Upgrading from my Honda Jazz: Get the City or consider other options

I really love driving, however, I am not a pedal to metal kind of driver inside the city for sure.

BHPian Shanks_Jazz recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Dear all,

I am in the process of replacing my existing car and would request your help in choosing an appropriate alternative.

Use case and requirements from the car:

• Primarily to be driven in Mumbai with occasional runs to Pune, Mahabaleshwar and Goa etc. But no requirement of an off-roading vehicle.
• It strictly needs to be an automatic, reliable and warrant as less visits to service center as possible.
• We are a family of 3 (I, Wife and 3 yo Kid) with parents visiting us occasionally. Vehicle will be chauffeur driven on weekdays.
• Yearly running would be around city drives of 9K Kms/ year and highway drives of 3K Kms/year.
• I really love driving, however, I am not a pedal to metal kind of driver inside the city for sure. Although I drive a bit north of triple digits on highways, but I always ensure that the coast is clear for changing lanes and give proper indicators before changing lanes or overtaking, hence, won’t really need a rocket kind of car which squeezes past the smallest possible gaps.
• We have started with a ball park budget of 22-23 Lakhs on road.

Non negotiable requirements:

• 6 airbags, ABS, break Assist , ESP and Traction control etc
• 3 Point Seat belt and TPMS.

Not really fussed or excited about infotainment screen as frankly I would be mostly using only parking camera and maps on the infotainment.

My present drive:

I drive an Aug 2017 Honda Jazz V-CVT. It has been a really fuss free ownership with car behaving exactly the way it is meant to be, slow and steady

Initial test drives:

VW Virtus 1.5 DSG:

• Great car to drive, brilliant gear shifts and safety package. 
• However, reports of niggles like weak AC and others like window motors, along with long terms concerns on the DSG gear box aren’t very comforting.

Hyundai Creta/Kia Seltos 1.5 Petrol DCT:

• Was wowed by features, however, I don’t use the infotainment much and wife didn’t like the space on offer , She actually found the glass area to be a bit less.
• Panoramic sunroof is a really good feature to have though.
• Drive for me was smooth for my taste.

Mahindra XUV 700 D AT (Still in Consideration):

Great Car, good road presence and commanding seating position.

• However, I did not feel really connected to the car while driving. We have still kept in in consideration as it more than fulfills almost all of our requirement except that our mileage do not really warrant a Diesel mill. We can think of stretching our budget a bit as we tend to keep our cars for long.

Note: Shockingly it did not have 3 point seat-belt for the middle seat in 2nd row.

Honda City ZX CVT (Late Wild card Entry):

• Very late entrant to the party as “who buys a City these days”
• Test drive vehicle was just 240Kms driven and was in immaculate condition.
• Loved the ride and wife also found the space and glass area as an upgrade to the Jazz.
• I found the engine nippy to drive in Mumbai traffic and gear shifts to be smooth.
• I anyway like the sedan as a body form to look at and the test vehicle in Blue with some cosmetic changes, over the previous version, was a hoot to look at.
• Has all the basic safety features including 3 point seat-belt, ABS, Traction control and 6 airbags etc. .
• Top end is coming to approx. 19.60 lakhs ex of discounts, I expect around 1.25 lakhs of discount.

Yet to test drive:

Seltos and Verna IVT. I might test drive the Innova Hycross VX Hybrid Auto too, but it might be a bit of stretch although manageable to spend 33 lakhs on a car.

Dilemma:

I liked the  Honda City as a package with brilliant and well proven engine+gearbox combo backed by decent reliability.

What is holding me back:

• What’s that am missing in city which leads it to sell less than 1000 units in a month
• Honda’s future in India.

Request your views please.

Here's what BHPian bijims replied:

The options in the sedan segment are hardly a handful, we have the Honda City, Maruti Ciaz (to be discontinued), VW Virtus, Skoda Slavia and the Hyundai Verna. The Ciaz has been outright neglected by Maruti but still managed to sell more than the City last month, the City albeit a good car has lacked the features or the drivetrain that the competitors possess, the Virtus and Slavia are both drivers' cars with excellent engine and gearbox combos, the Verna is a feature-laden car with good engines as well, the City is neither here nor there, so it falls behind.

Now coming to your car dilemma, do consider the test drive of the Verna DCT as well and not just the IVT, it is a good car and should meet all your requirements. Now if you are willing to stretch towards the Hycross, I would recommend you check out the Maruti Invicto as well, it is a Hycross with a few fewer features but with good discounts as well.

Hope it helps and feel free to DM me if you need any advice!

Here's what BHPian Pratyush2407 replied:

Hi, we were in a similar dilemma last year. Our 4th Gen city had turned 10 and we needed a change.

Originally we had planned to replace it with a XUV700 or Hycross since the need of a 7 seater arose but my grandma has weak knees and with the other two cars of the house being pseudo SUV’s, we needed a sedan.

I test drove the Virtus, Verna and City and have extensively driven all the 5 above.

Ended up picking the City ZX CVT for its seat comfort, comfortable ride (upsized tyres), and long term reliability. Its upholstery was also half a level above the competition. AC is fantastic. Gives anywhere between 10-14 kmpl with the upsized tyres on my 30 odd km daily commute from Parel to BKC. Have also seen 16-17 kmpl on my Mumbai-Pune runs at the same speeds you have mentioned. Drops to 8 kmpl on short runs and bumper to bumper traffic. It’s definitely more stable in the low to mid triple digit speeds than the 4th Gen and a full level quieter (minus the CVT). Dashboard is set low so visibility is amazing (even with seat in its lowest position) which genuinely aids in traffic and parking. ADAS also works well and is not too intrusive unless you are driving aggressively. My sister learned driving in the recent past and always picks the keys of this over the others.

I am also much more comfortable giving a Honda to my chauffeur than a Volkswagen.

It’s exactly what you would expect when you buy a Honda.

But in 2025, it’s just that. The competition feel half a gen ahead with their better sound systems, ventilated/electric seats and a more youthful interior. Not to say the city is bad, but its peers have moved on.

The City, in my opinion, is still the best option in the segment if you value the above traits. But equally, the competition is also really good and are offering features that should be standard. You should go with City only if you are okay to live without them to avoid buyers remorse.

Honda as a brand I think will stay and play the long game. They seem to be financially healthy with their exports and have a planned product pipeline.

OT- If you live in the western suburbs, I will recommend a pseudo SUV. They are a lot more comfortable than any Sedan taking those ruts, speed breakers and potholes on the road that never seem to get fixed. If that’s the case, I highly recommend you test drive the Seltos, Elevate, Taigun and Hyryder.

The XUV/Hycross are fantastic on the Highway and in the City but if you are a family of 3 and are spending 30+ lakhs, I would suggest you take a look at the Tiguan/Tucson.

Happy Shopping!

Parting Shot of my City.

Here's what BHPian car_guy1998 replied:

Even I too am in the same conundrum whether to replace our 2014 Honda City iDTEC, which was bought used in 2017 when the odo was at 35k Kms and driven nearly 160k Kms in 7.5 years (odo reading as of today is 193k Kms), with City CVT or any other car in Petrol AT guise or EV as Diesel is not our cup of tea anymore since the car will be barely driven with me being out of country right now and this will be driven mostly by mom in my absence while dad will drive this occasionally as he has Hycross Hybrid as his daily driver.

While the City still being my favourite despite having Virtus/Slavia and Verna though Virtus is my new favourite, the only thing which is holding me back is the future of Honda. With Honda's future in India being bleak, I don't feel like getting a Honda again and at the same time, I feel Honda's service is also dwindling day by day. Looks like I'll have to move out of the brand itself and get a new car from another brand (Hyundai is the one I'd go for mostly this time).

But, still, our City is trouble free and never left us stranded in 7.5 years of ownership. Also, recently, during my 3 month stint in India, we got the clutch replaced as well as timing kit replaced and can run for another lac or 2L Kms after replacing these.

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