[Sn1p3r]

The AC is quite effective and you only use setting 4 if there are more than 3 people and the cars has been standing directly under sun for a long time. Yes, there are AC vents on the floor for rear seats.

With respect to tyre pressure 34, 32 is acceptable for if you have loaded the car but otherwise if you drive enthusiastically it is a no no from me. The tyres are already skinny and adding extra air makes the contact patch and braking an issue. If you have upgraded the tyres then I have no clue. I am currently on the original XM1 and they are doing pretty well with no balancing weight issue and alignment issue till date.

The car has consistently performed and averaged at 14kmpl in city and 18kmpl on highway. Peal to the metal yields about 10kmpl but its worth it

[rambo1o1]

Great to see your Pegasus serving you well sir.
I have the new city too, just completed its second service yesterday,2 and a half months after we got it!!

The city is a spacious and comfortable car for a family but i am unimpressed by the high speed ride composure. The car tends to bounce up and down on uneven roads at speeds of 80kmph( tried various tyre pressure).Maybe i am used to the excellent handling of the figo but its a trade of between the two. One has that lovely I-vtec engine with average handling while the other has a weak heart(petrol figo) with superb handling.
Hope you keep on updating you thread in future.
Wishing you many years of faithful service from Pegasus and safe journeys.

Originally Posted by obiwankenobi

sarath - a couple of my friends have had numerous problems with their Ford Figos. One of them had to be replaced completely (luckily under some kind of warranty or something) and the other guy had to get it re-bored. All this even before the car "walked" 25k on the odo. i say walked, because of the FE they get in Hyderabad traffic. 9-10kmpl.
now considering that the Fiesta engine is the same as the Figo (detuned etc) unless im mistaken, the same headache could affect me too.

Please tell us more about these problematic figos. Engine rebored and a complete replacement means the owners had a horrid time indeed.Never heard that ford engines were bad, one sees ikons and fiestas doing lakh+ km without a hitch. Not trying to be rude but if you put a statement saying all ford engines are bad then i think the 2lakh plus figo and countless other ford owners in India should be bald with headaches and tension arising from their unreliable figos!

Hoping you will tell us more about your friends perils.

[Sn1p3r]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

... but i am unimpressed by the high speed ride composure. The car tends to bounce up and down on uneven roads at speeds of 80kmph( tried various tyre pressure).Maybe i am used to the excellent handling of the figo but its a trade of between the two. One has that lovely I-vtec engine...

Hi,

I think you are driving on undulated roads as my driving is mostly on NH8 and at higher speeds the drive is better, post 130 clicks the 175's tyres don't have the safe grip but the suspension (though no race spec) is good. I think you need to check the car at another road or if you drive more often on highways try the 195's upgrade. You will love it.

Cheers!

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by sarthakgupta

Are you sure about presence of rear AC vents in City? I am asking this because just few days back I denied the existence of rear AC vents on the following thread/post:http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2939512 while answering @frequentflyer's query. If you can confirm it, I will update my answer to him. Thanks in advance.

Yes, I have seen them under the front seats (when I got my seat covers installed). I forgot to take a pic then.

I tried to take a pic of them for you guys on Dusshera day when Pegasus got cleaned, but the floor carpet has them covered. The carpet's pretty tightly shut because the seats are screwed on top of it. That's probably the reason why most City owners don't know about them - their car's floor carpet covers the vents under the front seats!

To use the vents, you will have to make a small slit in the floor carpet of your City, and set the AC blower directional setting to "face/legs". Here's a pic I dug up from fellow BHP-ian aaren's Jazz X thread (the Jazz shares the same chassis with the City) :-


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...oor-vent-2.jpg


Picture is too big. Click on the link above to open in a separate window.

It's the fifth photo from the bottom in the first post of his ownership thread here :- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2534245

Originally Posted by obiwankenobi

Rear aircon vents under the front seat? sure? I didnt know they existed. Wouldnt that cause the bad smell from the shoes of passengers to circulate faster?

Well, that's one crude way of looking at it. But then again, if you have rear passengers who have that issue, then you can't prevent that in any car, can you?

On a more serious note, it's a very effective way of keeping things cool and ventilated for the people in the rear seat. And it's a proper AC vent, not a mere blower like the Nissan Sunny, so it blows out chilled air directly from the AC through the vents.

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

The AC is quite effective and you only use setting 4 if there are more than 3 people and the cars has been standing directly under sun for a long time. Yes, there are AC vents on the floor for rear seats.

Thanks for confirming, Sn1p3r my friend.

I have never gone past setting 3. That is chilly enough, even in the blazing hot summer!

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

With respect to tyre pressure 34, 32 is acceptable for if you have loaded the car but otherwise if you drive enthusiastically it is a no no from me. The tyres are already skinny and adding extra air makes the contact patch and braking an issue. If you have upgraded the tyres then I have no clue. I am currently on the original XM1 and they are doing pretty well with no balancing weight issue and alignment issue till date.

I was following the Honda recommendations for tyre pressures - 32 for front, 30 for rear. But I felt that the tyres were a bit under-inflated and the ride was a bit bumpy, specially when going over the small speed-breakers and potholes. 34/32 keeps Pegasus going nicely, without too many undulations. I have felt Pegasus glide over bumpers, without transmitting too much of noise/roll inside the cabin. So I have kept it at that since.

Haven't upgraded the tyres yet (stuck with the default Goodyear GT3s for now). Terrible tyres. Planning to gift Pegasus new rubber on his birthday next year. Hopefully a nice set of 185/65s or 195/60s, either Michelin or Bridgestone. Roads around these parts (specially for the 310-kms journey to the dealership for servicings) are pretty bad, and warrant an alignment check at least once/twice a year. So I got it done at the last service.

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

The car has consistently performed and averaged at 14kmpl in city and 18kmpl on highway. Peal to the metal yields about 10kmpl but its worth it

Excellent FE figures, Sn1p3r!! I am not much of a FE nut either (enjoying my Pegasus takes precedence over anything else, even the fuel bills!) but a consistent range of 13-14 kpl inside the City for a 1.5L engine is simply wonderful. Just goes to show the brilliance of the i-VTEC!

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

Great to see your Pegasus serving you well sir.
I have the new city too, just completed its second service yesterday,2 and a half months after we got it!!

Thanks a lot, and congratulations as well! Where is your ownership thread, buddy? Would love to read through your experiences so far.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

The city is a spacious and comfortable car for a family but i am unimpressed by the high speed ride composure. The car tends to bounce up and down on uneven roads at speeds of 80kmph( tried various tyre pressure).Maybe i am used to the excellent handling of the figo but its a trade of between the two. One has that lovely I-vtec engine with average handling while the other has a weak heart(petrol figo) with superb handling.
Hope you keep on updating you thread in future.
Wishing you many years of faithful service from Pegasus and safe journeys.

On the contrary, I think the City is one of the best cars in terms of handling at high speeds. It's steering weighs up well, very nicely heavy for the speed travelled, and it stays within the lines you drive it. Cornering at speeds of 75+ is also quite sharp, and the car comes to a stop in a straight line quite appropriately, even from high speeds as the ABS kicks in perfectly. The suspension has been well-calibrated and tuned to handle the high-speed dynamics of the car quite nicely and smoothly, and there's minimal noise from the roads/engine filtering into the cabin.

Bad roads, well that's a different topic. I wouldn't risk high speeds on bad roads because the suspension will take a hit. But the times I have driven at 80+ speed on a bad stretch, I never felt any huge amount of bouncing or body roll yet. The City's suspension is pretty strong in this respect. I think the roads must be really bad around your area, and the default tyres can't handle too many undulations of bad road patches, thereby transmitting them into the cabin. Go easy on the bad roads, my friend, or else your car will ask for suspension work much before than you anticipate.

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

Hi,

I think you are driving on undulated roads as my driving is mostly on NH8 and at higher speeds the drive is better, post 130 clicks the 175's tyres don't have the safe grip but the suspension (though no race spec) is good. I think you need to check the car at another road or if you drive more often on highways try the 195's upgrade. You will love it.

Cheers!

Completely agree with Sn1p3r here. You need better rubber for better stability at high speeds. 195/60s are the best options to upgrade, and if you want superb performance and silent running then go for Michelin Primacy LCs, then see the change they bring to your riding experience.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

On the contrary, I think the City is one of the best cars in terms of handling at high speeds. It's steering weighs up well, very nicely heavy for the speed travelled, and it stays within the lines you drive it. Cornering at speeds of 75+ is also quite sharp, and the car comes to a stop in a straight line quite appropriately, even from high speeds as the ABS kicks in perfectly. The suspension has been well-calibrated and tuned to handle the high-speed dynamics of the car quite nicely and smoothly, and there's minimal noise from the roads/engine filtering into the cabin.

Bad roads, well that's a different topic. I wouldn't risk high speeds on bad roads because the suspension will take a hit. But the times I have driven at 80+ speed on a bad stretch, I never felt any huge amount of bouncing or body roll yet. The City's suspension is pretty strong in this respect. I think the roads must be really bad around your area, and the default tyres can't handle too many undulations of bad road patches, thereby transmitting them into the cabin. Go easy on the bad roads, my friend, or else your car will ask for suspension work much before than you anticipate.

Thank you sir for the advice.The city is tuned more for comfort so i guess i cant expect Fiesta/linea like handling.I find the cornering ability fine since i never try to take corners at high speeds, its only on the straight highways when one is cruising at 100 and then the car pitches up and down over the uneven roads.This doesn't bother dad who uses it most of the time.I guess i am complaining too much because i have been driving my moms figo for over a year now and am spoiled with the rock solid stability on the same roads.

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

Hi,

I think you are driving on undulated roads as my driving is mostly on NH8 and at higher speeds the drive is better, post 130 clicks the 175's tyres don't have the safe grip but the suspension (though no race spec) is good. I think you need to check the car at another road or if you drive more often on highways try the 195's upgrade. You will love it.

Cheers!

Thanks for the advice but since the car is company provided we cannot do any changes to it.I guess the citys softer suspension is the cause of this.I have tried other roads and the same thing happens,its even worse in cars like the verna.This unevenness is common on most parts of Goan highways i guess .The car is used mainly by the driver/dad who have no problems with the ride so i will leave it at that.

The city is the best all rounder petrol car in the segment,period!! and i guess i am nitpicking too much.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Recently I was awestruck seeing my mileage, it was showing a staggering 18.8kmpl. WOW!!! I am loving driving this sweet beast, code named Optimus!!

The mileage shown in MID is not 100% accurate, you have to subtract 0.6 to 1 Kmpl to get actual one.
Posting my experience.

Originally Posted by ecenandu

Did a 370 km round trip from home to Tiruvalla, Kerala. Had strict order from mom to drive safe. So thought of doing a mileage run, never exceeded 90Kmph.

Car : Honda City iVtec 2009
Distance covered : 370Kms.
Litres consumed : 21 l.
Mileage : 17.62 Km/l. Tank full to tank full method.
Mileage on trip meter : 18.4 Km/l.

[RavenAvi]

The First MILESTONE - 5,000 kms:


On the 240th day of Pegasus entering my life, he crossed his first milestone - 5,000 kms on the ODO. It was on Saturday, 27th October, 2012 at around 6 PM when I was returning from office. I couldn't post this update earlier since I have been sick the past week or so, mostly confined to bed.





There is not much to report, except some stuff which I will elaborate in the pictorial to follow. Pegasus continues it's lazy existence in my life, always eager to serve whenever I need him - no hiccups, no problems, touchwood. And I am thankful for that in a big way. With the normal day-to-day hassles and a marketing job, I couldn't have asked for anything better. All driving since the 3rd Service has been done exclusively inside the city, and the FE returned till now is at 13.4 kpl, that too with 100% AC on all the time. I think it's a stupendous return from the i-VTEC 1.5L mill.

To mini-celebrate the occasion (since I don't have much to report), let me present a pictorial with things I have noticed in my 8 months of ownership so far (please excuse the dust in the pics) :-


The boot-lid is thinner than average, and closes with a "thunk", rather than a "thud".



If you notice closely, a crack has developed across the glass of the left fog lamp. Stray pebble or contraction/expansion, you tell me.



A testament to Dad's rigorous 6-hour marathon "puja" on Dusshera day, complete with coconut breaking, "blessed" ribbons tied everywhere, and driving the car over lemons placed under each wheel.



The only grouse I have so far - the 2nd gear. Sometimes initial shifting from 1st to 2nd requires a bit of extra effort, and so does sudden shifting from 3rd to 2nd or sometimes 4th to 2nd in traffic conditions. In one word - iffy shifting. Sometimes it slots in so quickly and smoothly it's scary as if it's not connected to the clutch at all. Normal behaviour, or should I get it checked?



Found an extra small vent hidden behind the left side of the steering wheel. Notice it? I am thinking it's an AC vent to keep the hands cool.



I have noticed that the A-pillar is thick, and can hinder one's view a bit, specially when cornering.



The love of my life...



...and it's crown jewel.



Those who were wondering about how to activate the rear AC vents of the City (given on the floor, below the front seats), these are the settings.






Paid a friendly visit to the newly-opened Bosch Service Center in my city. Inaugurated on Dusshera day, it has quickly garnered plenty of positive buzz with it's nice services (so far). Filled up Nitrogen in all 5 tyres (first nitrogen filling for Pegasus), charges were 50/- per tyre but they charged me 200/- overall. Ride quality has definitely improved.




In the past 4 days we have had plenty of drizzles, windy showers, downpours and whatnots. In case you are wondering how much rain pours into this area, here are a few shots. Contrary to what you are thinking, the wipers are on at full blast.



Proof - that's the lake on the left, and the city ahead of it. Nothing's visible, not even the surface of the lake. Wipers still going.



Visibility of the motorcycles in front. Wipers still on.




Current ODO reading - 5054 kms. Current FE reading - 13.4 kmpl.

Catch you all folks soon with the next update. Ciao till then!

[arup.misra]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

The First MILESTONE - 5,000 kms:

Congrats Avi,I bet the journey to it was far more pleasing than the milestone itself.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

The Focals powering my music setup. Fantastic sound.

I agree. They sound so right.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Stray pebble or contraction/expansion, you tell me.

Think a stray pebble is the culprit here especially when in your drives to your service centers

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Found an extra small vent hidden behind the left side of the steering wheel. Notice it? I am thinking it's an AC vent to keep the hands cool.

I too have noticed it but haven't really checked if its an AC vent or something else.

[abs182]

The only grouse I have so far - the 2nd gear. Sometimes initial shifting from 1st to 2nd requires a bit of extra effort, and so does sudden shifting from 3rd to 2nd or sometimes 4th to 2nd in traffic conditions. In one word - iffy shifting. Sometimes it slots in so quickly and smoothly it's scary as if it's not connected to the clutch at all. Normal behaviour, or should I get it checked?


My 2010 City also has an iffy second gear. However, with me the issue is only the 2nd gear either up or down. However, this is a normal outliner in the city. In my experience the rough 2nd gear slotting happens only from a cold start i.e. to say that once the car engine and the fluids herein reach their optimal operating temperature the second gear than smooths out like others. You should observe this and if the rough gear changes involving 2nd gear persists you should get them checked. With me once the car runs a couple of kms and temperature rises all's well after that. Hope this helps.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Congrats Avi,I bet the journey to it was far more pleasing than the milestone itself.

Thanks, arup. Yes, looking back I keep wondering how the 8 months flew by! Absolutely blissful, I must admit.

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Think a stray pebble is the culprit here especially when in your drives to your service centers.

That's what I am thinking as well. But a pebble leaves such a long crack on the glass? No other explanation so we have to assume this happened.

Originally Posted by arup.misra

I too have noticed it but haven't really checked if its an AC vent or something else.

I did some checking. No air flew out when the fan/AC started. It must be something else. Will see if the manual says anything about it.

Originally Posted by abs182

My 2010 City also has an iffy second gear. However, with me the issue is only the 2nd gear either up or down. However, this is a normal outliner in the city. In my experience the rough 2nd gear slotting happens only from a cold start i.e. to say that once the car engine and the fluids herein reach their optimal operating temperature the second gear than smooths out like others. You should observe this and if the rough gear changes involving 2nd gear persists you should get them checked. With me once the car runs a couple of kms and temperature rises all's well after that. Hope this helps.

Hey abs182, thanks for getting back. This problem is intermittent with my Pegasus. Sometimes the 2nd gear behaves normal, smooth and nicely slot-ty into it's slot, and sometimes it's pretty iffy.

You are right that the problem is usually during cold start ups, but sometimes even when stuck in traffic I have experienced the iffiness of the 2nd gear, specially when downshifting. It's a very peculiar problem, don't you think?

Fellow City owners, please chip in with your observations regarding the 2nd gear slotting as well. I would really like to know more about this.


------------------------------------


This is in reply to those recent PM queries I am receiving for the FE figures I am getting with Pegasus so far. I did a bit of calculation based on all my FE/mileage figures in this thread, plus the intermittent notes I have been making in my Excel sheets.

Be aware that not all of this information is exactly accurate, they are rather rough estimates. I am not a FE fanatic, and I enjoy my rides in Pegasus rather than constantly check on the FE readings.

Here is the 5054-kms breakup (rough estimate):-

Highway cruising - 315 + 82 + 633 + 310 + 311 + 313 + 310 + 76 = 2350 kms.
Overall FE - 18.2 + 18.6 + 16.9 + 16.7 + 17.1 + 16.9 + 16.3 + 16.2 = 136.9/8 = 17.1125 kmpl.


In-city driving - 5054 - 2350 = 2704 kms.
Overall FE - 12.9 + 11.5 + 12.7 + 13.1 + 13.3 + 13.7 + 13.4 = 90.6/7 = 12.943 kmpl.


Will do a tankful FE soon and report back.

[ajay_satpute]

Great report Avinash, as usual. Congrats on the 5k milestone. For the iVtec engine, 5k KMs is not even the beginning of a very long journey.

Man, the rains in your area are always like this, ye? Torrential rains, anytime and everytime. The visibility is really poor even with the wipers doing their duty at full strength.

[mkpiyengar]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Hey abs182, thanks for getting back. This problem is intermittent with my Pegasus. Sometimes the 2nd gear behaves normal, smooth and nicely slot-ty into it's slot, and sometimes it's pretty iffy.

You are right that the problem is usually during cold start ups, but sometimes even when stuck in traffic I have experienced the iffiness of the 2nd gear, specially when downshifting. It's a very peculiar problem, don't you think?

Fellow City owners, please chip in with your observations regarding the 2nd gear slotting as well. I would really like to know more about this.

Hey Raven,
I'd given a detailed explanation in one of the other threads regarding this matter. The issue was very peculiar and i had a difficult time convincing the service manager that there is an issue.

Points to note in particular are:
1. Gear 1 and 2 are very sensitive to speed and rpm if they do not match then there is resistance to shifting.

2. It is more prominent when the car is new, it eases on later as the kms go by or you get the knack of shifting right.

3. I had got clutch bleeding done twice to try resolve the issue as even with the clutch fully depressed it wouldn't slot to second if the rev's are high. Release the clutch and try again it shifts butter smooth.

4. Unless vehicle is completely stand still or speed almost 0, you cannot shift to 1st it offers great resistance. During these times the shift to 2nd is very smooth.

5. I was told by Honda guys that it is a precautionary measure to prevent gear damage . I was not convinced as i asked them that when I down shift from 4 or 5 @80 kmph to 3rd there is no problem other than the surge. To this they said that force is great in lower gear...something like that.. Not convinced.

6. IF you drive multiple cars then the issue is magnified as you fumble at least once during the drive.

7. Try to match the revs/speed to shifting and you should be fine..

Upshift practised.
0-20- shift to 2nd gear
at-40: Shift to 3rd
at-60: shift to 4th
at-80: shift to 5th


If you exceed 20kmph then there would be resistance to shifting to 2nd, move to 3rd directly in that case. Mostly happens when you are in mood and wanna rev the engine from stationary e.g. Signal green, you revv the engine it zips to 25-30kmph and then try shifting to 2nd, you would have all the resistance in the world !!

In case of downshift to 1st from 2nd make sure it is around 10kmph otherwise shift will be stiff.

Hope it helps.

Cheers
MKP

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Great report Avinash, as usual. Congrats on the 5k milestone. For the iVtec engine, 5k KMs is not even the beginning of a very long journey.

Man, the rains in your area are always like this, ye? Torrential rains, anytime and everytime. The visibility is really poor even with the wipers doing their duty at full strength.

Thanks, Ajay. Yep, this is the beginning of a long journey and (hopefully) the first of at least 20 similar milestones.

You have to experience them to believe them. Rains are here six months of the year, and sometimes the lashing thunderstorms get so severe that you have no option but to park your car and let them pass. This year the rains have been particularly heavy, and it's still raining!

Originally Posted by mkpiyengar

...

7. Try to match the revs/speed to shifting and you should be fine..

Upshift practised.
0-20- shift to 2nd gear
at-40: Shift to 3rd
at-60: shift to 4th
at-80: shift to 5th

...

Hey MKP, thanks a lot for the sound advice. It makes perfect sense as well. You are absolutely right that releasing the clutch and engaging the gear the 2nd time makes it slot it that much more smoother than the first attempt.

I don't have much problem with the 1st gear though. It's the 2nd which keeps acting up. My shifting is almost the same as you noted above, and for in-city speeds I stick to the 3rd gear almost all of the time. Nevertheless, I will follow your advice and see if that brings some improvement to the 2nd gear's behaviour. Will report back.

[arup.misra]

This 1st and 2nd gear iffy shifts looks pretty generic in i-vtec. Reason - I own and drive my City and my wife's Brio in more or less similar traffic / roads and the problem (if I can call it so) is there on both the vtec jewels.

MKP is right, shifting is particular harsh when downshifting from 2nd to 1st unless you have actually stalled. But then there are times when your speeds are neither here or there which means neither is coasting at 2nd feasible (to prevent lugging) nor is 1st the right gear. People driving in stop-go-stop traffic will understand this quite well.

I've been trying to overcome this but not much luck. What about others.

[abs182]

Originally Posted by arup.misra

This 1st and 2nd gear iffy shifts looks pretty generic in i-vtec. Reason - I own and drive my City and my wife's Brio in more or less similar traffic / roads and the problem (if I can call it so) is there on both the vtec jewels.

MKP is right, shifting is particular harsh when downshifting from 2nd to 1st unless you have actually stalled. But then there are times when your speeds are neither here or there which means neither is coasting at 2nd feasible (to prevent lugging) nor is 1st the right gear. People driving in stop-go-stop traffic will understand this quite well.

I've been trying to overcome this but not much luck. What about others.

I think the idea of being below 20 kph while shifting down from 2nd is an astute observation nevertheless I in my 37k odo reading still feel that I don't have such a nagging issue as reported here. Though I admit that initially the problem was there to the extent that it was apparent. But now after a few minutes of a cold start my City is effortless in fact compared to the gear shifts in my corolla city is much better and that's the reason why almost everyone in my family prefers the City over the Corolla which almost is chauffeur driven

May be with passage of time and Kms the gear shifts will be effortless like in mine. I dunno but there should be a valid reason for these iffy gear shifts involving the 2nd gear in the City.