[fordfreak]

Background:-

I didn’t want to buy a new car for the time being, but my Dad and I had been going back and forth on this topic for quite some time. He wanted to sell our 2004 Toyota Corolla and replace it with something new.

Having owned the Corolla since new, I had grown extremely attached to it. Moreover it worked fine, so I wasn’t so keen on letting it go. Apart from the usual squeaks expected out of a 12 year old car, it was bullet-proof. Eventually though, we agreed to sell the Corolla and get a new car.

I put the Corolla up on OLX and managed to find a buyer. He drove the car and loved it, and he offered me a fair price. Though I would have been happy with a bit more (wouldn’t we all), I was happy it was going to a person who would take care of it. We are currently in the process of completing the paperwork and payments, so that he can take delivery of the car.

After an amazing 12 years, it is very hard to say goodbye


Shortlisting the candidates

Our criteria were fairly simple regarding what we wanted out of a car.
Since our annual usage was around 8,000 – 8,500 kilometers, it didn’t make sense opting for a diesel. Also, since Dad was not comfortable driving an automatic, the car had to have a manual transmission. I mostly like to drive myself, while Dad prefers the rear seat; therefore the car had to have a good fun-comfort balance. Fuel economy wasn’t our highest priority, but at the same time we didn’t want a gas guzzler.

All of our cars are driven almost 99% of the times with the AC switched on. The pollution, dust and noise on the streets are something I hate. Moreover it helps keeping the interiors relatively clean. So a strong AC was a must! Since my parents would be rear seat passengers most of the time, the comfort and legroom would be a very important factor that needed their approval. Also, if the car was available with rear-AC vents, it would be a nice.

Our cars are used mostly within the city, with 4 – 5 airport runs every month and an occasional highway trip when I travel on work. Since my work has started taking me to places where the roads are bad/non-existent, we were considering opting for an SUV. However with a big SUV, parking would be a massive headache in a congested city like Kolkata. Also, since I have been using our Altis for work travel, I have found that it can handle high bumps, bad road, etc., very well! So an SUV was ruled out and we decided to stick with a sedan.

The options considered were as mentioned below:-

• Maruti Ciaz – Nice car. Didn’t take a test drive, but read a number of reviews on T-BHP. Safe car to opt for, but Dad was a little less inclined towards the Maruti badge. Hence, this was ruled out.

• Hyundai Verna – I didn’t like the updated Verna much. The older version looked more aggressive. I had driven this when the Verna was first launched and found it to be too light. Ruled out since it is due for a generation change.

• Volkswagen Vento & Volkswagen Jetta – Both are great cars, but the Vento is a dinosaur and the Jetta looks exactly like my Passat. Since I already own a Passat (which I really love), I am well aware of the headaches of dealing with OSL Exclusive. I am NEVER buying another Volkswagen in Kolkata, unless another dealer comes up.

• Toyota Corolla – Very nice car! I drove my friend’s new Corolla and loved it. However, since I was going to opt for the top-end variant, I found it to be overpriced and missing a number of features that I would want at that price point. A tad bit disappointed since I have owned both previous generations of the Corolla (2004 & 2010) and loved them to bits.

• Honda City – Love this car. Period. Test drove the diesel and found the engine to be ok-ok, but loved every other thing about the car. On a negative note, Honda quality has definitely taken a dip in recent years. That being said, I didn’t see it that worrying that I would totally write off the City.

• Skoda Octavia – Never owned a Skoda before, but having read/heard the number of horror stories; that was enough to scare me away. My friend owns an Octavia and likes it, but I wasn’t sure if I would want to gamble with the infamous Skoda service.

Test Drive & Booking

After going over our options, we chose the Honda City. It wasn’t a hard decision since it was the car we were most comfortable with, and it ticked all the correct boxes for our requirements. We have been associated with the Honda City since 1998. We have owned all the generations (1998, 2004 and 2010) till date and have always been very satisfied.

Our next step was choosing which dealer to buy from. There are 3 Honda dealers in Kolkata (Pinnacle Honda, Eastern Honda and Shree Honda). A couple of my friends’ who bought from Eastern Honda (a Brio and a City) were very unhappy, so I ruled them out. Shree Honda is decent from what I have heard, but their location was too far to consider them. Windsor Honda, from whom we had bought our first two Citys’ had shut shop long ago. That left us with Pinnacle Honda.

Since we bought our last City from Pinnacle Honda, we knew them well and were happy with the service we have been getting. I called them up to book a test drive. The SA (Prosenjit) turned up on time.

Unfortunately, he was not able to bring a petrol City since that car didn’t have a registration plate yet. Dealers’ in Kolkata are wary of sending cars out on a TC plate nowadays since the police are a bit stricter after the Audi Q7 hit & run case a few months ago.

He had already informed me regarding this before coming, so I was fine with it. I drove the Diesel City and found it to be alright. Not as much fun as my 2010 i-VTEC, but not bad. The interiors of the test drive car were not in the best shape, especially since the car had run a mere 11,000 kilometers. Dad checked out the back seat and drove it to see if he would be comfortable with the car’s size/dimensions. I tried the car and was very comfortable with it too.

Test drive done, we called the SA to our office the following Monday and booked a Petrol City (VX - MT) in Alabaster Silver, on the 18th of January. The booking process was fairly straightforward and smooth. The SA explained each document to me while we filled out all the necessary forms. I prodded him a bit and got him to offer a few things for free since they didn’t have any offers going on for the City. He agreed to provide the floor mats, rear-parking sensors, illuminated door-sill plates, pillows, smell freshener, etc., for free.

I also opted for the extended warranty, bumper to bumper insurance cover (including engine & gearbox protection) and road-side assistance. Since we plan on keeping the car for atleast 6 – 7 years, we chose to pay lifetime tax. Also chose to get the Honda Connect thingy since it seemed pretty useful to keep an eye on my driver.

Forms filled, documents signed, handshakes done; the wait began!

Delivery Experience

Sometime around middle February, my SA called me up to give me the VIN & Engine number of the car that had been allotted to me. A quick check on T-BHP found it to be a Feb - 2016 manufactured car. The delivery date was given for 24th February. I reached the showroom on the date, at 4:30 pm after confirming with the SA.

We sat down and completed the remaining paper work and he then took me to my car. Obviously I was hoping the paperwork and boring stuff gets completed quick so I could finally get to see our new family member!

Love at first sight!

Inspected the car from front to back and found everything to be in order. No scratches or scrapes and the car had 26 kilometers on the ODO. The interiors were dusty and there were a couple of stains I noticed on the door pads. The SA had these cleaned up once I pointed it out to him. However, I had to do a better cleaning job at home since I had missed out a few dirt marks in the dimly lit area of the showroom.

I would rate the overall experience at 7/10. Experience was good, but there is room for improvement in the minor details.

After the SA clicked my picture with the car, I handed the keys over to my driver to take her to the temple. He headed off to fill up the tank and have the car blessed. I headed home in my Passat. Since it had been raining that day, both cars got home looking more brown than silver.

Ownership experience

Drive & Handling:-

Haven’t driven it too much yet, but initial impressions are alright. Since the car is still in the running-in period (200 kilometers on the ODO), I haven’t really pushed the engine at all. It doesn’t feel breathless in city traffic and easily manages to keep up with the flow of traffic. I will take it on the highway only after the ODO crosses 1,000.

The light steering is a boon when maneuvering in the congested city and while parking. For highway speeds, it would have been better had the steering been heavier. My 2010 City instills a sense of confidence even at highway speeds.

One of the things that I love about driving any Honda with a manual transmission, is the feel of using the gearbox. This is no different with my new City. Smooth and precise shifts, with the gears slotting in without any fuss at all. The light clutch doesn’t tire out the left foot in start-stop traffic. Power delivery is smooth in all gears and free from any jerks. No rubber-band effect like I experience in my Altis (in first gear); this is something I really hate.

The car’s dimensions are very easy to get used to for anyone who has driven a sedan before. The only thing I keep worrying about is the long overhanging front bumper chin. I am certain this will get scraped at some point in the car’s life. Approaching the bottom of an incline at the wrong angle will certainly scrape the chin, as I have seen on a friend’s City.

Reversing can be a little harder due to the poor view out of the rear windshield, but is made easier with the rear-view camera which is aided by the (dealer fitted) reversing sensors. However, I am not too happy with the sensors fitted by the dealer. They always seem to indicate that I am always close to an obstacle (continuous beeping). Either that or I just need to get used to the way they work. Will wait and understand the system’s working better before bothering the dealer.

I have read many members here complaining about the skinny stock tyres that the City comes fitted with. I am still not too sure about what I should do (Retain or Replace). I haven’t found any reason to complain yet, but then again, I have only been driving around mostly at city speeds. Any inputs from existing owners would be greatly appreciated.

I haven’t had a chance to really test the car’s brakes in an emergency situation (I hope I don’t have to), but the brakes have enough bite for my liking and bring the car to a standstill in a very normal and sedate manner.


Comfort:-

One of the biggest improvements I have found in my new City (verses my 2010 City), is the seats. The new City’s seats are supremely comfortable. The material used seems alright and the seat as a whole is very well bolstered. It is very easy to find a comfortable position. Personally, I find the seat cushioning to be perfect. Not too soft, neither too firm. It makes the experience of travelling on Kolkata’s crater filled roads a little less tiring. However, the beige leather will be very hard to keep spotless. I wonder if I should have chosen the newly launched black-leather variant.

Front seats – The front seats have a healthy range for adjustment and good legroom for even tall people. The driver side seat is height adjustable, but the mechanism is operated manually. Since I am around 5’8” and the dashboard is pretty high-set, I end up adjusting the seat height close to the highest setting. The arm rest between the front seats, in the new City feels better designed than the previous generation. The old car had it placed too far back to be useful, this has been corrected in the new car. Unfortunately it still doesn’t come with a sliding mechanism. It would have been nice if Honda added this when they introduced the new City.

Rear seats – Since my Dad would mostly be using the rear bench, it had to pass his scrutiny. Adjusting the front seats to my height and comfort, the rear has plenty of legroom for me. The new City has significantly better legroom compared to the previous generation. Having AC vents for the rear passengers is also a big plus in the new car. One of things we love about Honda cars is the flat floor at the rear. The fifth passenger sits much more comfortably.

Coming to the ride comfort of the City, it is a little bumpy at lower speeds, but becomes much better as you go quicker. Though I didn’t feel too much of a difference since I am pretty much used to bouncing along wherever I go; courtesy of the brilliant roads that we have in Kolkata. I wonder how much of a difference will upgrading the tyres make?


Fuel Economy:-

I like it when the instrument cluster glows green to tell you that you are driving economically. I found this pretty useful and I adjust my gear-changes according to the lights. These are not distracting and are visible in one’s peripheral vision. Since the driver drives the car for most of the day, the fuel economy was showing 5.8 km/l. I do not like his driving style since he tends to drag the car on a high gear at low speed. The reading increases when I drive the car for a while. Still too early to judge the overall efficiency since new engines become more efficient once they have been run-in, if I am not wrong. Will observe how much the economy improves once the engine has been run-in. Since I am not the only one who drives the car, I will have to live with the fact of having poorer mileage as I highly doubt the driver will manage to change his driving style.


Features:-

One of the reasons the City VX won over the Corolla Altis, was the features it comes with (i.e. - the value for money). At this price point, the City VX comes fairly well kitted out. Leather seats, Sunroof, Reversing camera, Electric fold + adjust ORVMs, Bluetooth, AUX & USB slots, Multiple charging points, Climate control, Rear AC vents, etc. The Corolla was missing some of this and was also significantly more expensive.

The AC is extremely effective and cools the cabin within a few minutes. The touch-screen looks nice and is very responsive, but I find it difficult to change the settings while the car is moving. Another annoying thing about the AC control screen is that it is a fingerprint and dust magnet. One has to wipe it down a number of times every day to keep it looking spotless. The vents in the rear direct the air well and manage to keep the passengers cool without any issues. All the vents are easy to direct and can be closed (apart from the center front vents).

The ORVMs cover the action behind fairly well and I love the convenience of being able to open/close & adjust them without opening the windows. I also love the sunroof that the VX variant comes with. It gives the cabin a very bright and airy feel. I feel slightly suffocated in the rear seat if I am being driven with the sunroof cover closed.

Though the VX variant is fairly well kitted, Honda have omitted a couple of features that I would have liked. The seat belts are no longer height adjustable. This was there in the previous generation City, but omitted for the new generation. Some people may find the fixed height of the seat belt uncomfortable. Secondly, the audio system loses the remote control. For owner’s using the back seat frequently, it was very convenient to have this. The City also doesn’t come with audio controls in the rear armrest (like the Civic). If I want to change the station/track or any setting, I will have to bother the person driving. Not good.

However, there is also a welcome addition. The SA told me that all 2016 City’s now come with child-seat mounting points at the rear. This is visible on the parcel tray in the rear. I didn’t see this on a 2014 City VX which is parked next to mine in the building parking. Not that I have kids, but still good to see Honda offering such an option.

Optional Equipment/Freebies - The optional equipment I selected was given to me for free. These consisted of floor-mats, rear parking sensors, illuminated step plate, cushions, and perfume. I didn’t opt for the body-kit or any other similar add-on since I like keeping the car looking stock. I also opted to have the Honda Connect feature installed on my car.

While on paper the concept of Honda Connect is very good, it does need to be improved on a number of fronts. Having all the information about my car (document expiry dates, service history, etc.) at my fingertips is very useful indeed. The interface is also well organized and easy to navigate through. One doesn’t need to connect their car to gain access to the basic points which I described above.

Paying for the dongle or whatever the thing is called, gives the customer access to information such as location of their vehicle, past 10 trip details, idling time, etc. This is useful to keep an eye on chauffeur driven cars, but the data received is not always correct.

The device seems to be very glitch. For example, though my car was parked at home; the app showed my car’s location at a point 3 – 4 kilometers away! This got corrected itself after 2 days. The trip details are depicted accurately sometimes, whereas sometimes the app shows me to be driving through parks, buildings, ponds, etc.! I hope Honda iron out the rough edges in the long run, but overall not a bad thing to have.

Apparently I flew from point A (Green Car) to point B (Red Car)

The app started working after acting weird at the start of the journey

The app shows that my car has been towed once. This has never happened!

I am not aware of any similar alternate products available in the market. Would be grateful if any of the members could suggest any that they know of or have used themselves.


Refinement, Practicality & Overall Quality:-

While it is true that the quality on this generation of the City has taken a slight dip as compared to the previous generation, it is not all that bad. The City still is a very practical and nice car to own. There are places where the car has been improved, but there are also places where the bean-counters have had the final say. For instance, the steering wheel feels good to hold and the quality of the steering-mounted buttons is also good. On the negative side, the door pads seem very flimsy and some of the buttons around the cabin may not last the test of time. I found similar such ups and downs around the cabin.

One of things which I am happy about is the seemingly higher ground clearance. The new City stands higher than the previous generation. I used to scrape a number of bumps while driving my 2010 City. I took the new car out on the same route and was expecting to hear sickening scraping noises when I encountered those speed breakers. Imagine my delight (and relief) when none of that happened!

When it comes to the engine of a car, I blindly trust Toyota and Honda. This seems to be one area where Honda hasn’t cut costs. Smooth and silent as ever, the 1.5 i-VTEC engine is very easy to fall in love with. Honda has made the engine more silent and smooth than what it was earlier. The earlier City was more audible whereas this generation is more silent. Right from starting the car to driving it, one can tell the difference. One thing both engines have in common is the liveliness and energy every time one stomps on the accelerator.

The cabin seems to be better insulated from external noises, as compared to the previous generation model. Road and wind noise are well controlled. I felt my older City to be louder on the move as compared to the new car.


To summarize, I am listing my likes and dislikes thus far.

I like:-

• Inoffensive design

• AC will give you hypothermia

• Features – Sunroof, Rear-AC vents, Leather seats, Auto-Climate Control

• Boot size

• Gearbox is smooooth!

• Engine is quiet and smooth

• Cabin noise is well controlled

• Very practical car

• Honda Connect

I dislike:-

• Bumpy ride at low speeds

• Lacks the solid build quality associated with earlier generations of the City

• Rear visibility

• Long front overhang – the chin will rub at steep approach angles

Thank you for patiently reading! Will click better pictures once time permits.

Cheers!

[emperorofindia]

Congratulations! City is a stunning car. Looks and feels every bit premium. Still the car to beat in it's class.

P. S. You've owned quite a handful of cars. Any performance cars in the pipeline?

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[tejas08]

Congratulations on the purchase of the New City and Innumerable miles ahead to you!

Being an Owner of the same Honda City for over two years & 25K kms now, I wouldn't disagree with majority of your observations, likes & dislikes. But there is one observation which I thought to be strange was this.

Long front overhang – the chin will rub at steep approach angles

This is probably the first time I am seeing this observation for the Honda City. Not sure if I have missed seeing this earlier. Unless the angle is so steep that the rear tyres stay on flat surface and the front tyres on incline, you shouldn't be experiencing such a thing.

Another observation for which I know a couple of people who said completely opposite of this is

The cabin seems to be better insulated from external noises, as compared to the previous generation model. Road and wind noise are well controlled. I felt my older City to be louder on the move as compared to the new car

It's a pity Honda has not yet provided Honda Connect to the older cars.

[saion666]

Congrats on the new buy.

Great to see the 12 year old well maintained Corolla. How did you manage it on Kolkata roads where most autos/buses/rickshaws/yellow cabs have the sole aim in life to scar a scratch less car.

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by emperorofindia

Congratulations! Any performance cars in the pipeline?

Thank you! No plans anything fancy yet, maybe eventually in the future. Given the horrible roads we have here along with the lack of driving sense, I don't think I will be able to enjoy the car to the fullest apart from late at night.

Originally Posted by tejas08

Congratulations on the purchase of the New City and Innumerable miles ahead to you! This is probably the first time I am seeing this observation for the Honda City. It's a pity Honda has not yet provided Honda Connect to the older cars.

Thank you! I had managed to scrape the chin of the TD car while entering the basement parking in my building. So now I take a very different angle of approach when I drive in with my City. I haven't faced another situation yet, but I tend to be overly cautious now. Regarding the cabin noise, I don't know if it's just me, . Let's see if my opinion changes as I put on more miles. Honda Connect is nice, but you aren't missing out too much frankly. It still needs improvement IMHO.

Originally Posted by saion666

Congrats on the new buy.

Great to see the 12 year old well maintained Corolla. How did you manage it on Kolkata roads where most autos/buses/rickshaws/yellow cabs have the sole aim in life to scar a scratch less car.

Thanks! Driving with a cool head does help. I try and stay far from the maniacs (cabs/autos/rickshaws) whenever I am on the road. Unfortunately, the car does pick up dings and dents even if it is parked on the road. So I just bite the bullet and get the bodywork touched up if required. I don't like driving my cars around with even small scratches.

[Dr.Naren]

Congrats buddy!
Honda petrols are high revving and it transforms into a beast above 4000 rpm. I was not happy with low end performance. How do you find it?

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Congrats buddy!
Honda petrols are high revving and it transforms into a beast above 4000 rpm. I was not happy with low end performance. How do you find it?

Thank you!

I haven't revved the engine to high RPMs yet, since it is still in the run-in period. I am expecting it to be as much fun as my other City. The low-end seems adequate to keep up with the city traffic. Don't have any complaints about the power yet. I guess I will be able to judge better once the engine has freed up and I can enjoy it more.

[adi_sun]

Wow ! thats an impressive garage you have. Generations of City(s) and Corolla(s), having owned both Germans and Japs I always swear by the fuss free nature of the Japs, your post kind of reaffirms the belief !
Happy revving.

[AJ-got-BHP]

Hey fordfreak !!

Just came across your thread while browsing through the Forum. Congratulations on your new acquisition !!

Though on one hand, I understand how difficult it must be to do away with the Toyota Corolla which has served you for the past 12 years, on the other hand, the Honda City VX-MT 1.5L iVTEC is a fantastic car and has everything that one needs - specially the Sun Roof !!

Wishing you endless miles on your new ride

I am relatively new to the Forum and haven't seen you in the Team-BHP (Kolkata) Meets as well. We supposedly live in the same city (probably in the same locality as well) so we should definitely plan to catch up sometime soon.

[fordfreak]

Have had the car for just over a month and thus far, I am pretty happy with it. Got a few updates to share, so just putting these up for now. Learning more and more about the smaller details as I drive it more.


First Service (1-month/1,000 km):-

After completing the first month of usage, I got the first free service done on the 31st of March, with 600 kilometers on the ODO. The car had not been used at all for the whole of last week since I had been travelling on work (used the Altis on the highway and covered a total of around 1,300 kilometers last week).

The service experience was at the usual standard that I have experienced at Pinnacle Honda, and I had no reason to complain. While fixing the appointment, I had told them to look into a slight squeak that I had been hearing every time I applied the brakes. Apart from this, the illuminated step-plate still hadn't been fixed after a month of ownership since they hadn't got it in stock.

I sent the car to the workshop with the driver at the fixed time. The work was carried out as requested and the car returned in a timely manner without any fuss. The car was clean and scratch-free, so I had nothing to complain about.

However, the sales executive who sold me the car called me to say they still hadn't received the pending accessory from Honda. He asked me to speak with his senior and request him to look into the matter. The person I spoke with was apologetic about the delay and assured me that he will get this rectified. He said that he would be able to give me an approximate time-frame after the 5th of April, since Honda still haven't sent them the part and it wasn't showing in the system even though they had ordered it. I will be calling him tomorrow to check on the status of the same. Let's hope I don't have to wait too much longer.

The brakes still seem to be squeaking on & off. I haven't noticed a pattern for this issue yet. Will drive the car more and see if it goes away. Has anyone on the forum experienced anything like this?


First Scratch:-

I guess it had to happen sometime. Given that the driver drives the car 80% of the time and that too in a place as congested like Kolkata. I have a gut feeling he nudged something and is scared to own up since the car is brand new. The other possibility was that someone hit it while it was parked at home. I asked the security to check the CCTV tapes only to find that the camera facing my car was out of order. Since I don't have any concrete evidence, I can only curse my luck and move on.

Thankfully it is only a small scratch and isn't very noticeable. I will live with it for now and get it properly fixed at a later stage if necessary. I was in for a small surprise when I saw the car after it had returned from servicing. The guys at the Honda workshop seem to have touched up the black marks on the damage area with a bit of paint without me even telling them to! Wow!! Though it is not a perfect job, it masks the scratch well enough. How is that for customer service?!


After-market Accessories:-

I like to keep my cars as stock as possible, but I don't mind a few subtle things.

Got proper rubber foot mats put in to help keep the carpet underneath as clean as possible. Honda gave us free foot mats with the car, but those are the carpet type and get stained very easily. So technically I have two layers of foot mats in the car now. This hasn't affected the movement of the pedals at all, so I let them be.

Got the stock bulbs changed to HIDs. The stock bulbs were alright, but the new ones are a big improvement. Gives once much more confidence on the road at night, especially helps in spotting pot-holes earlier.

All lights off

Side-lights (stock) and Fog lamps switched on

Low-beam headlights switched on in addition to the above

Dipper switched on in addition to the above

I checked with the dealer before doing this as I didn't want the warranty to get affected in any way.

I love the new car smell (don't we all), but I have taken a strong liking to the 'Petal Crush Pink' flavour of the 'Godrej Aer Twist' smell freshener. Ordered these from Flipkart and have got them in all the four cars now.

I ordered a rubber cover for the key-fob since to keep it in good condition. The shiny surface gets scratched very easily and is not of good quality.

The attached picture is of the spare key which has never been used. Both keys looked like this when I took delivery of the car. The official t-bhp review also pointed out this exact issue. Will post a picture of the cover later.

As of today the ODO stands at 700ish kilometers. Hoping to put on more kilometers over the next few days as I missed driving the City over the last week. Still got another 300 kilometers before I can push the engine properly. Looking forward to VTEC kicking in, Yo!

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

Congratulations on your new acquisition !! Wishing you endless miles on your new ride I am relatively new to the Forum and haven't seen you in the Team-BHP (Kolkata) Meets as well. We supposedly live in the same city (probably in the same locality as well) so we should definitely plan to catch up sometime soon.

Thanks AJ-got-BHP. I had only attended one meet long ago (I think back in December 2012). Would like to be more active on the forum/meets in the future, time permitting. I'll drop you a message, would love to meet up.

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Apart from this, the illuminated step-plate still hadn't been fixed after a month of ownership since they hadn't got it in stock.

Congrats on your new car!
As per my dealer, they have not received the scuff plates from honda in the last two months. They don't have both normal and illuminated plates in stock, when i wanted to get it for my car. He has asked me to wait till end of this week and if they do not receive them by then, he offered me to fix the aftermarket ones purchased by me.

[fordfreak]

I drove the car for quite a while yesterday evening and this morning. Noticed the brakes squeaking at low speeds only (once the speed starts falling below 20 km/hr). Anyone got a clue why this happens?

Unfortunately, my HID bulbs seem to be acting up. The dipper on the right side headlamp assembly seems to have conked off. I had gotten all the lights replaced free of charge since the first set failed in under 24-hours of installation. The shop I have gotten them installed is a reputed and well-known place. I have gotten HID lights fitted to my Altis (2010) and City (2010) from here earlier, without any issues. The set on the Altis lasted till mid-2015 and the set on the City is still working fine.

The person at the shop said that the bulbs are fine, it is just a stock fuse that keeps going (But then why is it that only one bulb isn't working, while the rest are fine?). He suggested fitting a fuse with a slightly higher capacity. I am worried about how this will affect the electrics (he says there won't be any issues). I am clueless about this matter and would appreciate any guidance from members, before I decide what to do. Thank you in advance!

Attaching the pictures of the key-fob cover I bought on Amazon. Cost me Rs 240 including delivery.

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

Congrats on your new car!
As per my dealer, they have not received the scuff plates from honda in the last two months. They don't have both normal and illuminated plates in stock, when i wanted to get it for my car. He has asked me to wait till end of this week and if they do not receive them by then, he offered me to fix the aftermarket ones purchased by me.

Thank you. I spoke to someone in the accessories department at my dealership today. I too was told that they haven't been receiving any accessories for the City for the last two months. I wonder what is the reason for such a delay.

However, she told me that they are expecting the parts to arrive by the end of this month. I guess I will wait and get it done whenever it becomes available.

[fordfreak]

1,000 KM update:-

Finally crossed the much awaited 1,000 KM milestone last Sunday, marking the end of the run-in period. The ODO showed 1,026 KM's, meaning that I had driven exactly 1,000 KM's since taking delivery in February.

Run-in complete, time to enjoy that delicious engine to the fullest! I haven't pushed the engine hard till now since I have been playing around to see how high I can get the fuel economy to go by driving sedately (more on this later). No high revs, no hard accelerations, etc. All that is about to change soon .

Coming back to the updates, I am happy to report that I have not faced any major issues with the car till now.

The only annoyance has been a lose clip falling out from under the driver side dashboard area, which I plan to get rectified during the next service (had posted about this on the Official City Thread). Of course, this is not expected on a 12 Lac+ car.

The HID lights I had fitted were proving to be extremely problematic. The shop where I got the job done has a good reputation and I have never faced issues with their products before. The shop got all the relevant parts replaced free of cost. Hopefully that was a one-off case and now the lights will work properly.

Apart from the two issues above, the experience of owning and driving the City has been exactly like how I had imagined it to be. Fun, stress-free and dependable to be precise. Kolkata's crater covered roads and scorching temperatures have really tested the car's abilities of keeping the occupants comfortable. I have been driving the City quite a bit over the last few weeks to get to know the car's behavior better. The light steering, peppy engine, good all-round visibility make driving in bumper to bumper traffic a breeze. All along, the comfortable seats and efficient AC ensure that I arrive at my destination refreshed.

The engine never feels short of power while crawling or overtaking. A gentle tap on the accelerator peddle is enough to make the car wake up and jump forward. The brakes do a good job in taming the beast and bringing it to a stop on a dime. The handling is also something that I really like about the City. The steering on the new car feels a lot lighter as compared to my 2010 City, but it doesn't feel nervous at higher speeds.

Coming to the interiors, there is little to complain about. It is very easy to find a comfortable driving position and all-round visibility is good. However, the high rear parcel shelf does restrict my view while reversing (but the camera solves that problem). The seats are very soft and some owner's have not been too happy about this. Personally, I found the seats to be comfortable. The ride is a bit bouncy, but the soft seats help keep the passengers comfortable. As for the passengers in the rear, they have plenty of room to stretch out and be comfortable. The fifth passenger will also be very comfy since the floor is almost flat.

With temperatures now hitting 38 - 39 degrees, the AC has been working overtime. The cabin is made ice cool within 5 minutes of switching on the AC on the coldest setting. Even after the car had been parked under the sun for around 2 hours, the AC managed to make the cabin comfortable within 5 - 7 minutes. The AC vents in the rear do a great job of cooling the rear occupants. Infact I find the rear AC to be much more effective in my City, than in my Passat.

The overall package offered by the City makes it an extremely tempting buy. The sales figures speak for themselves.

Fuel Economy - I am curious to know what sort of fuel economy do fellow owner's get from their car. Mine hovers between 8.0 - 8.4 km/l on the dashboard display. I try to drive with a very light foot and keep the instrument cluster glowing green, but I still haven't managed anything higher than 8.7 km/l. My friend also has the very same car + variant, and he too only gets 8.8 km/l as per the MID.

Honda Connect still continues to act moody, but has been been giving better data now. My car seems to be very paranoid, since it keeps thinking that someone is towing it! I wonder what is causing this. Will need to speak to someone at Honda to get this resolved as the dealer isn't too helpful about Honda Connect.

I got this notification after I had parked my car inside the office parking lot

The only thing still left to put on my car are the illuminated step plates. These STILL haven't arrived at the dealership. I wonder what on earth is Honda doing. It seems to be a genuine problem since this is the same story told by most Honda dealers. I have been told to wait till the end of April for the parts to arrive. Let's hope they don't drag this further. Can't fault the dealer since the parts have not been made available by Honda.

[jumanji]

I get 12.5-13.0 kmpl in my V MT (2014 model). I get 17-18 kmpl on highways.