of Thailand floods weren't too encouraging. Do they have enough juice left with them to continue production vis-a-vis demand in India? Only one way to find out.

Quick calculations - 7.15L ex-showroom, 8.05 OTR. Plus, I could accessorise it as well as I could and I can match up my CE with the top-end VMT in terms of features.

Importantly, I will have the budget by February 2012. No worries.


More importantly, the single biggest factor.

Dad.

"Which one is it going to be then?"

"Honda City."

Silence for a few seconds.

Dad: "Price? Model?"

Me: "About 8L OTR. Corporate Edition."

Dad: "Sure you don't want to go for a diesel?"

Me: "No, Dad. I can manage a petrol car because I am getting CA + ACA, plus my running doesn't warrant a diesel."

Dad: "Resale will take a hit, 9-10 years down the line."

Me: "Why are we thinking of resale even before buying the car, Dad?"

Silence again.

Dad: "Will you be able to maintain it? A big car requires a lot of attention."

Has he relented? The thought flew across my mind like a streak of rainbow among dark clouds.

Me: "I am sure I will. I did well with both your Esteem and my 800, didn't I?"

A brief, very brief moment of silence.

Dad : (letting out a small breath) "And it's a Honda in the end (did he say that to himself? I wondered).

Another very brief pause.

"Okay, I will tell you the date and time when you can book your car."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was THE moment of my life!

Well, THE second moment of course, after holding my little Isha for the first time in my arms.


And, somewhere out there from the shadows, the King smiled widely and said, "Here I come!"


Booking Experience and the Wait

Went ahead and booked the City Corporate Edition on 29th December, 2011 paying 21K, against an OTR of 8.03L, at 1:35 PM in the afternoon through Net Banking. The Honda dealership's manager, Mr Sodhi himself did the booking and promptly emailed me a scanned copy of the receipt on the night of the 29th (maybe because of my cancelled Jazz booking). I emailed them a short list of the accessories I wanted fitted in the car (side-step illuminated garnishes, fog lamps, alloys) and the cashless, Bumper-To-Bumper and Zero-Dep add-ons I wanted in my Honda Assure insurance.

I had a quote of 15K from outside (New India Assurance where my maternal uncle works), but they couldn't provide either of these because the Honda dealership was in another city and they didn't have Zero Dep add-on facility. A visit in January to the dealership and a discussion with Mr Sodhi convinced me to go for Honda Assure, and that the Zero-Dep add-on will cost me about 4K, bringing the total insurance premium to Rs. 24,914/-. I thought the premium was fine and told him to proceed. I told him I wanted the car in February 2012, on or after the 15th, as Dad had those dates marked, plus I would have all my finances ready only after the 4th of Feb. He said February was fine initially.

A slight period of confusion followed. The first City CE of my state arrived on January 20th and the manager of Shubh Honda called me to say it was my car! I cleared the confusion and said I was scheduled to get it in February, not January. He was perplexed for a bit (apparently forgot about our earlier talk), but said it wasn't a problem and delivered it to a customer in Bhilai. I went for a trip to Agra and on my return I checked that particular CE out (as it was being prepped for delivery to the Bhilai customer, posted my impressions in the 2012 Honda City thread).

A period of intense waiting followed. Mr Sodhi said they were scheduled to receive only ONE Corporate Edition every month (due to production issues), and my angry email to Honda's Customer Relations resulted in more confusion (on their part - details in the 2012 Honda City thread). But finally, on the 22nd of February, Mr Sodhi called to congratulate me that my City Corporate Edition has been dispatched from the factory and should arrive sometime on or after 29th Feb. Miss Deepika, the SP assigned to me, called me on the afternoon of 1st of March to tell me my City Corporate Edition was being unloaded as we spoke, and I promptly left on the night of 1st of March to take delivery of my City CE.

A 2-month period of desperate waiting came to an end. I finally had the King as my companion.

On the morning of the 2nd of March, I finally set my eyes on my King. Covered with dirt as a proof of his long journey, he looked tired but beamed with happiness as soon as my eyes feasted on his contours! I even forgot to feast on the BMW X1 standing beside it! Dad had told me to choose a name for my car. And I christened it then and there - Silver Pegasus.

I had initially thought of not getting the ORVMs and door handles painted, but nitin.rai's Corporate paint job convinced me. So I went for the paint job as well. ORVMs and door handles were taken off to get painted inside the workshop and the whole process lasted 5 hours! In-between, they fitted the fog lamps in the grille, and the side-step garnishes. Dad's deadline of 5:45 PM for puja and delivery loomed, and I did the puja in the workshop area itself within Dad's stipulated time. I took delivery shortly afterwards (without the customary Honda ceremony which was postponed to the next day), and promptly handed over the cheque for full payment of OTR + accessories (minus the RTO charges, since I was going to register Silver Pegasus in my city).

Complete breakup of my Delivery Challan -

Honda City Corporate Edition, Ex-Showroom - 7,15,000/-
Logistic Charges - 4,500/- (I asked them repeatedly to waive it but they didn't relent till the end)
Temporary Registration - 1,000/-
Insurance - 24,914/- [Honda Assure - Bajaj Allianz, inclusive of vehicle charge, Zero Depreciation Shield, Third-Party Liability, PA Cover for 5 persons, and Service Tax (@ 10.3%)]
Accessories - 69,356/- (Fog lamps, Side-step garnishes, Paint job of ORVMs/Door Handles/Mud Flaps, Alloy Wheels, Exhaust Pipe Finisher, Chargeable Screws)
Extended Warranty - 6,200/-
Roadside Assistance - 4,000/-

TOTAL - 8,24,970/-

Freebies - Mud Flaps, 3M Anti-Rust underbody coating & car cover. (asked against the Logistics. Boy, did I haggle hard or what!)

The Alloy Wheels & Exhaust Finisher hadn't reached the dealership yet (sent on 24th Feb via courier), so I decided to wait for 1 more day (3rd March) and see if it arrived. Plus, there was the delivery ceremony to be done as well. After waiting for the entire day, the alloys still didn't arrive. So I decided to get them fitted during Pegasus's first service next month. Till then they agreed to keep the alloys + exhaust finisher for me separately. Pegasus came shod with Goodyear GT3s, and I showed my intense unhappiness about it to the dealership guys. Mr Rao, the workshop manager, said they couldn't do much about this because even V MT models of the new 2012 City are coming with Goodyears! As a proof he showed me 2-3 V MT's, all with Goodyears. I spotted a V MT with MRFs as well, but no Michelin shoes anywhere in the new lot. Reluctantly, I obliged keeping the rough roads in my city in mind, and also thinking of a tyre upgrade soon.

The whole dealership experience went very smoothly, except for the delays during paint job and during delivery ceremony on the next day. I asked them to fill the tank up with 40 liters of petrol for my long journey home the next day (Sunday, 4th March) and paid up for 35 liters through a cheque of Rs. 2,450/- (5 liters complimentary from their side). The ceremony itself went very smoothly, I had bought gifts for Miss Deepika, my SP, Mr Sodhi, the Manager and Mr Rao, the workshop manager who had supervised the paint job and accessories fitting of Pegasus, plus a huge Cadbury Celebrations chocolate pack for the entire staff at the dealership. Thanking them all, I left for my hotel, armed with a Gate Pass for Pegasus for the next morning.

Dad reached my hotel the next morning and we reached the dealership at 7 30 AM. We started our journey home at exactly 8 AM and reached home at 2 PM (300 kms), with stops for a light breakfast and twice for tea. Pegasus drove very smoothly, and minor bumps were brushed aside easily. He took moderate speedbreakers easily as well, so my initial apprehensions of the Ground Clearance have been laid to rest. Honda engineers have tweaked the GC to improve it to 165 mm (from 160 mm earlier), and have also stiffened the suspension.

Throughout the entire trip, I kept the speed hovering at around 60-65 kmph in the 4th gear and 70-75 kmph in the 5th gear, briefly touching 80 kmph a few times. "ECO" mode was on for about 95% of the time for the entire trip, and it was a nice little thing for me to maintain.

Overall mileage for the entire 310 kms trip was 18.2 kmpl. That too with AC set at 2nd position (sometimes 3rd position). Astounding, isn't it?

The first flight of Pegasus, and he impressed the heck out of me. Pics as proof to follow.


What you will like/dislike about the 2012 City Corporate

It drives and behaves the same as the other City variants. No change.

The only changes are superficial and the frill features are missing/compromised - no HU, no speakers (although complete wiring is provided by Honda in all 4 doors), no steering-mounted controls, plasticky knobs for AC/Fan/Direction, Black door handles/ORVMs, no mud flaps (!), a lot of bling-bling chrome missing (like mdsaab likes to say "jhatak chrome"), no seat-height adjustment for driver, all-black interiors with very nice seat fabric quality, slightly cheap-ish plastic quality of the interiors, no fog lamps, etc.

But the most important aspect of the Corporate Edition is - it has full safety features - driver & passenger Airbags, and ABS + EBD. Honda has not compromised on this and it speaks volumes about this manufacturer.

(One of my esteemed colleagues had bought the City V MT in September last year and when he was returning from Raipur with his wife after getting the first free service done, he dozed off at the wheel at around 2 30 AM. His car crashed headlong into two trees at a speed of around 80-85 kmph and the front of their car was literally torn into two pieces. His wife didn't even have the seat belt on! She smashed her head against the front windshield but the passenger airbag prevented further damage. His ribs took a real beating because of his driver airbag which got deployed (he had to wear a chest belt for 2 months), but both of them made it out alive. Anyone who sees the car (it is standing in the dealership's stockyard) says that the occupants wouldn't have survived the accident. A small example of how important safety features are, when you are considering a car for yourself and your family.)

My Impressions so far:

Pegasus is a fantastic in-city commuter. Of course his reputation precedes him so he's already a big rage in my colony. Employees at my office come out to gaze when I pull into the driveway, plus I get long stares when I ride the city roads. The FE inside the city can be easily maintained if you maintain a speed of about 35-40 kmph in the 3rd gear (that's when the "ECO" mode comes on). Of course, he's a big car so driving him inside small by-lanes can be cumbersome, specially when you need to back the car up. The big side mirrors do their job wonderfully well. I haven't felt the need for a reverse camera/sensors just yet.

I drive him for about 10 kms per day (so far). Office and back, and a laid-back trip through the City just to ease through the evening. The exteriors are superb and the nice flowing body lines of Pegasus (the "arrow-shot" design) attract admiration from everywhere. My local accessory guy (from whom I got the ICE fitted) commented that Pegasus looked better than the Fluidic shape from the side! The fit and finish is good, with negligible panel gaps all over the body. Doors open and close with a reassuring thunk, and Dad commented that the doors themselves sound pretty heavy while closing, which tells a lot about Honda's build quality. (although nowhere close to the European quality, I have to admit)

Interior space is humongous - I am 6 feet tall and weigh 95 kgs and the driver's seat swallows me up snugly with body-hugging sides. Rear passenger space is huge - you can easily sit with crossed legs. Center hump is small and doesn't bother the third passenger. 3 can sit comfortably, and the rear seat armrest doesn't protrude too much to bother the center passenger.

The AC is fantastic - I keep it at AC position 2, fan speed at 2 and it cools the cabin really quickly. Fresh ventilation mode is on every time I enter the car, so that the air inside stays fresh by the time I crank the AC up.

It's been 4 days inside the city and the FE is showing 17.8 kpl so far. By my calculation that would mean an FE of around 13-14 kpl inside the city (at moderate speeds of 30-40 kph in 2nd/3rd gears). Who needs a diesel?

The only grudge I have is that Pegasus doesn't pull cleanly from the 1st gear itself. Lower gear pulling is sluggish. The engine comes into it's own once you hit 2nd gear, and shines thereafter. It's almost like he doesn't like being driven in 1st gear. Reverse gear doesn't have a neat pull either; it's sluggish and needs a good tap on the accelerator pedal to start moving. Our Herbie (Esteem) performs much better in both these situations. Gear shift is pretty neat, and all gears slot in very nicely. Going into lower gears is a breeze as well, although going from 2nd to 1st can be a bit iffy at times if you are not minding your speeds. The engine is very refined in higher speeds/gears. Pegasus starts off slightly coarsely when you crank it up the first time, but as soon as the 1st gear slots in and it moves forward, the engine becomes silent. Engine noise is evident in the 1st gear, not so in higher gears. Also, a lot of tyre noise filters into the cabin. I guess it is because of the condition of the roads, combined with the Goodyears. The GT3s are hard-compound tyres no doubt, but compared to the MRFs they are very noisy. Ride quality is plush, and is aided quite nicely by the improved stiff suspension. No apprehensions when you go above a breaker, either.

I am in love with Pegasus's steering. It's weighted exactly at where I would want it to be - neither too light nor too heavy. It isn't as light as the DZire's, neither is it as heavy as a hydraulic unit. Feedback is excellent, and you know exactly where your front wheels are. You won't feel nervous at speeds of around 80 kmph (something which the Verna can't shake off). The grip of the steering wheel is very firm as well, with notches to wrap your fingers around quite nicely. I decided I won't go for a steering cover (thanks, charthom!) because I love this meaty feel of the steering. Perfect for my fingers and grip.

The braking is good. The ABS has plenty of bite and brings the car to a sudden, complete stop. But if you are driving in a straight line, are cornering and need to come to a stop, Pegasus takes a second but reacts quickly. Haven't needed the ABS yet (and haven't felt it kick in either), except on our return trip through Kondagaon (a town 75 kms from my city) when a Nano nearly sideswiped Pegasus inside the town. I slammed on the brakes real hard and Pegasus stopped right then and there (from a speed of about 30 kmph). Even a fraction of a second late and he would have scraped with the Nano.

The horn is disappointing. Dual horns have been provided by Honda but they sound so woefully inadequate and low that nobody in front would realise Pegasus is behind them. Must get them replaced soon.

The headlights are strictly average. The high beam has a good range, but the low beam is better. I don't drive extensively at night so haven't felt the need to upgrade the bulbs yet. But if I must, I will. One more thing of note, the fog lamps have stopped working since yesterday. Maybe a problem in the wiring which I will get checked during first service.

Other than this, I am fully satisfied with Pegasus so far. It's been a long journey to the King, but now it feels fulfilling.

Hail to the King, indeed!

[RavenAvi]

First off, I apologise for the quality of the pictures to follow. In my haste and excitement to take delivery of my Silver Pegasus, I forgot to pack in a camera.
All the pictures have been taking by my Samsung Galaxy S and my Blackberry 9360. I hope they are good enough.


Parked in front of the dealership, covered in dirt of his journey -




Flowing rear lines. Beemer? Where?




Rear 3-quarters.




The VIN number. Decoded as February, 2012. (thanks to T-BHPian wildon!)




A shot of the rear 3-quarters from the other side.




175/65 Goodyear GT3's on 15" steel rims. Wheels are shod with front disc brakes and ABS.




Black ORVMs (no integrated turn indicators).




Black outer door handles look cheap.




Front seats.




The engine bay.




Air-dam assembly stuck to the underside of the engine bonnet.




Damping under the bonnet restricted to the engine only.




The crown jewel of the King - the i-VTEC.




Door handles taken off for the paint job.




Rear tail-lamp assembly.




Rear bumper with reflectors.




A shot of the opened door. Notice the rubber covering for the door speaker.




The ORVM mirror glass taken out.




Plastic sheet cover on the right side of underbelly of the engine bay. Notice the open space!




The left side of the engine bay's underbelly gets one too.




The instrument cluster.




When fully lit up.




Notice carefully and you can make out the "CRUISE CONTROL"! Proof that the instrumentation is a direct lift of the Thai City facelift. Of course, Cruise Control is only available from V MT onwards.




The steering, borrowed from the Civic, is meaty and great to hold.
4-speed wiper settings on the left, and headlight/parking light controls on right.
Driver airbag included. No steering-mounted controls.




Passenger airbag integrated into the dashboard.
A lesson for other manufacturers - Honda has not skimped on safety features even in the lowest City variant.
Dash feels hard to the touch. Plastic quality is definitely on the cheaper side.




The HU space. Your chosen 2-DIN player slots in here. Complete internal wiring for HU and speakers provided.




The AC controls. Knobs are plasticky and cheap, in true "washing-machine" style. Rear defogger button provided.

[RavenAvi]

Storage space in front under the dashboard.
Can hold a couple of biscuit packs up front, and two 1-liter bottles.




Storage space around and below the handbrake.
Tow away your cellphone (or a remote for the HU) under that handbrake.




Storage space between the front seats for the rear passengers.
It's a squeeze for a 1-liter bottle in the central cubby hole. Other two (front and back) can take it.




5-speed "golf ball" gear shift lever. Short and a joy to use.




Driver's door visor. Plain and lacks vanity mirror but gets a ticket holder.




The IRVM. Neither too small nor too wide. Average rear view.
Notice that the integrated head rests of the rear seat don't intrude into the IRVM's rear view.




The Key-in area.
"0" = slot-in position, "1" = HU on, "II" = instrumentation on, "III" = crank up engine.




Head light level adjuster. "0" = minimum load inside car.




Front (fixed) air flow vent on right side of driver dashboard.




The glove box. Filled with spare bulbs and first-aid kit. Nice and big.




Glove box when shut. Liberates quite a bit of leg room. No gaps either.




The footwell. Notice the ultra-thin fake dead pedal.
Perfect gap between all 3 pedals. Clutch has the perfect amount of travel.




Bonnet release lever next to the footwell. Conveniently placed.




Boot release lever placed next to driver's seat. Nicely placed as well.




Driver-side leaning adjusment. No seat-height lever provided in the Corporate.




The keys. Plain, cheap and lack buttons. Immobiliser coded.




Single cabin light placed in center of roof.
Bright enough to illuminate the entire cabin in a dim glow, hence does not suffice.




Space on both sides of the IRVM could have been utilised better, for map lights or a (possible) storage space for sunglasses.




Seat fabric quality. Feels superb to the touch. Nice ridges for that extra comfort.




Seat-belt adjuster with height adjustment for the front. Very snug fit.
Notice that the rear passengers don't get height adjustment for their seat belts. Lap belt provided though.




The fuel lid on the left side of the car.




Beware, if you stop your car and take your keys with you for even a short errand, your fuel lid can still open!
Only by locking the driver door can you prevent the fuel lid from opening.




Fuel specifications. Notice the el cheapo black plastic fuel cap. Thoughtful attachment for the fuel cap with the lid.




The new front grille. Imparts that very aggressive look. But chrome overkill?




The entire front assembly. The chrome definitely looks too garish and loud.




The headlamp assembly. Possible to fit projectors inside?




The handsome bottom ridge running across the floorboard on all sides.




The proud i-VTEC badge on the right side of the boot lid.




Equally proud "CITY" monicker on the left.
Corporate edition doesn't get a fancy "C"/"CE" badge (beside the "City" badge), unlike the E, S & V variants.

[RavenAvi]

Chrome strip in the center of the boot lid goes well with the "H" badge.




Short and stubby antenna. Wouldn't have cost much for Honda to provide the shark-fin one, would it?




Doors open in 3-step action.
Step one:




Step two:




Step three:




Look how wide the ingress is!




Pegasus waits patiently for the paint job to finish.




How the front looks after the grille is detached (taken for the fog lamps to be fitted).
Notice the dual horns (one in center, one on right) - woefully inadequate. Horn upgrade is definitely recommended.




Front side-step garnish fitted. Adds a touch of flair to the car.




Rear side-step garnish fitted. Short and non-illuminated. Would have been cooler if it was an illuminated one.




Front grille back in place, with fitted fog lamps. No integrated finish like the earlier gen City.




A close look at the fitted fog lamp assembly. Notice the black outer ring which makes it look like a cheap after-market fitment.




ORVM, after paint job. Neat!




Door handle, after paint job. Neater!




The suspension spring in full view, after Pegasus is taken on the ramp. Fatter rubber is a must.




Last minute checks before Pegasus heads into the showers.




Side-step garnish gets connected, and voila! The City gets it's glow!




Shower time!




Short puja before closing of shop, to honor Dad's Amrit Yog mahurat.




Greetings sticker stuck next day, before the formal delivery ceremony.




Pegasus getting his ribbons.




Sticker in place.




Pegasus all ready to be handed over to me.




A view from the front of the proud King, from the other side.




Another short puja, to complete the formalities.




Mr Rao handing over the key, as Mr Sodhi (Manager), Miss Deepika (my SE) and the staff of Shubh Honda look on.




Time for Celebrations, Cadbury style!




Pegasus being prepped for his homeward journey. 40 liters of petrol in.




Pegasus reaches home at 2:30 PM in the afternoon, on Sunday, 4th March. Wifey on left, Dad & Mom on right.




Yours truly, the tired yet proud owner.




A BIG Thank You for the advice, reviews and inputs go to - mdsaab, charthom, Remington Steele, bluevolt, libranof1987, arup.misra, nitin.rai, PhX, nanduchitnis, Sn1p3r, kirantp, B103, vikash49, Vikster, Bhp, karanraheja, Habanero City (for City), mathranik, Tassem, dhanushs, 1self (for Verna), Swanand Inamdar, souravc, ninjatalli, bala80, prabhuferrari, nileshch, noopster, evilshantanu, mikon, STARCHILD (for Vento), aaren, selfdrive, adimicra, akp, suhaas307 (for Jazz), Poitive, vb-san, dot, ajay_satpute (for all of them, basically), and finally, but not the least AT ALL - GTO and the entire Team-BHP team for their unbiased reviews and inputs in vaious related threads.

[RavenAvi]

Figures after the trip:

Distance travelled (odometer) -




The Trip -




Range left (Distance to Empty) -




Mileage -




This was attained with the AC controls set to this -




Who needs diesel with these figures? The i-VTEC pretty much blows all other engines out of the water!


Some more pics:-

Driver's door, with storage slot for 1-liter bottle. Notice the electric ORVM adjust buttons.
One touch power window switches, with Auto Up-Down for driver's door window only.




1-liter bottle fits snugly inside.




Front passenger door has space for a 1-liter bottle as well.





COMING SOON - ICE installation pics, and shots of the installed HU in action.


A teaser pic to whet the appetite till then:

[swiftnfurious]

Totally Passionate review. I am NOT a fan of long written reviews or posts, but read the complete stuff in one shot! You have a good writing style complemented by a proper formatting. Your conversation with your dad was the highlight for me.
Congrats on the car and wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

[joslicx]

Great review there and congratulations on owning a great great car! You chose well!

I had a brief TD of the car few days back and it is such a great car to drive! I was actually in the market for AT sedan and looked at ANHC AT. Even in city during the TD the mileage returned was 12.8! And I drove in all sorts of ways - slow, fast, revved hard in 1st gear etc. It simply is the car to own for a long term ownership!

Wishing you many many happy and safe miles in your new drive.

[iliketurtles]

Terrific, terrific review. The City is a great car, without a question of a doubt, and it is a great balance of many things; efficiency, power, spaciousness, comfort, and even a bit of luxury thrown in. Enjoy Pegasus, for it is a terrific steed. Thanks for the read and the pics, hope you have miles of smiles. Look forward to reading more in this thread!

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Totally Passionate review. I am NOT a fan of long written reviews or posts, but read the complete stuff in one shot! You have a good writing style complemented by a proper formatting. Your conversation with your dad was the highlight for me.
Congrats on the car and wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

I sometimes dont read GTO's review completely :P ,but ended up reading every line of this .

Congratulations and drive sensibly .

Do keep us posted on your experience .

BTW did you say 315kms ?? Do you have to drive 315 kms one way for a service?

[drmohitg]

Congratulations on your new car. It must feel heavenly to drive it after the 800. Modern cars have become so much more enjoyable. The City corp edition is a fantastic car to own. BTW how much did you pay for your registration? The OTR must have come to a little more since you have only mentioned temporary registration charges.
Wishing you many happy miles ahead.

[Saarth]

Lovely review and very detailed pictures. It is pretty evident that you are really enthusiastic about your new "muse", and its great to see that. The Honda City is brilliant car.

Don't mean to sound snobbish but it is perhaps the only "reasonably priced car" (as Jeremy Clarkson would put it.) in our stable, and still I often find myself climbing into it to time and time again, and still amazes me at times.

Have fun with it, be safe. Take care

[Simhi]

Congratulations on your new car.

A nice and detailed review. Read it through completely and remembered how one of my friend after selling off his Indica started of with budget of 5 lac and went on to buy City SMT.

Drive Safely and take good care of her.

[valapad]

Congratulations Brother,
City is a great car,
Thanks for Very Detailed Review with pics,
Waiting for Ice Setup pics and details,i am planning to buy Focal 165A1 components for my innova

Drive Safe

[dot]

Congratulations!

Really enjoyed the write up and specially the love behind all those pictures. It was evident!

8.24 is an amazing price for this beauty when you consider that you get all the safety features with the gem of an engine.

Enjoy Pegasus, dont worry about FE and drive safe.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Totally Passionate review. I am NOT a fan of long written reviews or posts, but read the complete stuff in one shot! You have a good writing style complemented by a proper formatting. Your conversation with your dad was the highlight for me.
Congrats on the car and wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

Thanks, mate. The jousting with my Dad throughout the decision-making process will be the real highlight for me, when I think back on those days. His approval in the end was the real icing on the cake.

Originally Posted by joslicx

Great review there and congratulations on owning a great great car! You chose well!

I had a brief TD of the car few days back and it is such a great car to drive! I was actually in the market for AT sedan and looked at ANHC AT. Even in city during the TD the mileage returned was 12.8! And I drove in all sorts of ways - slow, fast, revved hard in 1st gear etc. It simply is the car to own for a long term ownership!

Wishing you many many happy and safe miles in your new drive.

Thanks, mate.

The City AT is a wonderful car as well, with terrific mileage and the added convenience of paddle shifters. I would rate it as the best in-city sedan in our country at the moment. Good luck in your hunt as well. Looking forward to your ownership thread.

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Terrific, terrific review. The City is a great car, without a question of a doubt, and it is a great balance of many things; efficiency, power, spaciousness, comfort, and even a bit of luxury thrown in. Enjoy Pegasus, for it is a terrific steed. Thanks for the read and the pics, hope you have miles of smiles. Look forward to reading more in this thread!

Thanks, mate.

I have to agree - lack of frill features aside, the City Corporate is a perfect option for anyone in the hunt for a new sedan with a budget of 8L OTR. Everything else can be bought after-market, and that is one of the biggest pluses of the Corporate.

The City line-up from the E MT onwards, comes with factory-fitted HU which has orange backlighting and looks totally outlandish and out of place when matched with the blue backlighted instrument cluster. Get a nice little 2-DIN with blue backlight and you are all set.

Wait till you see my HU.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

I sometimes dont read GTO's review completely :P ,but ended up reading every line of this .

Congratulations and drive sensibly .

Do keep us posted on your experience .

BTW did you say 315kms ?? Do you have to drive 315 kms one way for a service?

Wow, thanks Satya. That's quite a compliment!

310.5 kms to be exact for the service (dealership is in another city). But no worries - service intervals for the City are evenly distributed for every 3 months, after the first service which comes after 1 month. They can be easily maintained by someone who has to travel for periodical meetings and conferences. Plus, the workshop guys assured me that outstation customers get preferential treatment for servicings. Heartening.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Congratulations on your new car. It must feel heavenly to drive it after the 800. Modern cars have become so much more enjoyable. The City corp edition is a fantastic car to own. BTW how much did you pay for your registration? The OTR must have come to a little more since you have only mentioned temporary registration charges.
Wishing you many happy miles ahead.

Oh, fantastic! I shudder to think now about how I used to squeeze myself into the 800!

I am still waiting for the TRC to be sent over, doc saab. Haven't applied for registration yet, although at 7% of ex-showroom pricing it should come at about 50,050/- or thereabouts.

I will be getting it done directly (have an uncle-in-law in the RTO) so saving brokerage charges and quite a bit of hassle.

Originally Posted by Saarth

Lovely review and very detailed pictures. It is pretty evident that you are really enthusiastic about your new "muse", and its great to see that. The Honda City is brilliant car.

Don't mean to sound snobbish but it is perhaps the only "reasonably priced car" (as Jeremy Clarkson would put it.) in our stable, and still I often find myself climbing into it to time and time again, and still amazes me at times.

Have fun with it, be safe. Take care

Thanks, my friend. Yes I am in love with Pegasus right now, and it shows!

The pricing of the Corporate is perfect - plus you get the added advantage to customise it as you wish. You also save quite a bit of money if you get the accessories fitted separately, because when you go for a higher model with all these factory-fitted accessories, not only is it priced higher, but you pay extra charges (extra 7% RT, extra insurance premium, etc.) over and above the cost of the car, for these accessories as well.

It all adds up to quite a bit of savings.

Originally Posted by Simhi

Congratulations on your new car.

A nice and detailed review. Read it through completely and remembered how one of my friend after selling off his Indica started of with budget of 5 lac and went on to buy City SMT.

Drive Safely and take good care of her.

Thanks, buddy.

Team-BHP members would remember my initial thread (Verito, Polo, Punto or Jazz?), and how I zeroed in for the Jazz after almost going for the Punto. Starting off with a budget of around 4.5-5L and stretching it to beyond 8L is making me feel amazed as well. Just goes to show that nothing is impossible, right?

Wow, so much research. I have a folder in my computer full of brochures of all the cars I went through, excel worksheets with calculations, quotations galore, and about 10,000 pics of different cars from all sorts of angles. Quite a journey, this!

Originally Posted by valapad

Congratulations Brother,
City is a great car,
Thanks for Very Detailed Review with pics,
Waiting for Ice Setup pics and details,i am planning to buy Focal 165A1 components for my innova

Drive Safe

Thanks, buddy. I had heard a lot of good things about Focals, and I must say I am not disappointed at all! The mids are a tad too bright for my tastes, but overall they are really fantastic speakers. I can hear every guitar strumming in Hotel California, and the beats in MCMXC Enigma was like the band was right there, playing around me!

Focals are designed to impress, and they impress a lot. Will put up the details soon.

Originally Posted by dot

Congratulations!

Really enjoyed the write up and specially the love behind all those pictures. It was evident!

8.24 is an amazing price for this beauty when you consider that you get all the safety features with the gem of an engine.

Enjoy Pegasus, dont worry about FE and drive safe.

Thanks, A. Taking some cues from your photo shoots of the Civic!

Add the 50K for RT charges and the final OTR should be about 8.74L, and if you don't get all my accessories fitted then the OTR comes to 8.05L. Fantastic price for a car which promises a lifetime of pleasure, fun and dedication. I couldn't have asked for more.