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>>Roshun Povaiah: A
lot has changed in this fourth-generation Honda City. Although at first glance the arrow-shot
design looks very similar, it's actually an all-new car. The length of the car is the
same, but the wheel base has increased by 50 mm and that has freed up a lot of space.
Up front you get a bold chrome grille, twin-beam headlamps, and a sporty bumper. In profile,
the car looks quite similar to the earlier Honda City. It's shod with 15-inch alloys
and skinny 175/65 tyres -- in the interest of fuel economy.
At the rear, the only difference between the diesel and petrol is the idtec badge, while
the petrol gets an ivtec badge. The City gets twin-unit tail-lamps as well, extending on
to the boot lid. The boot is slightly larger than the older City and can store 510 litres
of luggage. The Honda City diesel uses the same 1.5 litre
idtec diesel engine as the Honda Amaze, but with a six-speed manual transmission. Power
output is exactly the same at 100 PS or 98.7 bhp with 200 newton metres of torque. Honda
has added more sound-damping in the City to make the car quieter than the Amaze, but you
can still hear the engine inside, although it's not too intrusive.
What's different though is the fuel economy -- the diesel City claims a fuel efficiency
of 26 kmpl, making it the most fuel efficient car in India. But, with our media test City
we really didn't see anything more than 14 kmpl, with multiple people driving the car.
The diesel City will disappoint City fans. Even though it has a fairly light kerb weight
of 1,165 Kg, it just does not have the pick up to match. In city traffic or on twisty
roads, you've got to constantly shift gears to keep it moving. The gears are a bit notchy
too. Overall ride quality is excellent even over bad patches.
However, steering feel is extremely light in the new City. It's not one that would really
please enthusiasts, but is very convenient in slow moving traffic, although at speed
we wish it had more feel. Ground clearance hasn't changed at 165 mm,
but the exhaust system has been tucked in to the body, making it better.
The big difference in the new City is the amount of space it offers. The rear seat in
the Honda City has seen legroom increase by up to 60 mm, and with the front seats adjusted
for a 5 foot 8 inch driver, there's decent headroom and more than enough room to cross
your legs at the rear, with good underthigh support as well. It's probably the best in
its class in terms of interior space now. All the seats are very comfortable, with just
the right amount of cushioning. And then there's the feature list -- the VX
variant has an electric tilt and slide open sun roof, a touch-screen automatic climate
control panel, power folding outside rear view mirrors, integrated reverse camera with
multiple view settings, Bluetooth phone and music controls, cruise control and steering
audio controls, and rear AC vents along with no-less than four 12 volt power sockets in
the car. Height adjustable seats and a centre storage box are also standard, as are ABS
and driver and passenger airbags. So what do we think of the new diesel City?
It's definitely a lot more comfortable and plush compared to the older one, and with
the addition of a diesel engine, it is one that would appeal to those how travel long
distances -- although, we really don't see this as being a car for enthusiasts anymore
and will instead cater to the chauffeur driven. That's the diesel City for you -- while the
petrol, has a completely different appeal.