[kryogesh]

Originally Posted by D'Artagnan

Got an email from cardekho, it seems bookings are open for the new honda city diesel. Booking price is 50k and the image they've put is of the blue Honda city from a few pages back, it's not the crider.

my guy feeling (too) is that it will be something similar to the blue car that has been posted here (with a couple standing next to it). However I have nothing to prove this. In less than a week we will know it and I am nearly sure it will be one of the pics that one of the fellow BHPians posted. I can't imagine Honda manage testing without a single spy shot!

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by D'Artagnan

Got an email from cardekho, it seems bookings are open for the new honda city diesel. Booking price is 50k and the image they've put is of the blue honda city from a few pages back, it's not the crider.

Cardekho is just bluffing. There are no spy-shots available for the City. Period. The booking for the Honda models have started 2-3 weeks back and across the board they are charging 50k.

[Derezzed]

I received a call from my Honda dealer today asking me to take a look at the new Honda City diesel in their showroom on Nov 29. If the photos flying around on the internet of this new City is the real deal then I must say I am going to drool over it instead of every other Civic I see on the road.

[vasoo]

Saw a tweet by Hormazd that the new City is expected to be more of an evolution than a "revolution", unlike earlier updates. So we might end up seeing something similar to the CRider pictured earlier which is more "Hyundaish" in design...

[deepakv]

Hormazd just replied to my tweet saying both the 2014 City and the Jazz will have auto box options!

[crazyro]

The new city will be getting the same FGT 1.5 iDTEC with a slightly different state of tune instead of the much anticipated VGT. This is to control cost and have class leading economy. This is as per the blog written by Hormazd. So nothing new on the engine front. Very disappointing I say

[IndiFuture]

Originally Posted by deepakv

Hormazd just replied to my tweet saying both the 2014 City and the Jazz will have auto box options!

In the current crop of sub-12 lakh sedans, I think only Hyundai provides a diesel auto box in the Verna (not sure of Vento). I'm eager to know if the City will have that too.

[skyfire2892]

Originally Posted by crazyro

The new city will be getting the same FGT 1.5 iDTEC with a slightly different state of tune instead of the much anticipated VGT. This is to control cost and have class leading economy. This is as per the blog written by Hormazd. So nothing new on the engine front. Very disappointing I say

Indeed disappointing.
With FGT i assume a power would be 110 bhp and FE around 22-23kmpl.
Current i-DTEC is not revv loving, i hope they change that.
With VGT power could have been 120+ bhp!

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by skyfire2892

Indeed disappointing.
With FGT i assume a power would be 110 bhp and FE around 22-23kmpl.
Current i-DTEC is not revv loving, i hope they change that.
With VGT power could have been 120+ bhp!

They will not do such a heavy tuning exercise. I think they may do a re-tweak to make the engine deliver in the vicinity of 110 bhp. Honda also has 1.6 iDTEC engine, from which this 1.5 block is derived. The 1.6 mill that powers Euro Civic and CRV make around 118 bhp.

I am sure that re-tuning the current, locally produced, 1.5 mill can result in power output close to that of the 1.6, and will be cheaper to produce as well. But they will rather introduce the 1.6 mill as i is in later cars such as Civic etc as it is.

[Mad Max]

A bit disconcerting is that people are paying 50,000 Rs booking amount for a car they have not seen, driven, touched or felt. I guess the buying power in India has made these manufacturers write a huge "Suckers" line item in their annual budgeting exercise. No wonder we get treated like crap.

Pretty sure there's a high-roller game going on with the CEOs of these companies.

"How far can we push these guys to part with their money?"

"Oh, at Ford, we take their money and we don't give them their vehicle. And when we do, we just drop a few features.. ha! I win.."

"Nope. You don't even come close to winning. At Honda, we don't even have to show them the vehicle. They just come and give us the money and wait.. top that!"

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

A bit disconcerting is that people are paying 50,000 Rs booking amount for a car they have not seen, driven, touched or felt. I guess the buying power in India has made these manufacturers write a huge "Suckers" line item in their annual budgeting exercise. No wonder we get treated like crap.

Pretty sure there's a high-roller game going on with the CEOs of these companies.

"How far can we push these guys to part with their money?"

"Oh, at Ford, we take their money and we don't give them their vehicle. And when we do, we just drop a few features.. ha! I win.."

"Nope. You don't even come close to winning. At Honda, we don't even have to show them the vehicle. They just come and give us the money and wait.. top that!"

Those who were sitting on the fence when Ecosport pre-booking started are now cribbing about a waiting period of over a year, while all those who pre-booked are enjoying their cars.

It being a Honda, I wouldn't mind parking half a lakh with them. If the car turns out be a bore, I can always cancel my booking.

As somebody said, "Fortune favours the brave".

[SumitBahl]

The booking amount is 100% refundable. They write that on the booking receipt.

[adimicra]

The biggest issue I see with the diesel City is the engine itself.

I have driven the Amaze diesel and the refinement levels are way below the competition. While it might be acceptable in the Amaze category, people spending 12-13 lacs on a car will expect much much better refinement. I am not sure Honda can do such improvement in such a short time.

Regarding the power output, 100 bhp should be okay but not great. I don't think it will hurt the sales on City much if the refinement is taken care of. We have many Sedans selling well with low power output. Fiesta diesel when it debuted came with the terribly underpowered 68 bhp engine but that did not stop people from buying it. Even the Vento diesel is 105 bhp. So City at 100 bhp can't be called underpowered for the segment. Only the Verna diesel has a much higher power output. But even then, the Vento is better to drive as it has better low end torque. So, as long as the drive-ability and refinement are taken care of, I do not see FGT as an issue.
Another added benefit of FGT is that it tends to have lower turbo lag compared to the VGT version and hence for driveable which will be a boon in the city.
110 BHP with a 1.5 unit without VGT will be tough to achieve I feel. May be a 3-5 bhp increase in power can be expected.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by crazyro

The new city will be getting the same FGT 1.5 iDTEC with a slightly different state of tune instead of the much anticipated VGT.

Probably makes sense. 110bhp with oodles of Torque and zero turbo lag should be adequate. Maybe this was in mind when they plunked a 100bhp unit into an Amaze, which was a bit of an overkill.

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by blacksport

Those who were sitting on the fence when Ecosport pre-booking started are now cribbing about a waiting period of over a year, while all those who pre-booked are enjoying their cars.

It being a Honda, I wouldn't mind parking half a lakh with them. If the car turns out be a bore, I can always cancel my booking.

As somebody said, "Fortune favours the brave".

Its not a fortune to pay a fortune for a depreciating asset which you haven't seen yet. j/k.. agree that you could be that "first person on the road with a new car"

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

The booking amount is 100% refundable. They write that on the booking receipt.

Yep. Hopefully, they don't resort to Ford-style tactics.