Honda’s flagship car gets yet a new life, but its not just a face lift, its a whole new car. The Honda city has gone through 16 yrs, 3 generations and 4.3 lac smiling faces to become one of the country’s most successful sedans.The all-new City, developed a s a global sedan, embodies the best of Honda’s technologies to deliver Advanced Sporty Design, Best Comfort and Best Fuel Efficiency which exceeds customer’s expectations and would now be available in both Diesel and Petrol fuel options.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, Managing Officer, Honda Motor Company and Representative of Development, Purchasing and Production in Asia & Oceania Region said “City has been a high performing product for Honda with over 2.2 million customers across 55 countries. The 4th Generation Honda City is poised for a great response from Indian customers amongst which the car enjoys a very high aspirational value. With the 4th Generation City now available in Diesel in India, Honda Cars is shifting gears to significantly expand its operating universe in the Indian market. The new launch will be a very important facet in this process as the car has witnessed an exceptional success ever since it was launched here,”
In addition to meaningful technological advancements, the 4th Generation City delivers a new premium look and feel. The all new City adopts the best of Honda’s powertrains to achieve a perfect balance of performance and fuel economy. The Diesel City is powered by the 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series and is the most fuel efficient car in the country with industry best fuel efficiency of 26 kmpl*.This engine delivers a maximum power of 100ps@3600 rpm and maximum torque of 200 N-m@1750 rpm. It has been mated to a newly developed 6-speed manual transmission that is light, compact, and attains top class transmission efficiency with wide range and optimized gear ratios to deliver a pleasant, silent and fun to drive experience along with an excellent fuel economy.
The Petrol variant of the City is powered with an improved 1.5L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps@6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m@4600 rpm. It has been mated with Honda’s original innovative and advanced CVT that delivers top class fuel efficiency of 18kmpl* along with an effortless driving experience and a 5 speed manual transmission that churns out an impressive fuel efficiency of 17.8 kmpl*.(*As per test data)
Focusing on the role and importance of Honda City for HCIL’s business, Mr. Hironori Kanayama, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd said, “2013 witnessed Honda’s exceptional growth in India with our first Diesel offering, Honda Amaze. The success of Honda was possible through significant reforms in R&D and localization. This has enabled more customers to experience the joy of owning and driving a Honda car. At Honda, our goal is not just to create great products, but to offer unparalleled experience to our customers. With the best of both petrol and diesel technologies available in Honda City, we are very confident about the success of the model which will significantly contribute to our business growth in India.”
The new Honda City has been developed at Honda R&D Centre located in Tochigi, Japan following extensive market surveys in India, ASEAN countries and other markets for people’s driving needs and lifestyles. The development of all-new Honda City adopts Honda’s new ‘global operation reform’ of concurrent development and implementation of locally optimized design drawings to realize the best vehicle specifications with speed, affordability and low CO2 emissions for our customers.
India, being a key strategic market for Honda in the Asia and Oceania region, has been specifically chosen to lead the global production for the All New Honda City with the 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine which is already gaining popularity in the country. This makes India the first country to manufacture and sell the New City, which will eventually be sold in 60 markets to help expand Honda’s footprint in some of the fastest growing auto markets in the world.
The grand concept for the all-new City is Advanced Cool Stunner.“Stunner”is at the core of this concept and reflects sophistication and vigor while in motion and a striking presence when standing still.
Packaging is the big attractiveness of the new City. The All New City delivers cleverly generated interior space that exceeds its class by further evolving Honda’s “man maximum machine minimum” philosophy which aims at maximizing the space available for people and minimizing the space required for mechanical components. The new City offers One class above Rear legroom, superiorHead Clearance &Knee room inside cabin and offers a class leading boot space of 510L.
The City’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body enhances self-protection while mitigating damage to other vehicles in the event of a collision. The City features host of Honda’s active and passive safety technologies including Pedestrian injury mitigation technology, Driver and FrontpassengerSRS airbags, Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) which prevents wheel locking, Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) which enhances braking performanceand impact mitigating headrests which reduce the possibility of neck injury in rear impacts of low speed. The ABS with EBD is being offered as standard across all Diesel and Petrol CVT variants.
New City offers a host of advanced interior equipment like First in segment Auto AC with Touchscreen Control panel, Advanced integrated Audio with 8 speakers and 5” screen, One Push Engine Start/Stop button with Honda Smart Key System, steering wheel with buttons for cruise control, Audio and hands-free control, Rear A/C vents and Rear Parking camera with multiple views. The CVT model will be equipped with a “Paddle Shift” option which can be operated in both D and S mode and allows the driver to enjoy a manual transmission-like driving feel. On the exterior, with segment first shark fin antenna, sunroof, 15” sporty alloy wheels, stylish fog lamps and sleek turn indicators on the door mirrors, the New city truly delivers a One Class Above feeling.
The all-new City is available in 5 grades offered in Petrol and Diesel variants – E, S, SV, V and VX with Manual Transmission. Additionally, the City will be available in CVT in SV & VX petrol grades. It comes with a 2 years or 40,000 kms warranty as standard value for all customers.
