[Auto_Fan]

After a detailed discussion on TBHP regarding whether to by ANHC, T-JET, or Civic; I ended up buying the ANHC on 4th of Apr 2011

I drove the car for about 300+ Kms during last 2 weeks or so. This review are more of "initial impressions" of the car rather than a true "review"

Delivery Process
The salesperson called on 3rd April and requested us to be at their showroom by 9:30am. I, along with my family went at around 9:45. They had at least 35+ ANHC, all of them spanking new, parked in the service center ready for the delivery, just behind the showroom. The salesperson had provided me the registration # on 3rd itself, so it was easy for me go directly to “my” car! The odo at the time of delivery read “6 km”.

The delivery process was smooth. Sales person was available and spent the complete time with us until we drove off the showroom. Snacks and drinks were offered. Did the “Pooja”, broke the coconut. We had taken sweets with us – distributed to everyone. Gave a token gift for the salesperson.
All papers, accessories, free gift (cricket bat!) – everything – was in order. Finally the showroom folks clicked one snap of all of us with the car, quickly made a hard copy, put it in the frame and handed over to us before we drove off – nice!
Overall, 9.5/10 to Crystal Honda for the delivery.

During delivery -



My impressions so far
- The car is ultra silent when it is idling. Hard to find out unless you look at the tacho. The engine refinement is top notch. What a gem of an engine is this! Whoever likes “free revving petrol” will surely like this engine

- Gear ratios and overall engine power makes is ideal for city driving as well as for highway. I can easily keep going in 3rd gear from 20kmph to 50 kmph. I’m sure it will go even beyond that, I just haven’t done it considering the run-in period. My “highway” driving is currently limited to Mumbai bypass, so take the comment with a pinch of salt

- Sleek gear shift

- Love the music system. It’s nice according to my standard, and I’m sure that it is nice from most of users’ point of view

- The car does not autolock – I don’t know if this is a feature, or I need to somehow enable this. But if this is a feature, then I hate this

- Very good overall visibility, except while backing off

- Nice AC. I still think that ACC would have been better, but AC does it’s job pretty well. Will have more comments when I drive the car in Pune’s real summer – May – that is the ultimate test

- Space – do I need to say more? Lots of space everywhere!

- I’m surprised, but it is still a head turner. We have so many ANHC in Pune (even in my own apartment complex), even then I get those looks, questions about “name of the color”, “kiti la padali” (how much did you pay), from folks I don’t even know

- Can’t comment much on handling – I have not pushed it to the extent that I will know how it handles. However the ride quality isn’t great. I knew this from the beginning, but I get that reminder every time I take her out

- Whenever I switch on the AC, I hear a small sound of a fan or compressor for some time. Then it switches itself OFF, and then ON again after some time, and this continues. Don’t know what this is. My guess is that this either radiator fan or compressor sound. I don’t know whether anyone can “hear” AC compressor running, though. When this sound is ON, the headlight will dim a little bit (quite noticeable during the switch)

- Low beam of headlight is quite OK for me. The high beam is quite weak. Need to do something about this. I don’t want to upgrade the bulbs to the sorts which, even on low beam, dazzle eyes of the oncoming traffic

- The quality of plastic, especially near the hand brake, center console, and glove box area isn’t great. Doesn’t really bother me, but it is apparent even if someone is not keen

- Dashboard reflection – The dashboard reflection in bright sunlight is almost blinding. Especially where you have lot of trees on road; the car speed, sunlight, intermittent tree shadows make things worse. I also think that the dashboard is little too shiny than it should be. I think the dealer must have used some kind of polish for the shining during delivery. Not sure if the dash reflection is a common occurrence in ANHC. Wondering how to make shine from the dash go away


Overall, I'm very happy with the car. If there is one thing that I really don't like, then it's bumpy ride. Apart from that, I have absolutely no complaints.

For now, That's all.

Pictures -

[bluevolt]

Let Me Be the First to Wish You for your new car. Congratulations autofan for your Honda City. Being the owner of this car for around five months, I can say the car will never turn you down. Please add some pictures as I am not able to see them, may be something went wrong while uploading (make sure pics are less than 1 MB). Please keep the thread updated with service updates and pictures. Congrats once again and ride safe.

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- The car does not autolock – I don’t know if this is a feature, or I need to somehow enable this. But if this is a feature, then I hate this

Yes, it doesn't have auto-lock feature, you have to manually lock the driver door and every other thing will lock.

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- Whenever I switch on the AC, I hear a small sound of a fan or compressor for some time. Then it switches itself OFF, and then ON again after some time, and this continues. Don’t know what this is. My guess is that this either radiator fan or compressor sound. I don’t know whether anyone can “hear” AC compressor running, though. When this sound is ON, the headlight will dim a little bit (quite noticeable during the switch)

This is the sound of two radiator fans switching on along with compressor when AC is on. They keep turning off and on when desired temperature is reached. And yes the light do dim a little bit when AC is switched on and it’s normal.

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

-Wondering how to make shine from the dash go away

This was same with my car also. Use a dry cotton cloth and rub the dashboard. If it doesn’t go with fry cloth then use a damp cloth.

[Naparajito]

Congrats!!! City is a very good car. Please post some pics too!!
Happy motoring.

[Jidousha]

Congratulations Auto_fan,
Wishing you miles of safe and happy journey.
What tires and battery did you get along with the car?
The pictures are not uploaded, please go through the uploading procedure, you need to resize them before uploading to meet the size limitations.
The dash board will become its normal shine during the normal use, you can wait and watch.
Otherwise you may consider some dashboard spreads that are available in the after market.

[RemingtonSteele]

@Autofan: Nice short crisp writeup.
Sorry not able to see your pics :-( Please do check if your pics are heavy oversize above 1 MB.

About the bumpy ride.
ANHC ride is not that bad n' bumpy which you refering about. Firstly, I think you should check the psi you have it in. The showroom inflated cars are normally over inflated by around 10+ psi and they are really bumpy in ride.
Secondly it also depends which stock type you get with the car. Michellin XM1 offers the most comfortable ride but the flip side is they are soft rubber compound tend to wear away fast.
Anyway please sort out your pics issue, I am keep to see your ride.

[dot]

Finally the review comes. So much discussions went on in the other thread. Congratulations once more.

Yes, the car is ultra quiet, not just during idling but also during driving.

Looks like AC noise is common in both the City and the Civic.

The handling is not that bad. As @RemingtonSteele says, maybe overpressure is the culprit. A change of shoes might also help.

The pictures seems to have an issue.

[libranof1987]

Congratulations on the ANHC! You will have to post pictures, Sir! By the way, what version is it? And the freebies you got along? (not dealer-specific)

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- The car does not autolock – I don’t know if this is a feature, or I need to somehow enable this. But if this is a feature, then I hate this

Unfortunately, it doesn't. I complain about it too!

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- Very good overall visibility, except while backing off

Simple solution would be the reverse-sensors.

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- Nice AC. I still think that ACC would have been better, but AC does it’s job pretty well. Will have more comments when I drive the car in Pune’s real summer – May – that is the ultimate test

It does well in Gurgaon heat so trust me, Pune summer isn't going to be a problem

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- I’m surprised, but it is still a head turner. We have so many ANHC in Pune (even in my own apartment complex), even then I get those looks, questions about “name of the color”, “kiti la padali” (how much did you pay), from folks I don’t even know

Agreed! Guess the styling is just too good.

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- Can’t comment much on handling – I have not pushed it to the extent that I will know how it handles. However the ride quality isn’t great. I knew this from the beginning, but I get that reminder every time I take her out

Oh, the handling is good! The steering is feather-light. Ride quality, in the sense? I haven't really had much of a problem with it.

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- Whenever I switch on the AC, I hear a small sound of a fan or compressor for some time. Then it switches itself OFF, and then ON again after some time, and this continues. Don’t know what this is. My guess is that this either radiator fan or compressor sound. I don’t know whether anyone can “hear” AC compressor running, though. When this sound is ON, the headlight will dim a little bit (quite noticeable during the switch)

Yep, that is the A/c compressor.

Originally Posted by Auto_Fan

- Low beam of headlight is quite OK for me. The high beam is quite weak. Need to do something about this. I don’t want to upgrade the bulbs to the sorts which, even on low beam, dazzle eyes of the oncoming traffic

Again, the weak headlight is something a lot of people complain about.

I'm surprised you haven't mentioned about the horn - it is one very noticeable disappointment.

Happy driving!

[bluevolt]

Autofan those are awesome snaps , love the color. As I can see from the pictures you are lucky to already have those Michelin shoes with your car. Keep the car under 3K for first 1000 KMs. Any mods planned as yet? I will suggest you to get good sun films as as ANHC has a very large glass area, Sun films will help perform AC much better.

Drive Safe.

[RemingtonSteele]

Hey Dude, your car looks cool. I just love the pic no#5 which best describes the stance/posture of the car.
BTW your seats covers look good. From where did you get those ? and how much did they cost ??

[Ace F355]

@ Auto_Fan:

That is a lovely ANHC. Congrats and enjoy your new car. Having seen UT color on Civic in the States, I know this color looks really nice in person than in snaps. Wish you thousands of happy miles with your Honda.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

I will suggest you to get good sun films as as ANHC has a very large glass area, Sun films will help perform AC much better.

I think he already has sunfilms installed on his car! Seems so from the snaps, at least!

[dot]

Nice choice of location for the photoshoot. Personally I really liked the last photo.

The dashboard doesn't appear too shiny though. Maybe it is the photo.

[libranof1987]

Nice set of photos! The car looks stunning in every colour. So, it is a VMT then.

Slightly OT : Pune has reached the GR series now!

[Ram_NP]

Congratulations Auto_fan. Nice set of picutres.

Did you get seat "V" variant along with Leather seat covers (is it's called LE edition?) or it was insatlled by you separtely?

[mdsaab]

@auto_fan i actually typed out a whole reply yesterday and then my phone battery concked off.
First of all congratulations. Was nice to provide some inputs on your what car thread. And glad that you have finally bought your new city. It is a wise choice indeed and you cant go wrong with it.
Regarding the auto lock feature, speak to honda if it is possible to activate this feature. @wildon has an i20 thread in which i read that the feature can be activayed on the i20.
So maybe the same can be done on the city. I dont have this feature on the civic, but have gotten use to pressing the lock button the minute all the doors are shut. Also since we have a baby i make sure to lock all the power window switches.
I had talen a short state highway drive with a friend of mine. And was seated quite comfortably in the front seat. I didnt notice any reflections off the dashboard. His city is about a year old though or maybe older. Probably the effect of some dashboard polish. Do keep us updated on this.
Wishing you many miles of joyful motoring with your titanium babe.
Drive safe!

[Auto_Fan]

@bluevolt:
Thanks! Good to know that the sound and reflection are known things. I'll try to rub off the polish as much as I can. Guess I will have to live with the no-auto-lock. That's bad.
Thanks for the tip re: run-in. I'm following that. Waiting for 1K to get over. No mods planned so far. I just want to feel and drive the car as is for a while before I start thinking about what needs to be modded (if at all). I got the sun film from the dealer. I'm thinking about putting sun film for the wind shield as well. That is where most of the heat is getting into the car from.

@Naparajito:
Thank you! I have now posted the pictures. Thanks to mods, they are now appearing on the opening thread.

@Jidousha:
Thank you. I don't know about the battery (Amaron IIRC, will double check and update you). I asked for Michelin and got them.

@RemingtonSteele:
Thanks! The pictures are up now. What tyre pressure is recommended?
The seat covers are given free by the dealer. I guess they should be somewhere around 6-7K in open market. They look good, but does not mean they are upmarket or anything. Good for my 6yr old and 2yr old kids.

@dot:
Thanks! The pics are now uploaded. No plan to change the shoes as of now. Will see later if I continue to have issues with ride quality.
You are right, the dash doesn't appear shiny in picture. In reality, it is.

@libranof1987:
Thank you. There was issue with picture posting that is now sorted out.
It is VMT. I got 3M sunflim and art leather seats from the dealer.
Ride quality is really the "bumpy ride". But as others have noted, probably I have to check the tyre pressure.
About the horn, I actually find it pretty loud from inside. I don't know if it is weak outside. Will know in course of time.
By the way, Pune is now past GR. I can see GV, GW series.

@Ace_F355:
Thank you for your comments. Correct, the sunfilms are already installed.

@Ram_NP:
Thanks Ram. No, I just got the normal VMT and dealer gave me leather seats for free.

@mdsaab:
Thanks a lot. I'll check with the dealer for enabling the auto lock. My guess is that even I will get used to locking it on my own after a while.

Thanks everyone for your wishes and inputs/comments.