[TusharK]

According to a media report, Honda may never offer a CVT option on the current City. That said, the next-gen City, which is due to be launched in 2020 is likely to get a diesel CVT variant.



Earlier, Honda had revealed the 2nd-gen Amaze compact sedan with a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine paired with a CVT, which lead to speculations about the City getting a similar drivetrain. However, it has been reported that engineering a CVT into the diesel variant of the current City may not be feasible given the volumes sold. Honda does plan to offer a CVT option on more models in the future and that includes the next-gen City. But for now, the carmaker is concentrating on upgrading its 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine to make it BS-VI compliant.

The Honda City is currently offered with a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine that makes 99 BHP @ 3,600 rpm and 200 Nm of torque @ 1,750 rpm and comes paired with a 6-speed manual transmission. The City is also offered with a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine which produces 118 BHP @ 6,600 rpm and 145 Nm @ 4,600 rpm. The petrol engine is available with a choice of a CVT and 5-speed manual gearbox.

Segment rivals Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid do get automatic transmission options on their respective diesel variants. The Verna comes with a 6-speed automatic, while the Vento and Rapid get a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission. Like Honda, Maruti too doesn't offer an automatic option on the Ciaz diesel.

Source: Autocar India

Link to Team-BHP News

[vishy76]

To be honest, I think Honda did miss out by not offering a diesel+auto combo. This could have murdered the Vento twins and driven in further volumes. Diesels are still prominent in a country like India, but not as much as before.

I do hope it gets a torque converter though. The CVT combined with the diesel's punchy low end would make for an excellent car within the city (pun intended).

Having said that, out on the highway, I can only imagine what would happen with the diesel screaming it's lungs out and the CVT getting puzzled. Even if they rework the I-dtec, the CVT will ruin it, just like it has done for that petrol.

[OSH]

Originally Posted by vishy76

Even if they rework the I-dtec, the CVT will ruin it, just like it has done for that petrol.

The CVT has NOT ruined anything for the petrol i.e. the iVtec.

The combo is well accepted by the masses even though the CVT variants are costing ~1.5 lakhs more than the MT. Going by what my SA has told me, nowadays some people prefer buying the mid variant CVT even though they can go for the top end MT. Also not to forget, the top most petrol variant(ZX) comes only with the CVT and Honda would not be stupid to do that if their autobox was not worth it. This top variant had accounted for >40% of the initial bookings IIRC, some articles had mentioned this.

[SmartCat]

Going by my experience with Honda iVtec CVT, this diesel automatic variant will make quite a racket inside the cabin - especially if you want to get somewhere in a hurry.

I'm speculating, but I think the diesel engine would drastically reduce rubber band effect.

[M00M]

Diesel AT is not coming as per Autocar India website

[sid_deb]

Makes sense that diesel AT is not coming as the growth of diesel segment is going to be much lower and maybe negative in the future years given the push towards hybrid and electric cars.

Would love to have a City hybrid automatic running at the same cost as a diesel car. I wonder why Sri Lanka already gets the City or Grace hybrid and we don't.

[tj123]

It makes no sense for manufactures to invest more in diesel cars and technology. VW Diesel-gate scam has tarnished the image of diesel cars. The R&D budgets are more focused on developing electric and hybrids all over the world, as it’s the future.

[GTO]

I think there will always be a good market for Diesel ATs. Customers spending over a million bucks anyway love their ATs and while diesels are losing out to petrols in terms of absolute volumes, they still provide enough sales to make it worth the manufacturer's time.

As usual, Honda is 5 - 10 years behind the market. Even though India had moved to diesels in a big way, they launched their 1.5L diesel only in 2013. India has made it amply clear that it loves its big SUVs with diesels only, but the CR-V diesel is still a while away. Similarly, their Diesel AT will be 10 - 15 years after the market developed a taste for it.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Going by my experience with Honda iVtec CVT, this diesel automatic variant will make quite a racket inside the cabin

Hahaha! Well said.