[Carpainter]

Disclaimer: The thoughts and observations expressed in this review are my personal opinion only and in no way intend to humiliate or dishearten anybody having different views on the subject.

This is going to be my first ownership review on Team-bhp so please bear with me for the mistakes that I’m going to make and the lack of sense or sanity that it may portray.

Before going into the details, let me give you a brief background. I was driving VW Polo 1.2L NA petrol comfortline as my personal car bought in Feb 2011. This was actually a Dec 2010 model and so had a tough time selling it at a reasonable value. I didn’t check the VIN at the time of buying the Polo because either I didn’t have much idea about the VIN checking or I was too excited to get my hands on the car as it was newly launched and was going to be my first personal car. Nonetheless it was a nice car to drive (although a bit slow off the block) and contrary to many other VW owners, I didn’t have to face any issues with their after sales at all. Mainly because in my nearly four years of ownership, it never gave me any issues except the driver side front window switch which refused to operate on the first day of the car itself. Eventually it got rectified after a couple of visits to the service station and never came back again.

So my car was getting four years old and the thought of a new car had come to my mind. But I used to love my car so much that I was actually half reluctant to let it go. And then the need of replacing our family workhorse became apparent. It was a Xuv5oo bought back in March 2012. We got that car through the lottery process. When I saw my dad’s name on the lottery list, I was like jumping up and down in joy only to find later that the car was plagued with niggles during our time of ownership. My dad was frustrated with all those niggles that was coming one after the other (including rusting near the door beading which should not be classified as niggle I guess). So disposing off the Xuv became priority. But as you know when the bug of a new car bites a bhpian, it’s hard to ignore unless something is done about it. So in the process after several visits to multiple dealers, we finally managed to sale both our cars on 3rd December 2014. This was the first time in my life that we got rid of two cars on the same day. We bought the almighty Innova as the replacement of our Xuv. And then the process of buying the replacement of Polo started. Or was it so?

Actually we started looking for cars and taking test drives back in November. Back in my mind I had a thought of going for the Jetta. This car fascinates me a lot and it still remains a car to buy for me. But I had to cut short my budget as the purchase of Innova became imminent. The first car that came to my mind was the Polo GT TDI. I was this much impressed with my previous car. I was looking for a diesel because the market had this fascination for diesel cars as they give good mileage and so pocket friendly to run. Moreover GT TDI has MT. I like to drive MT and I didn’t want to go into all those anxiety of DSG that the GT TSI comes with. I Went to OSL Exclusive salt lake to take a test drive of the new GT TDI. But as usual they didn’t have any GT TDI model available with them let alone a test drive vehicle. They had a GT TSI model in the new carbon steel colour and boy! was the colour gorgeous. In pictures the colour doesn’t show up but in person it’s probably the best colour on Polo at the moment. So we took a test drive of the 1.5L TDI 90bhp polo and didn’t like the acceleration and refinement of the car. Although, it was a better car to drive than the new elite i20 diesel. I’ll come to that later. The usual problems of the regular polo was still there like the limited rear legroom and low height which bothered my dad a lot (Make no mistake, I like cars with lower stance). So we started looking at Vento as an ideal replacement. It was practical and spacious at the rear for an elderly person to find some comfort. But then when I enquired about the 2015 make model they said it would take at least April for the car to arrive which was more than five months. We went to OSL at AJC Bose road and the reply was the same. They couldn’t even provide a test drive vehicle with 1.5L TDI. All they could do was to give me a 1.6L TDI test drive car which I refused to take.

So we started looking for other options in the C2 segment. We went for the test drives of the New Honda City, the Verna, EcoSport and even the new Elite i20. I didn’t like the looks of the Ford Fiesta so it was out of our shortlist and we didn’t want to go for Sunny either because of the plain jane looks and lackluster after sales which is no better than that of VW.


Elite i20: This is one good looking car. I took a short test drive of the car. Things I observed are:

+> The car looks good. It feels more grown up than the previous gen car.
+ >It was spacious at the back by hatchback standards. Sitting three at the back is not impossible.
+ >The car was loaded with features. Graphical MID looks good and up-market. Nice looking alloys.
+ >It was diesel but the engine was smooth, refined and less noisy.

- >The steering. It was absolutely lifeless. It was so vague that when I took a sharp turn at some speed, the car under-steered and I could have lost control of it. Not a car you can have some fun with.
- >Hard acceleration was not that good. I floored the pedal but the car took its own sweet time to move.
- >The brakes were not confidence inspiring.


EcoSports: Now this was my father’s call. He used to love this car and wanted me to take it. Things I found:

+> The engine was smooth, silent and almost zero turbo-lag.
+ >The EPS was not the best but was well balanced and confidence inspiring.
+ >Good driving position and taller stance make it easy to drive around in the city.
+ >Titanium variant was well loaded.

- >The rear seat was not comfortable and the narrow seat confirmed that it was not for three at the back.
- >Thick A-pillars create some blind spots and can be tricky in tight traffic situations.
- >Parking the car is a bit of a trouble. You can not see the spare tyre from the driver’s position and you’ll have to be careful while reversing.

My dad wanted me to take a test drive of Renault Duster but after hearing the rusting problem on Team-bhp, I had to cancel it.


Honda City: Went to test drive the City on 5th December’14. Had a test drive of the petrol City because I thought that if I had to buy City, I’d buy the petrol model only. From what I had read in Team-bhp official review and some other reviews, the diesel is not fun to drive at all and it’s only good for taking you from A –to- B. The car will be sparingly used as well. So I didn’t bother taking a test drive of the diesel. But I sat in the diesel and let the engine run and there was some vibration inside the car, especially on the clutch and on the floor. The diesel engine is not as noisy as that of the Vento I guess but you’ll always know that you are in a diesel car. So we cancelled the diesel City then and there. After the test drive of petrol City, some observations I had:

Pros:
>The engine was smooth and silent. There was no vibration inside when the car was stationary.

>The clutch was smooth and had a shorter travel compared to the clutch travel of my petrol Polo.

>There was ample rear seat space and legroom. Three healthy adults would sit in the backseat very comfortably.

>When compared to Vento, City had a minimal high transmission hump which makes the third passenger in the rear bench more comfortable.

>The ride seemed stable at low speeds and over uneven patches unlike what many reviewers had said. May be because the test drive car was not too old and the roads were not that bad.

>The automatic AC was good. I always used to enjoy the strong AC (manual) of my Polo which used to cool the cabin down in no time even in 40*C. So I needed a car that could match the performance. It was winter time but from the looks of it I thought City would do that just fine.

>Even though the steering had mounted controls for audio and telephony, it was easy to reach the horn while driving without stretching you fingers too much unlike some other cars that I’ve driven where you have to take your hand off the steering to honk. An important thing in our city driving condition.

>I was looking for the V variant and that car was loaded with features. Touch screen climate control, rear parking camera, electric folding ORVMs, rear ac vents, multiple 12V sockets, fog lamps etc.

Cons:

>The steering was not as precise as that of Polo/Vento. It also lacked much of a feel in it. I think the Vento steering is better to hold than that of City.

>The tyres were skinny. I didn’t have the roads where I could put them to test their level of grip though.

>The quality of fit and finish was not top class. It’s more evident to me as I was upgrading from Polo which was meticulously built. I fear the squeaks and rattles will come sooner than later in City.

>The quality of interior plastics was not bad but definitely not in the league of Polo/Vento.

>The boot had no cladding inside and the cables were exposed which kind of looked ugly. I enquired if I could get a boot cover for the inside but they seemed clueless.

>Too much chrome on the face of the car shows Indian market’s fascination for it. But I’m not a big fan of it.

The City impressed all of us mainly for the engine and features. The tinny built did disappoint me but it was a trade off. Initially we were confused whether to go for City petrol or diesel. But then the power to weight ratio of City petrol shot the thought of diesel out of the window. Booked the car on 10th December 2014 for a 2015 make model and was initially told a 2.5 months waiting period. So the wait began. In the mean time the price revision happened due to excise benefits being withdrawn by the govt. and our pocket got lighter by an additional around 45k for the car.

Previously the SA informed that the car would be dispatched on 20th Feb’15 but we went to the showroom on 24th Feb and got to know that it was dispatched on 24th itself. So it would take another 8-10 days for the car to arrive in Kolkata. Talked to them for this delay and they were clueless but apologized. On the very same day the SA sent me an e-mail containing the engine number and VIN. Decoded it using the Team-bhp VIN decoding thread and found it a Feb 2015 make car. The car arrived at their stockyard on 5th March and two days later I had a visit to their stock yard to see the car in flesh. After ticking all the boxes for pdi checklist (thanks to Team-bhp), I asked them to proceed for registration.

Before we proceed further, here is the price break-up:

Honda City V MT i-VTEC.
Colour: Urban Titanium

Ex showroom- 968000/-
Honda Assure Normal- 25523/-without Zero Dep (opted for zero dep)
5 Years Registration- 54663/-
Handling Charges- 6500/-
Extended Warranty- 7975/-
4 Years RSA- 4600/- (didn't avail)
H.P. - 100/-
On road - 10,67,361/-

I didn't get any freebies or goodies except a box of cookies. The dealer said that due to high demand no gifts were allowed to be given by Honda.

[Carpainter]

Finally the D-day came. It was 11th March’15. We reached the showroom at 12p.m. The S.A. greeted us well. We had some discussions about the servicing part, extended warranty etc. Did all the paperwork and then it was time to see the beauty for the first time (well not literally). There was a small ceremony at the showroom. We Had a brief chat with the dealership manager. The S.A. then described all the features of the car and it was time to fly. Handed over a token gift to the S.A. and left the showroom with a big smile on my face.

First destination was a tyre shop. Changed the stock tyres to Michelin 195/60 R15 P3ST. Drove back home and then it was time for me to drool over my ride for the rest of the evening. On the next day we went to a temple for puja and finally the car was ready to drive.

Externally Honda City is one good looking car. Wrap around tail lamps, double barrel headlamps, honda's character shoulder lines are some of the changes that they have made from the previous gen. The rear quarter look excellent, there is an arc on the front fender much like the previous gen Mazda3. The front chrome grille is a bit too much on your face but I've got used to it. All of these make this car bit more aggressive and more muscular than the predecessor.

Ground clearance, as you can see in the picture, is good enough for a sedan. No, it's not designed for off-roading but in city limits you can drive this on some pretty bad roads if you're careful enough, without touching her belly.

The interior of the new City has a two tone beige and black finish. It looks premium but the plastic quality could have been better. Overall it does look like Honda have taken design cues from the Civic. View from the driver seat is excellent, rear seat is comfortable and wide. There is ample legroom both at front and at the back. Windows are big so the cabin feels airy as well. Ingress and egress is easy as the doors open wide and the seats are placed not too low like in some other cars. Head room at the front is alright but the sun visors are too close to front passengers head. So when you use them, they might touch your head based on your seating position and specially if you're tall enough. Other than that there is plenty of storage space in the cabin. There are two bottle holders in front of the dash, door pads can hold one litre bottles, there are small bottle holders in rear arm rest as well. You also get a storage space under the armrest and some small pockets around the handbrake lever. There is a secret storage space for the driver below the headlamp height adjustment knob.

Sound insulation is good and you won't get disturbed by the outside noise when the windows are rolled up. Since I'm riding on Michelins, tyre noise is almost non-existent which leaves you with only the engine note on an empty silent road.

On the darker side, build quality is not up to the mark. There are some uneven panel gaps (specially exterior) which you don't expect in a car of this segment.

My daily drive in this car is around 25-28kms in the city. I haven't taken the car for a highway run yet. So far, after driving just over 2000kms, here are my observations:

In city driving the car feels nimble and easy to drive. Maneuverability is excellent for a car of its size. Since I had been driving a Polo, I had some doubt about it being a sedan. I thought the length of this car might cause some problem in tight traffic situations. But after driving for over three months now, I can safely say that it's not big problem to worry about for a prospective sedan buyer. Afterall, C segment cars are not too long like a Superb or something. Parking this car is not too difficult either. Yes, crisscrossing in traffic is not a good idea in a sedan but personally I'm not that kind of driver either. Most of the time I'm a sedate driver and I always maintain lane discipline. As far as drivability is concerned, the car is effortless to drive in the city. Acceleration in linear, throttle response is good at low rpm (heard that Honda did something about it) and you can pull from below 900 rpm without any shuddering. The car has a smooth engine, light clutch with less travel and a slick gear shift. Gear shift quality was definitely better in the Polo but that's hard nitpicking. No owner will complain about the gear shift quality. They slot into places without fuss. Except, sometimes it refuses to engage in reverse if you're not paying attention to it.

The engine. This 1.5L (1497cc) petrol motor produces 117bhp at 6600rpm and a pick torque of 145Nm at 4600rpm. On paper at least, this is the second most powerful petrol unit after Verna 1.6 in this side of 10L. It has a power to weight ratio of 110bhp per tonne and it shows. The driving pleasure of the i-VTEC is superb and in its manual avatar, an enthusiast will enjoy it even more. Although my car was in run in period and I didn’t push it beyond 2.5k rpm, I can feel the grunt this engine has during my early morning drives when the roads have much less traffic to enjoy a drive. Acceleration is linear. There is adequate torque available at lower rpm almost like a diesel. When stationery, just release the clutch slowly and the car will start to roll without any accelerator input. It can pull from below 1000 rpms so you don’t need to ride the clutch in slow moving traffic. Overall the petrol engine is a powerful, smooth and refined unit. The engine has a sweet growling note when you push it beyond 2.5k rpm and it's addictive. It's a silent unit as well. I'm just waiting for the third service to come and then after oil change, hopefully the engine will shred off whatever little vibration it currently has. I believe it will become butter smooth after the first oil change.

The steering of City is a regular unit. It’s light at low speed and effortless to park. The steering is precise but it doesn’t have any feedback. Straight line drivability is good. Only problem is the steering remains light at higher speed which is not confidence inspiring. There is a fair bit of body roll as well. As a result you'll have to drive carefully in the windy sections of the road. On a positive note, there is no torque steer with this steering.

Suspension setup is neither soft to give it a plush ride nor sporty. The car bounces around a little bit over uneven roads but body roll is well controlled. I have done some cornering and it never gave issues but it feels like the rear end is gonna give up so I don’t take chances with this car.

Tyres. It came with MRF ZVTVs. Thanks to Team-BHP suggestions, I changed them on the day of delivery to Michelin 3ST. The tyre shop was pushing me for Yoko C drives but I went for Michelin. The grip level is great. No problem with the braking distance either. Tyre noise is minimal. I just hope they last long. Overall I'm totally satisfied with my tyre selection. But I can't compare them with the OEM MRFs as I hardly drove them for around 5kms or so.

The Mileage I'm getting right now is around 8.5-9.5 kmpl. This is as per MID as well as tank fill to fill method with 100% AC and city driving. My car is yet to have its first oil changed so I hope the figure will improve. But I'm not complaining given that I cover a stretch of around 4-5 kms at peak hours on daily basis where a metro railway project is going on. It takes more than 45 minutes (I'm not joking) to cover that stretch. So think about the traffic. On a better road, the mileage would have been better.

Pros:
>Good looks. Honda has done a good job at designing the car. It’s not that the 3rd gen car was bad looking and so they played safe here. After all, why mend something that is not broken. Although subjective, the looks of the car is more energetic and futuristic than that of Verna, Ciaz etc. I quite like the classy European looks of Vento but lack of refreshment makes it look aging.

>Spacious. Yes, the car is really specious for its size. It can even beat some cars from D segment in terms of space inside and specially rear legroom, kneeroom etc.

>Seats are very comfortable. Those front seats hug you well. I’ve never felt any low back pain so may be Honda have improved the lumber support for the front seats. Driver seat has a healthy height adjustment range. The rear seat is a comfortable place to be as well. No doubt a chauffeur driven owner will be happy to sit back there. The seats are wide enough to accommodate a third passenger. Rear A.C. vents and negligible transmission hump means he will be comfortable as well.

>Brakes are good for most part. I’ve never faced any problem with them and they are predictable.

>Very good ground clearance for a car of its class. Moreover, tyre upgrade has given me some extra mm. of more gc. As a result I haven’t scraped by car’s underbelly yet.

>Lots of gizmos and features. The V variant comes with auto folding ORVMs, front fog lights, eight speaker music system, Bluetooth telephone and audio streaming, cruise control etc. apart from some standard features like touch panel climate control, height adjustable driver seat and so on. The top end VX variant comes with features like sunroof, keyless entry etc for that special feel.

>Sound quality of the OEM audio system is really good. Most people will not change is for sure. Radio reception is also good. Bluetooth telephony works well but sometimes I get stuttering problem in bluetooth audio streaming.

> The A.C. does its job very well during our hot and humid summer. On a bright sunny day it will keep you comfortable inside and if it's raining or it's not too hot outside, you'll have to keep the blower speed low and temp set above 22*c to keep it from freezing. This I'm saying with no tint on my windows. I wish I could tint my glasses.

>Good service personnel. During my first service, I had a free chat with the service advisor and he was open to answer all my queries. Although they couldn’t rectify the gear lever vibration problem. I’ll come to that later.

Cons:
>Cheap built quality. Inconsistent panel gaps. For a car of this class, thin sheet metal body is too flimsy in my opinion. Even when I wash my car, the roof goes down if I push it. The bumpers are as if they are made of origami paper. I had a chat with a service personnel and he said that in case of an accident, it takes around INR 2,500/- to replace the bonnet (without paint) of the current City, whereas, the same would cost some 17,000/- for 3rd gen City. This statement alone says how much quality degradation has been done by Honda. Lots of visible panel gaps make the car look cheap.

>Interior plastic quality is acceptable but no way in the league of Polo/Vento. The piano black finish of the centre console is a finger-print and dust magnet. The silver accents on the dashboard and doorpads gets super hot if you park your car in direct sunlight.

>Is it just me or other owners also think that the rear seat is inclined a bit too much. They are comfortable no doubt but personally I’d prefer to sit a little more upright. Not a big problem for me though as I spend 90% of the time behind the wheel.

>Rear AC vents are a big selling point of this car but the airflow is not something that will chill the rear. It doesn’t have fan speed adjustment either.

>The fabric on the seats,armrest,doorpads on the V variant is a dust magnet. I have installed seat covers so it doesn't matter much to me, except that the doorpads get dirty every now and then.

>Thin tyres. I changed them the day I bought the car but Honda should not provide the car under-tyred at the first place. Let alone comfort, even safety is compromised in the process of giving mileage figures a priority.

>Boring looking alloys. They don’t do justice to the good looks of the rest of the car.

>Weak headlamps. Low beam is still okay for city driving but the highbeam is absolutely useless. Problem is things will not improve even if you change the bulb because it’s the reflector that needs to be changed.

>Weak horn. I know some people will say how come this is a con but believe me, I’m not a honk heavy person and I don’t honk too often but in our kind of roads, you need VW/Skoda kind of horn when you really have to honk.

>Poor paint quality. I have 3M Teflon coating done, yet, the car develops hairline scratches without reason.

>Light steering. The engine has enough power to pull you out of the crowd but when you need to take turn at speed, you’ll have to slow down. If you want a good handling car, look elsewhere.

>The ride quality over tarmac is smooth but on uneven roads, the car gets a little unsettled.



Beyond these pros and cons there are other things that make your living with your car a pleasant one. Presence or absence of these features can make your ownership a joyous experience or can leave you disappointed. So let me put down some other points:

>City doesn’t have reach adjustable steering. This is a feature that, if present, can make your driving position more comfortable.

>City comes with only two airbags. Verna offers six airbags in the segment.

>It doesn’t have height adjustable seat belts either, though, I don’t miss it much.

>One feature that I really miss though is the wiper speed adjustment in intermittent mode. It only has three regular speed modes namely intermittent, low and high. My ex Polo had four speed settings under intermittent mode only. I’m not even asking for a rain sensing wiper here. These little things can make your everyday living a pleasant one.

>The interior built quality is flimsy and so when you pull the front windows up and down, the front door pads bend in and out respectively.

>The rear parcel tray has been raised for unknown reason and so reversing is not so trouble free. You’ll need your camera and hopefully sensors to guide you here.

>Not all is negative here. City is one of those rare modern cars in which the rear windows roll down completely. The windows are big and you’ll never feel claustrophobic inside the cabin.

>Steering mounted audio and Bluetooth controls are easy to use while driving and dashboard ergonomics are spot on.

>In case your ORVMs are hit from behind by a biker or something, it will fold outward. This really helps in our roads.

>Driver instrument cluster stays illuminated during day. It helps you see it in overcast weather. You can adjust the illumination brightness for night driving as well.

>City has one touch up/down option only on the driver side window. Vento has one touch up/down on all four doors. Also only the driver side window switch is illuminated at night which makes the other buttons look cheap.

>I really miss the thud sound every time I shut the doors down.

>The new City doesn’t have any rear fog light. It’s not something we miss here in our weather but in some places, it can be a necessity.

>City has a fuel tank capacity of 40L only. Since this petrol engine will not give very high mileage, the range is limited for a long highway trip.

>ORVMs should have been a bit wider. For a car of its size, they are relatively small and don’t cover all the drama behind. Hence, there are blind spots at your 4 & 8 o’clock positions.

[Carpainter]

Now let the pictures do some talking.

Clean profile. Not much has changed here from the last gen


The big chrome grille is a love it or hate it affair.


BMW inspired shark fin antenna and twin tail-lamps are segment first and the design highlights of the rear.


LED lamps or detailing treatment like the Vento could have added more character to it


Notice the curves on her waist


ORVMs are a tad smaller in size


Blinkers on the ORVMs are not protruding, hence, they are not broken yet by the everyday kisses they receive from bikers/on-coming traffic


Rear parcel tray is placed abnormally high and that makes reversing difficult. Also the beige colour of the parcel tray makes lot of reflection on the rear windscreen in broad daylight


Excellent OEM audio with good sound quality and connectivity. Though the touch screen was not offered when I bought the car. Now it comes in VX variant only. This along with the touch screen ACC makes the centre console look modern


Clean instrument cluster. The MID adjustment lever sticks out like a sore thumb


Boring looking alloys. I hope you can see the Primacy 3STs from the picture


Accessories fitted and works done so far:

Apart from the tyre change, I’ve gone for underbody anti-rust treatment, 3M Teflon paint protection, installed rear parking sensors, door and bumper corner protectors and art-leather seat covers.


I installed 3d mats and they fit well






I took some pictures with my mobile phone. They are not the best quality. So please excuse me for the inconvenience.

That moment when I reached 2k kms milestone.


Feather touch climate control unit.


ORVM control switches are placed on the dashboard instead of doorpad


Seat covers installed



Notice the high rear parcel tray and its reflection on the rear windscreen


Uncovered screws on a million rupee car

[Carpainter]

Issues so far:

I have this third gear vibration problem since the beginning. In third gear if you let go of the clutch, brake and accelerator pedal, the gear lever starts to vibrate irrespective of what rpm I’m running in. Some bhpians suggested this could be a gear synchronizer problem and advised me to change is asap. I explained the same to the service guys during my first and second service. They acknowledge the fact but they say that this is common in petrol City and that they have not received any product related recall from Honda for this problem. Every time I ask them, they say they will talk to Honda and will advise me accordingly but haven’t heard anything from them yet. I can’t seem to find any contact info so that I can complain to Honda directly. All their emails redirect to the local dealer only. If anybody here has any mail address, please share the same.

Verdict

It’s a decent car for its price. Seats are comfortable. Space inside is amongst the best in the segment. Petrol engine is powerful and a bliss to drive. It is the suspension that spoils the fun. Ride quality over broken road is a weak point of the car. If you live on an autobahn or you drive daily on the Nürburgring, this car will put a smile on your face but on our kind of roads, you can’t enjoy the drivabilty of this petrol motor. And then the build quality which is not so great. Car body is made of thin sheet metal, paint quality could have been better, some plastic parts on the dashboard look cheap, some uncovered bolts and joints make it look like a budget car. It also has some niceties and safety features (ESP, more Airbags etc.) missing from the Indian variant. But then every car has some weak points.

Interestingly, this car can serve both types of customers. Those who like to take the wheel will love the sweet petrol engine for its grunt and power and those who want to take the back seat will love the comfort and space inside.

Overall it’s a very good package and I think with future upgrades, Honda will make it even better. Till then, if you’re looking for a comfortable family sedan that has low maintenance cost and respectable resale value, this car should be on your wishlist.

I'll update this thread as and when necessary.

Thanks for reading,

Carpainter

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[RJ411]

Congratulations on your new acquisition Carpainter.
The car looks gorgeous in this color and your photos make it even better.
Any reasons for not considering Ciaz which comes closer to City in terms of cabin space.

[atulsian]

Congratulations Carpainter on your new ride.Wish you many happy miles ahead.

Its very dissapointing to see Honda going down on quality. I wish someone from Honda sees the reviews posted here and do the needful. Hyundai Verna is best in this segment when it comes to quality, fit and finish.

[Carpainter]

Originally Posted by RJ411

Congratulations on your new acquisition Carpainter.
The car looks gorgeous in this color and your photos make it even better.
Any reasons for not considering Ciaz which comes closer to City in terms of cabin space.

Thanks a lot RJ. We did give Ciaz a visit in a Maruti showroom. What I don't like in Ciaz is that the car is not driver oriented. It's basically designed for chauffeur driven buyers. Yes, the space inside is similar to that of City if not better but overall the neutral design didn't appeal to me. Add to that the petrol engine which is no match for i-VTEC.

Originally Posted by atulsian

Congratulations Carpainter on your new ride.Wish you many happy miles ahead.

Thank you very much atulsian

Hyundai Verna is best in this segment when it comes to quality, fit and finish.

As far as fit and finish is concerned, I think Vento/Rapid takes the crown in this segment.

[Tushar]

Congratulations on your new ride Carpainter. The Team-BHP official review was insanely detailed as it is and you have brought in some more strong insight for prospective buyers.

Originally Posted by Carpainter

Issues so far:

I have this third gear vibration problem since the beginning. In third gear if you let go of the clutch, brake and accelerator pedal, the gear lever starts to vibrate irrespective of what rpm I’m running in. Some bhpians suggested this could be a gear synchronizer problem and advised me to change is asap. I explained the same to the service guys during my first and second service. They acknowledge the fact but they say that this is common in petrol City and that they have not received any product related recall from Honda for this problem.

I haven't checked as to exactly when that vibration kicks in, but it's something I've noticed on my 4 year old Jazz as well. It's very mild and I can't even notice it 90% of the time, so haven't faced any issues because of it. Please do update the thread if you have any luck in finding out what causes it.

Thanks!

[Carpainter]

Originally Posted by Tushar

Please do update the thread if you have any luck in finding out what causes it.

Thanks Tushar for the compliment. When I first reported the issue in my first service, my service adviser inspected the car but he said mechanically there is nothing abnormal in the car. He said the same issue is there in other vtecs as well. It's only that some cars have a very low vibration which is kind of negligible and the owners may not even notice while some cars have a profound judder. Only good thing is it doesn't affect the performance of the car. I hope Honda will look into the matter sooner than later. Will keep you updated with the proceedings.

[we_pull]

Congratulation!! The car looks fantastic.

Do you have any more updates over the last three months. Also, could you please tell me a bit more on the seat covers - which company, price, and your experience with them? Thanks.

[srideep233]

Thanks Carpainter for sharing in-depth information.

I too had same question as we_pull on seat covers .. appreciate it if you could kindly share the details.

Also a couple of more questions:

1. Why parking sensors if there's already a reversing camera in place?
2. Any servicing details you could share with us?
3. Any impact of your tire upsize on warranty? What was the net cost?
4. Some folks opt for paint sealant, and some for teflon coating. Any info on difference between the two?

Thanks,

srideep233.

[vinit]

Congratulations Carpainter on the New Honda City..

BTW, did you consider / test drove, the Fiat Linea TJet as an option ?

[grevvity]

Congratulation Carpainter for the beauty. This shade looks stunning and suits the overall character of the car.

Originally Posted by Carpainter

When I first reported the issue in my first service, my service adviser inspected the car but he said mechanically there is nothing abnormal in the car. He said the same issue is there in other vtecs as well. It's only that some cars have a very low vibration which is kind of negligible and the owners may not even notice while some cars have a profound judder.

You can ask your SA to show the similar vibration on other vtecs at the service center. I cannot digest the reasoning that some cars has got more vibration than others. It has to be same in all of them and if not, then you can demand for a through inspection to identify the root cause.

[Carpainter]

Originally Posted by srideep233

Thanks Carpainter for sharing in-depth information.

I too had same question as we_pull on seat covers .. appreciate it if you could kindly share the details.

Also a couple of more questions:

1. Why parking sensors if there's already a reversing camera in place?
Ans. Actually I had parking sensors installed in my previous car and I got so accustomed to it that I had to install it. I believe the sonic beeps help you more than the camera feed you get while reversing. Moreover, sometimes when it's raining, the camera goes blur due to water droplets pouring on it but sensors usually do the job just fine.

2. Any servicing details you could share with us?

Ans. All three free services have been completed. First two were totally free and the third one with oil change cost somewhere around 3300/-. Pretty reasonable I must say. Only problem is service interval after every 6 months which may not be convenient for everyone.

3. Any impact of your tire upsize on warranty? What was the net cost?

Ans. None that I know of. No service personnel have ever told me about anything yet. I guess these car makers don't give warranty on suspension work citing it as normal wear and tear. I exchanged my old tyres with these new ones for around 12k net.
4. Some folks opt for paint sealant, and some for teflon coating. Any info on difference between the two?

Ans. Even I don't have much idea about the difference. Problem is we don't have any dedicated 3M outlet here in Kolkata. So you're at the mercy of those accessories dealers.

Originally Posted by vinit

Congratulations Carpainter on the New Honda City..

BTW, did you consider / test drove, the Fiat Linea TJet as an option ?

I didn't go for the Linea because I don't like the looks of the refresh model and the length is a bit long for my liking. I can share one experience here. While I was at a garage to install my parking sensors, there came a brand new linea to install some electricals. Those guys opened the door pad of a door and there was a lot of rusting totally unexpected from a new car. The owner got so disappointed seeing this. That car must have been lying at dealer garage for long. These are reasons why people don't trust Fiat anymore.

Originally Posted by grevvity

Congratulation Carpainter for the beauty. This shade looks stunning and suits the overall character of the car.



You can ask your SA to show the similar vibration on other vtecs at the service center. I cannot digest the reasoning that some cars has got more vibration than others. It has to be same in all of them and if not, then you can demand for a through inspection to identify the root cause.

I complained about this issue repeatedly in all my visits to the service and in third service they said they have done some work I don't know what. Since then the vibration is not as severe as it was before but it's still there. Yes not as irritating as before but not totally resolved. Will see for next few months and then I'll raise my voice again in my next service.