[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by AshOnTheRocks

Fully agree with you..if additional features maketh a new gen car then why have a totally new designed car..plonk more features (say in an amby) & call it newgen..& go around bashing brands who atleast breaks away from the herd mentality & comes out with innovative products..& not feature rich products.

I do not buy the theory in bold here.
If one pays for a product, they expect it to be feature-laden.
If one paid only for innovative products, then it is better to invest in R&D.

I am not saying Honda products are bad, just that if one shells out his money, he expects a return on it in terms of features and reliability, both of which MUL seems to provide.

[GeekSrik]

guys,

i think there is a diversion from the original topic and this is becoming a sx4 vs honda bashing. at the heat of this moment, sx4 has really started to set minds to think what is good and what is not. the question more is that if suzuki a japanese brand can give a car with safety, reasonably good looks and performance, at 8 lacs fully loaded, why cant or why didnt honda give the same years back when they could have set the stage for others to follow. they are also japanese with lots of local content making like mul. so what prevented them?

the argument is that its not the generation gap i m pointing out at all, its about the fact that we have a car decently loaded with all features one can expect in the market at a super pricing level. I strongly believe the honda city GXI should be sold with abs/airbags at 8 lacs OTR so that I may say, now we have two good cars with same refinement levels and gizmos and reasonably same performance at the same price !!

[Vid6639]

hello I'm not talking about the shape. think beyond the design guys. see whats underneath.

The SX4 has the M16 which is a new generation engine meeting the current stringent emission norms. Also more efficient and due to the advancement in technology through R&D the engine delivers more power while meeting norms and probably also have decent FE.

Same goes for the NHC they have engineered the IDSi twin spark engine to make sure the combustion is precise and there is no unburnt fuel. the fuel tank placement gives it a low CG and better weight balance at the same time liberating more space.

New gen is not about performance, sales numbers, looks and features.

And the LED's are a breakthrough they provide more safety. If one fails the others still remain on, they are less glaring to the eye, they take up lesser power, the light is more uniformly distributed.

edit: I agree with geeksrik this is becoming NHC vs SX4 bashing but I guess its ok as the SX4 is aimed at the NHC.

[ballkey]

A curious thing is, the difference in GC between the Vxi and Zxi is 10mm. The Vxi has only 180 mm clearance(according to spec sheet). I've never seen this big a difference, across models of the same car. Anyone knows why? It shouldnt be too much of a stretch to fit 16" tyres to the Vxi right?

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

guys,
the question more is that if suzuki a japanese brand can give a car with safety, reasonably good looks and performance, at 8 lacs fully loaded, why cant or why didnt honda give the same years back when they could have set the stage for others to follow. they are also japanese with lots of local content making like mul. so what prevented them?

Sriky, Honda had the luxury to price as it wants coz Honda City was the only sedan so far that could offer everything - a refined engine, pretty good mileage, decent interiors & looks, Honda reliability etc in one package!
Maruti were forced to price SX4 at par with Honda to grab all the prospective Honda customers, if not for NHC they would definitly priced it much higher & then it would have been a flop show (like what happened to Baleno & how they were forced to lower the price drastically to revive it!).

[Vid6639]

the GC difference is due to the differnt size tyres on the VXi and ZXi.

[GeekSrik]

on lighter thoughts, i wonder how many hundreds of threads have seen the bashing of the OMB when compared to the NHC. looks like maruti has atleast managed to turn a few tables around.

technically i seem to like the shorter turning radius of the nhc compared to the 5.3 of the sx4 and yes, the nvh is a better job on the honda always. as for the "men are back" tagline, it simply sucks. they could have chosen so many other better ones!!

[Equus]

Originally Posted by DCEite

I think City GXi is better compared with SX4 VXi, since the euipment level is similar (although SX4 has way more powerful engine).
So who is going to buy the City GXi now?

Snob value seekers will continue to buy it as NHC is still a premium car in the C-segment.. VFM seekers will opt SX4.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by Equus

Snob value seekers will continue to buy it as NHC is still a premium car in the C-segment.. VFM seekers will opt SX4.

what makes NHC a "premium car" compared to SX4 ? Please enlighten.

[esteem_lover]

Certainly the interiors are better in the NHC, but the features are extraordinary in the SX4.

[Raps]

Hey Guys,

I think this thread is heading from "Test Drive report" to "SX4 vs NHC" , pls be sensible enough of what is this topic for and what are we discussing. If anyone wants to compare NHC and SX4, pls start a new thread.

If there are pics or your first hands on experience of driving SX4, share your experiences, else

Also sorry for this off topic message.

Cheers,
Raps

[GTO]

Another point to consider : If you think Honda was making some $$$ on the NHC, they must have been minting with the OHC. For 9.75 lacs, what did the Vtec give you then? Forget ABS and airbags....there wasnt even a roof moulding! And 9.75 (mumbai price) in 2001 would easily be about 12 - 14 lakhs today (inflation).

So for 14 lakh 2007 rupees.....

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Certainly the interiors are better in the NHC, but the features are extraordinary in the SX4.

hmmm.. So comparatively better (hearsay) interiors, and a price differential of 1.2Lacs, make NHC a "premium car". I see.

Anyways, only time will tell the fate of NHC. I dont think Honda will sit quiet. At the same time, they have very little options. Unless they are willing to take some drastic decisions.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by vid6639

New gen is not about performance, sales numbers, looks and features.

What exactly are you trying to say, buddy ? You say that both NHC & SX4 have state of the art engines, but still only the NHC is new-gen because it happens to have the fuel tank under the seat.
A LED display on the Civic makes it new-gen (some say its a distraction and safety hazard), while providing latest safety features, ICE controls on steering, bigger wheels on the SX4 do not count.

I am not a potential SX4 buyer, but atleast lets have a level playing field. All these years everyone was bashing MUL for not having enough features, or for old engines and so on. Now that they have gone all the way out to even make a Honda look like a rip-off, it does not count? The market will decide whether it is new gen or not. We can just wait and see.

[Equus]

Originally Posted by DCEite

hmmm.. So comparatively better (hearsay) interiors, and a price differential of 1.2Lacs, make NHC a "premium car". I see.

Anyways, only time will tell the fate of NHC. I dont think Honda will sit quiet. At the same time, they have very little options. Unless they are willing to take some drastic decisions.

Think beyond the car.. Isnt the H logo considered divine in India? It is and will always be.. Honda almost never reduce prices giving in to competetion - this will be a tough one. I think they would rather throw in some key missing features for the EXi/GXI like ABS, Alloys, air-bags(?), etc