Honda CityChange Car

All set to redeem itself in the C-segment, the 2017 Honda City facelift has been launched in the country with prices starting at Rs 8,49,990 (ex-showroom, Delhi). This facelift comes three years after the current generation of the City was launched in India in 2014 and with a host of upgrades to the design as well as features. The Honda City facelift gets a completely new front-end with a new smarter grille, new headlamp cluster that gets LED lamps on the top trims and LED DRLs. The front bumper is new too and the fog lamps studded in it are LEDs as well. Other features include a new 7-inch touchscreen audio-visual navigation system with an Android based interface, navigation, rear view camera and an electric sun-roof. It also comes with 1.5 GB of internal memory, 2 USB slots and 2 micro SD slots as well. The rear of the 2017 Honda City sees LED tail lamps and an LED strip on the spoiler which works as a high-mounted stop lamp as well.

The Honda City facelift gets the same 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engine with no change in the power or torque output. As before, the petrol variant will come with a CVT box with paddle shifts just like in the earlier model. The fuel efficiency is marginally lower than the outgoing version with the diesel now returning a claimed 25.6 kmpl, 0.4 kmpl lower; whereas the petrol manual returns 17.4 kmpl, 0.4 kmpl less than the current model. The petrol CVT automatic continues to return 18 kmpl

Honda City Exterior

So what is new in the current generation City that sets it apart from the previous model? Well, nothing concrete in terms of design, Honda has not altered the contemporary design although some prominent styling additions are made. Up front, the multiple slat chrome grille is replaced with the thick and bold single slat grille flanking the long and pulled back head lamps. Prominent creases on bonnet and side lend it a bit of character. There are no changes in the dimensions of the car but the car, thanks to the design, looks a bit longer and more premium. Honda has also added LED DRLs as part of standard equipment but LED headlamps are available only in the top-end variants.

Honda City Interior 

Honda has packed the Honda City with a whole bunch of features. In fact the cabin design sees slight alterations and the dashboard design is appealing. There’s a new 7 inch touchscreen system which includes controls for Bluetooth, navigation, radio et al. There are also 2 micro SD card slots along with 2 USB ports and even steering mounted controls. There’s also an electric sunroof in the top-end variant and this just adds to the appeal of the car. There’s ample of room inside for 5 occupants and there’s good amount of head and knee room.

2017 Honda City Variant Prices In India

City Engine Specifications & Transmission

There are no changes in the engine department for the Honda City. It still gets the 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol good enough for 117 bhp and 145 Nm of torque. The diesel is the 1.5 litre i-DTEC, four cylinder, DOHC engine that makes 99 bhp at 3600rpm and 200Nm at 1750rpm. The petrol variants are available with a choice of five-speed manual gearbox and a CVT. The diesel however is only available in the five-speed manual transmission.

City Features

The City now gets LED DRLs as part of standard equipment while the base variant comes with halogen headlamps. The top-end models get LED headlamps and this makes it a better proposition. The City also gets newly designed alloy wheels besides and there’s extensive use of chrome on the car. Honda Car India has also introduced an accessories package as well and are available on three levels: Chrome Utility and Style.

Performance & Mileage

One of the significant factors driving sales of a vehicle in India is the fuel economy it offers. Fuel economy for the petrol manual variant is rated at 17.4 kmpl and the CVT version is claimed to return slightly more at 18 kmpl. The City diesel is extremely frugal and the diesel engine can yield ARAI certified fuel economy of 25.6 kmpl.

City Accessories & Infotainment

The City now gets a 7 inch touch screen system which Honda calls Digipad. There is AUX-IN, 2 USB ports, AM/FM, radio, MP3, hand free telephone, CD player DVD playback, on board navigation, audio control on steering wheel, hands free telephone controls on steering wheel, accessory socket, speakers and tweeters and climate control.

City Braking & Handling

Braking force is provided by disc units in front and drum brakes at rear. Anti-Lock-braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution are now standard and prevents the tyres from locking and skidding.

City Safety & Security

The Honda City facelift gets dual airbags, ABS with EBD, and ISOFIX mounts for child seats as standard. The top of the line ZX trim gets six airbags which include side and curtain bags. Features like automatic headlamps, auto on-off headlamps and automatic rain sensing wipers also make their way into this flagship grade.

Honda City Comfort & Convenience

Honda understood the need to equip the City well considering the rich feature list offered on the arch rival Hyundai Verna and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. The new City now gets a range of new comfort features that further up the comfort quotient inside the cabin. Among the spectrum of features packed inside auto air conditioner with touchscreen control panel, rear air conditioning vent, rear parking camera, cruise control, paddle shift on CVT variants, power adjusting & foldable ORVMs, power steering with tilt adjustment, one push engine start/stop button with smart entry key system, keyless entry, power windows, power door lock, door lock switch at driver side, sound insulation wind screen in front n diesel variant, dust and pollen filter are included among others.

Honda City Wheels & Tyres

Tyre size is in proportion with the rest of the body, there is minimum gap between arches and wheels. It gets 16 inch wheels on the top end variant which look great. Entry level variants in City line-up get steel wheels and alloy wheels are restricted to higher trims.

Honda City Competition

With most of the attention skewed towards compact sedan segment, the mid-sized saloon segment does not have many contenders except for a few that have been around from quite some time and a couple of new entrants like the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. The Honda City competes with Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Skoda Rapid and the Volkswagen Vento in its segment.