Two years with my Honda City petrol MT: 11 likes & 5 dislikes

The car is just great in the city but comes alive on the highways. You only come to understand the real power of the 1.5 Ivtec when you take this beauty out on the highway.

BHPian ashwinpalkar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

On one fine late evening we were driving on the Hebbal highway and I popped a curious question to my wife “Honda dekhna hai kya? City?” Hina gave me a look. Didn’t we decide that we won’t go for a Sedan again? But of course she is not the one to stick to her words and neither I. We took a U-turn and headed to the showroom to take a spin. We saw the new City in flesh and Oh boy! It looked stunning! The DRLs, the long stance, headlights and the red colour. I think both of us were thinking the same thing. We convinced the manager to give us a test drive since it was pretty late in the evening and usually most showrooms do not allow test drives after dark.

The Test Drive (Read the game changing drive):

We sat in the car and as always my wife took the passenger seat beside me leaving the sales guy clueless and sad. We could see how eager he was for a sales pitch while on a TD.
The test drive was in the Automatic ZX variant and it had leather seats and boy this was our first taste of luxury sitting in an executive sedan with seats so delicious. We were half sold on the comfort level itself.

Keys tucked away in one of those cup holders, pressed the clutch, ignition on and boy! The Ivtec just woke up but was silent as hell. You knew there is a storm coming. As I accelerated my way out of the showroom slowly the sporty sound from the engine bought a wide smile. We looked at each other and revved past the signal. This car was nothing like we had imagined. It was impeccable from the get go, comfortable and well made leather seats, planted ride with that beautiful sporty sound from the engine. We came back to the showroom took the price list and discussed the different variants that were on offer. I must say both of us were mighty impressed by the fact that even the base variant had so many good features. We were all hail about how Honda is thinking differently etc. Safety was our top priority and the base model had 4 airbags, traction control, VSM, Esp, you name it.

Back into our Dzire and we could immediately notice the differences. Safe to say with the city, we now had a strong contender and challenger to the many compact Suv/s and Suv/s we tested. We got back to the table the next day and started to finalise our shortlists. We were laughing and being laughed at by our neighbours for going back on our words as we narrated to them our experience with the new Honda City. But, truth be told the Honda City was an unbeatable top choice. The only thing going against it was the ground clearance. We compared this to our existing Dzire which also had a similar GC and we thought we haven’t scratched the car even once so I think we should be good with the City too. (Little did we know about the soft suspensions would actually mock the GC on paper).

With Nexon, Jeep Compass, Duster, Creta and Seltos out we now only had to choose between XUV 300 and Honda City. We called both vehicles for test again to our homes and to also show it around to family and friends. Everyone instantly liked the boxy design of the XUV300 but, we all agreed that the boot space on offer was way to small. Next stop was Honda City. The test drive vehicle was an Automatic and the long wheelbase was immediately liked by parents. Monster of a legroom space in the rear, big comfy seats and we could sit 3 behind somewhat comfortably. It was better than most cars we tested and our existing Dzire as well. Boot space was LARGE and could gulp down luggages for 5 pax easily. The test drive was great too. We were allowed to take a longer drive and with 5 people on. The engine revved and roared with those sporty notes and that sealed the deal for me. I wanted to experience the IVTEC for a lonnnnng time now and this was it!

The nods:

Family sat down for a discussion, neighbours sat down for a discussion and everyone unanimously voted for the City. The next few days were spent scouting for best offers and availability check. We wanted to go for the manual base variant and pricing offered was competitive across all dealers that we spoke to. Everyone promised delivery in 15 days. I happen to consult a neighbour in our society who had just bought a Honda City 5G automatic and he suggested me to talk to Whitefield Honda as he was able to get a massive 90-1L discount on the 2020 manufactured model. (Yes, We were already in 2021 now) I rang up the executive of Whitefiled Honda, scheduled an appointment to check out the red Honda city V Manual that he had in stock. They had got the car at the showroom for us to visit and check.

There she was. She was looking beautiful in red. I don’t think any other colour brings out the flamboyance of the Honda City:

The front is just so drool worthy.

The tail lamps remind me of a Bimmer.

The beautiful 1.5L IVTEC.

We checked the car thoroughly inside out and gave us our nod. Finalised the pricing and went home after booking the car. I think we made a great choice!

The following week we got all the payments and registration done and the showroom confirmed the delivery date. Meanwhile we sold our Dzire to Spinny. We were decently happy with the price they offered considering it was a MH registered car. The other dealers were seemed to just not value a well maintained car. Anyways, Spinny transferred the money instantly and there she drove away leaving behind many beautiful memories.

The D Day:

We checked the car thoroughly inside out and gave us our nod. FinalizedWe reached Whitefiled Honda by 11:30. I and my wife could not control our happiness and it was visible on our faces as the auto took the final U-turn for the showroom. We were greeted by our executive Mr. Lohith, who had been extremely cordial and well mannered throughout the entire process. Our car was getting ready and we could not resist but get behind the wheel as soon as possible. I finished the documentation formalities and headed to do a small pooja at the showroom. Distributed the ladoos to the staff and we sat down one final time for an onboarding session of the car and also the Honda Connect app. I was least interested and nodded my head at everything. I was just wanting to get out of the showroom with the car.

• Pooja done.
• Documentation done.
• Sweets done.
• All that jazz and app done.

Dad flagged off by flooring a coconut and vroom! We drove out with our red beauty. The drive was fantastic. The gear shifts were smooth and the clutch was extremely light. It was so easy that I never felt like I was driving a manual. We reached home and after our lunch I and the wifey went for a spin. The sporty sound of the engine every time I revved it was making me fall in love with her over and over again.

Ownership review:

The car is just great in the city but comes alive on the highways. You only come to understand the real power of the 1.5 Ivtec when you take this beauty out on the highway. We nicknamed it Makhanu since it’s so comfortable and drives just like a makhan on the highways.

Driving in the city is great but, It’s a long car so I had to get use to the length of it. However, it did not take me my much time getting used to it. What took time though was taking her down my office basement. I spent few weeks trying to find hacks and ways to understand the curve of the basement and once I figured that it was a cakewalk. The manual is easy and fun to drive motor. Clutch is light and it doesn’t stresses you out. Somehow I never felt tired driving this manual. Gear shifts are smooth and easy to slot and they are matched perfectly well to the engine.

What I love about my Honda City:

• Looks -Especially the long bonnet line (Almost looks like a Beamer from the side and behind).
• Headlight design - even the base variant’s headlight layout looks elegant.
• Tail light - the look gorgeous at night.
• Suspension - Comfortable as hell. Doesn’t let you feel the potholes. At all. Period.
• Cabin looks and is spacious by all means.
• Driver seat is very comfortable and so are the rear seats. (I did Blr-Goa without getting feeling tired).
• Boot space - one of the largest in the segment.
• Safety features in the base model.
• 1.5 Ivtec - Jitna bole utna kam hai ye engine ke liye. Beautifully tuned and effortless pickup.
• Planted on the highway with two people. Gets a little bit bouncy for the rear passengers though only at higher speeds.
• Air Conditioning - The AC is one of the best in the segment. It cools down the cabin pretty quickly and in the evening it feels like an iglooo. However the rear ac is just about okay but since the performance of the main ac is great it doesn’t bother so much in the rear.

What I don’t:

• Ground clearance - I haven’t scratched the surface much but I cannot take her out of the city on unpredictable roads because of the low ground clearance. There have been enough instances where we had to think thrice before venturing into an uneven (ubad khabad) road.
• Below average ICE: The touch screen panel is weirdly positioned and it’s not one of the best when it comes to the placement. It’s catches a lot of sunlight which makes it difficult to view it at times.
• It’s slow and basic and the touch screen is just about okay. Speakers are okayish and lacks base. The car doesn’t come with a subwoofer or tweeters so you only have those 4 speakers trying the level best to give you a decent sound quality (5/10).
• Turning radius on hills - the major reason I don’t take the city to the hills because of its long bonnet line. It was a nightmare for me to drive upto ooty from Masinagudi. I literally was shaking as I could not judge the turn on the hairpins. (I came down halfway after reaching the checkpost. Just did not have the guts to go up further).
• Engine power on hills - I feel this engine is best suited for highways and city runs. I fell powerless on steep inclines and there were time I felt the engine would stall midway. Maybe I am not the greatest drivers on the hills but I really did not feel confident in the city while driving on steep inclines. (My 1.2L Ford Freestyle fared much better).
• Build quality - While it had all the electronic safety features. After driving for a year I felt the car was pretty light in it’s weight. The sheets were also just about better than Maruti but I could dent it if I hit with my fist.

Issues:

I did not face any issue whatsoever during the two years of ownership. It’s reliable and a fantastic car for the city and the highway runs (at least for me). I am yet to do my 20k service and probably will skip it since I am close to seeing her off soon.

Verdict and what’s next:

The city is a fantastic car for someone who is looking to upgrade from a hatchback or a compact sedan. It’s a great car to have if your majority runs are in the city and highways. If you look for comfort over gadgets this car is meant for you and If you truly like revving the engine the Honda City won’t disappoint you either. It’s sporty, it’s fun and it is a practical family car.

Some more pictures of our beloved Makhanu the pricing and went home after booking the car. I think we made a great choice!

We are close to finalising our yet another car and I shall keep y’all updated about our adventure. 
This time we are seriously considering buying a pre-worshiped car which ticks all our boxes as mentioned earlier and I really hope we are not disappointed.

Until then, I hope you have enjoyed my debut ownership review writeup. I’d love to hear you guys out and really looking forward to your suggestions.

On the side note: I am from Bangalore and I’d love to connect with fellow teambhp members for those weekly drive out and Sunday morning breakfast drives. Please feel free to HMU.

Cheers,

Ashwin

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