Empress has crossed the 1,000-km mark.
It's been 2 weeks since she entered our life and now she's ruling it. My little Princess cannot have enough of her and insists to stay inside the car whenever we return from our trips. On the roads, she's a real head-turner. People check the Golden Brown shade from close quarters, remarking how magnificent she looks in that color.
I have to admit that the 2014 City looks more premium than the price it commands - one of the major reasons why a status-loving middle-class man would like to own one. Sophistication, luxury and premiumness all rolled into one.
A real note of importance to all my fellow i-DTEC owners - remember that the 1.5 L diesel is a turbocharged unit, and it's imperative that you follow the 30-second idling rule everytime you start/stop your car. I follow it religiously every day, and my idling time is 60 seconds (until the RPM needle settles itself at 800-ish), and even after that, drive your car without throttle input until it reaches the optimum engine temperature - easing out of the garage, moving forward in 1st/2nd gears for the first 400-500 meters, etc. Same goes for when you are reaching a destination - slow down into the lower gears and cruise at a relaxed low speed when you are about half a kilometer from your destination. This will ensure a longer life for your turbocharged powertrain. A fantastic thread by GTO detailing this can be found here -
LINK.
Some more observations:
- The sound system is definitely front-heavy, which means the front two speakers + two tweeters perform better and louder than the ones in the rear doors. Highs and mids are comparatively muted in the rear. This might not affect the single driver but when the car is loaded, the rear passengers might complain about this. Tweak the Fader settings accordingly to find the optimum sound.
- For those who are still fumbling in the dark to change the reverse camera view (wide, normal, top/down): engage the reverse gear, watch the view in the HU, the click on the "List/Push/Select" button inside the knob on the left side of the HU. You can toggle between all 3 views in this way. Also, it's advisable to stop your car at the second last line in your reverse camera view (the one just before the broken, dotted line), which will ensure sufficient space between your car and the object behind you.
- Remember that it's a diesel and summer is here - your car will get very hot and thirsty. Whenever you reach back home, let the car cool down for at least 15-20 minutes before putting the cover on. Also, before driving out in the morning, check the water levels. You will be surprised at the amount of water your oil burner guzzles regularly in the hot days.
And now for a pictorial walkthrough of the OEM HU. It is NOT a touchscreen Head Unit but it's very functional, supporting Bluetooth, USB, Aux-In, CD, AM/FM radio, and Reverse Camera integration.
(Please disregard the accumulated dust particles in the following pics)
The Honda City Head Unit on the central console.
The first thing you see when you turn it on - a shining "H" badge.
Press the "Menu/Clock" button.
Click on "Adjust Clock". Adjust the time accordingly, then click "Set".
Go back once, and click on "Settings".
Here, you can access 1) Bluetooth, 2) Display Adjustment, 3) Rear Camera...
4) Display Change, 5) Wallpaper, 6) Colour Theme...
7) Language, and 8) Clock Format.
1) Click on "Bluetooth" to access this menu. Select either of the two, and turn on the Bluetooth in your mobile device.
The HU will search for BT devices, and then send a pairing password to your BT device.
Confirm it on your device, and this will be shown.
Turn off Bluetooth in your device, and...
2) "Settings" --> "Display adjustment."
Here you can adjust the Brightness, Contrast and Black Levels of your HU's display.
3) "Settings" --> "Rear camera."
Here, you can choose if you want to see the reverse camera guide lines or not (by checking/unchecking on the box), and adjust the Brightness, Contrast...
Black Level, Colour and Tint levels.
4) "Settings" --> "Display Change."
You can now choose the default view for your HU's standby screen, either Audio (info about the audio track currently playing) or Wallpaper (either the HU's clock, or upto 3 imported customised wallpapers via USB)
5) "Settings" --> "Wallpaper".
Here you can either select a particular wallpaper, import wallpapers from your USB drive, or delete wallpapers.
6) "Settings" --> "Colour Theme".
You can now change the Colour Theme of your HU from the default Blue to Red,
Amber,
or Grey. My preference = Blue. (as I am sure many others will, too)
7) "Settings" --> "Language".
Choose between English, French and Spanish.
8) "Settings" --> "Clock Format".
Switch between 12-hour or 24-hour clock for your display screen.
When you click on the Phone button on the top left (with a phone icon), with a mobile device connected via BT, you can access the phone menus - 1) Speed Dial, 2) Call History, 3) Phonebook...
4) Dial, 5) Redial, and 6) Phone Setup.
1) Speed Dial = You can store upto 20 pre-chosen numbers/contacts for your speed dial list.
2) Call History = It accesses the dialed calls, received calls and missed calls from your mobile device.
3) Phonebook = It accesses and shows the contacts stored in your mobile device. All through contacts under "A" to...
"Y"! Don't be alarmed, there's an "Others" section for the "Z"s and the numericals.
4) The "Dial" menu. Takes some time to dial a number from here.
5) "Redial" simply redials the last number you called from your mobile device.
6) "Phone Setup" menu takes you to A) Bluetooth Setup, B) Speed Dial C) Ringtone ("Inband")...
D) Caller ID info (select between "Name" or "Number"), and E) System Clear (memory erased)

(Continued...)