[ex-innova-guy]

Honda City was the first sedan in our house bought in 2006 and in which my sister came home so even more special. It wasn't the i-VTEC one but perhaps the most disliked generation- the dolphin variant in Golden colour. I still remember the number plate and have no idea when we sold it.

We again bought a 3rd Gen City in White in 2011 whose number I obviously remember was later sold in 2015 when we bought our ex-Innova. It too holds a special place in my heart as we had numerous trips and was an emotional sight everytime when I was dropped at my boarding school.

Will I buy a City again? Voted yes but I would rather buy something preowned (Jetta, Octavia) and keep buffer for the maintenance.

[wheelspinner]

The City still offers a good package. But, as a prospective buyer I'm not a fan of the facelifted appearance. It has become boring. Moreover, my friends and family who can afford this expensive a car prefer to go for compact SUVs. Sedans are no longer the hype. This is more of a paradigm shift in the car buyer's mindset. People want brawny cars. Hence, they go for compact SUVs which are available at a lower or similar pricing.

Rarely, I see friends discussing Honda City. But they turn their heads at a Thar or a facelifted Brezza or a Harrier. A decade ago people liked longer cars (sedans). Now, there are more cars and more traffic on the road, so compact SUVs are ticking all the boxes in terms of commanding looks and maneuverability. The sedan segment as a whole has lost its sheen, it's not just about the City. The faster enthusiast's delights like Virtus and Slavia are stuck with dealers even with a whopping 2.5L discount.

[broke_enthu27]

I still buy a 5th Gen city, albeit eHev if I were in the market. I don't understand what people mean when they say City is for non enthusiastic people. City is not the best with features but I don't understand why people think the German twins are for the enthusiasts and not the City. All the cars in the segment give out the same drag numbers. While the German twins(1.5) are effortless to drive, City makes you work if you want to extract enthusiasm from it. It doesn't have a turbo at 2500 rpm to give you that instant pleasure but double that rpm on the city and you'd be flying past with a smile on your face. Not even double, just hit the 4000 rpm and see what she can do.

Features are average, the tyres are average but it sure is reliable and a pleasure to drive.

[M00M]

Yes. I will buy a Honda City.

So recently went to check out the Honda City Hybrid and the Elevate. The City Hybrid felt far more premium and had almost all the bells and whistles. The HU is also ok with me, its a car not an electronic gadget so with that reasoning thats ok. The space and comfort are top notch and better than the Hyundai and the interior quality is better than the Skoda / VW twins.

The Elevate was nice too but City still felt premium. We are still contemplating which one to buy as SUV is better for our roads but I am of this belief that for Mumbai roads a Hybrid Honda City with a driver is a good formula - use it for 8 years and sell it and buy the new gen Honda City. Its the perfect work horse.

[Mumbaiker]

Voted for No, but I guess I read the question incorrectly. I wanted to say Yes . I upgraded by Wagon R to Honda city very recently about six months back. I did contemplate and take test drives of all the available options, but with the recent small updates on the design and the long term reviews of the earlier version, I went ahead with this.
In the sedan market, I would still say, this has to be the best family sedan and it does live up to its expectation. I recently did an approximately 1000km drive in Maharashtra with 5 adults and a child in the car and the boot packed with bags. Everyone was super comfortable through out the drives.

[amitayu]

Honda still makes one of the best petrol engines to drive.
Honda still makes some of the most comfy interior and in-cabin space management.

But I think Honda somewhat lost the plot with the absence of a decent diesel mill when it was the craze of the Indian market, and for a period was focusing on getting the lower segment market with Brio and Amaze, tap the pseudo SUV market with the most pseudo SUV, try and get in the 7 seater segment etc.

In the process they burnt their fingers and City became the mainstay. Problem is, they suddenly started playing very safe with the City.

Peddling to City enthusiasts is an extremely inward looking policy; you are alienating new potential customers!!! No wonder it's appeal has decreased over time.

[vineetklkrn]

I bought Honda City in Feb 2022. That time my only worry was if Honda exits like Ford for example. But now with City eHEV, City facelift and Elevate, I must say that is not a concern anymore.
Coming back to Honda City, the decline in sales indicate that it is indeed losing its charm.
Even though I honestly feel that Honda has been consistently upgrading it i.e. Hybrid Engine and now ADAS.
But they can do further and revive the City with a new Gen release to take on Verna by just doing the following:
- Get the car undergo crash testing with BNCAP (and hopefully it does get a 5 star, if not safety has to be certainly upgraded).
- Bring in a new bold exterior design.
- Resolving some very basic issues like the poor infotainment unit, cabin noise.
- Bring the turbo engine as an option.
I am sure that it will start selling again.

[84.monsoon]

Voted Yes. My FIL lost his Honda Amaze in the recent Chennai floods and I am looking for a replacement. Decided to go one segment up for better space.

It will need to be a sedan, older folks do not prefer SUVs or even crossovers due to the effort involved in climbing into a high set car. Will be chauffeur driven and also does duties to take kids to school and back.

Compared the Ciaz, City and Verna. Dropped the Virtus and Slavia due to reliability and service concerns among the family members. A slightly lower variant was ok to keep within a reasonable budget of about 16 Lakhs in-road - as long as it has essential safety and comfort features.

Although the new Verna is large and has a massive boot, the rear seat comfort is just not a match for the City's. The bench is narrower with lesser thigh support, the seats are flat and hard. The backrest angle is somehow not right - felt a bit too vertical. Although the car has grown massively, the priority seems to have been given to the boot, which is cavernous, the back seat does not gain as much room as one would expect.

The City on the other hand, had a great back seat, with superb thigh support, contoured back seats that feel really snug and more leg room than the Verna. The seat cushioning is perfect, neither too soft nor too hard. Even with the front seats pushed all the way back, there was ample room in the back.

We test drove the Verna Turbo and it is indeed more smooth and powerful than the City's NA engine. However the emphasis for this purchase was on passenger comfort, space and ease of ingress/egress. The City wins hands down for us in this purchase use case. It is whole lot cheaper too, due to the generous feature distribution on the lower variants. The Verna does not even offer an IVT automatic until you get to almost the top variant (SX) while the City gives you a CVT Auto right from the V Variant.

One look at the Ciaz's interiors and we immediately ruled it out. It looks ancient and it is, as the car was launched in 2014 and very few updates have been made to the interiors. A 4-speed auto box?? Come on Maruti, we are not living in the 1990s! Also the second from bottom - V CVT Variant of City - had many more features than the top variant of Ciaz AT.

So all in all, we have decided on the V CVT Variant of City and will be purchasing soon. So the City offers a more competitive product for many use cases - Chauffeur driven cars, cars used by the elderly, buyers focused on seat comfort, reliability-centric buyers etc.

[Quasar]

I too love the City a lot - have had the Honda City (two, one after the other) ever since they first came to India in 1998! I have been enquiring if they are planning to bring EVs, but there has been no information. I didn't see much use case for the hybrid for my needs, hence have booked a Punch.EV, which I think fits my present needs, as a 2nd car.

[arindambasu13]

The City is still one of the best combinations of good power, tractable and easy to drive engine, superb interior space and boot, comfortable ride, lovely seats, decent handling and sharp looks. It is an old warhorse, sure, but it is still relevant as an easy and fun to drive and maintain machine. No turbo issues to worry about, most importantly. The iVTEC engines remains one of the very good petrol engines out there, even after all these years.

This car has been a faithful companion for me during the last 5 years, and it is as good as new since I maintain my cars well. It is an obvious recommendation from my side for anyone looking to buy in this segment.

[Crank]

Voted No.

I see a lot of people talking about two things in this thread.

1. Absence of latest kit - gadgetry per se
2. Sedans losing out to Compact SUVs

Few pointed out some of the real world reasons like below.

1. Honda is still living in 90s and early 2000 when Honda is considered premium and Honda cars are a status symbol and an object of desire
2. Honda not responding to the Indian market needs

Apart from this, sticking to the question, did Honda City lose it's charm? It's a loud resounding "Yes", that we hear, as we look at our roads. Honda City is no more a head turner. Honda City is not considered premium or luxury anymore. Moreover, it also lost the youth appeal - now it's mostly considered as an Uncle's car or a Family Sedan. Think about the modifications that the youth of yester-years used to do on the VTEC with rear spoilers, multi-color bumpers, stickers etc. Can you spot one Honda City now on the road with such enthusiastic mods?

Honda was always arrogant on the City package without acknowledging there is always room for improvement. When almost all Sedans are 5 star rated for safety now, Honda didn't bother about their rating.

Honda always felt they are on top of the market and Indians, need just the Honda badge to show off. It was evident from the brazen cost cutting on the City over the years, by reducing quality of parts and build. ANHC and previous gen Honda City owners can easily spot the difference in the quality of ride, NVH and high speed stability.

Innovation is key. Honda is a company known for that. But its sheer arrogance and looking down on Indian market, which is now showing off in their numbers.

[AP_0025]

Honestly, Honda has lost its charm. Coming from someone who has had a 2nd-Gen City, a 2013 CRV, and drives a Jazz now. My grandparents had a Brio, and all these cars were awesome!

Even today, I love the new City, but for some reason, it feels lacking; I am still intrigued by the eHev, but I just feel more inclined toward the European twins. Honda doesn’t seem to have that ‘it’ factor anymore. I really miss the days when we had the CRV, Civic, the accord and even older gen city, all were head turners, the higher prices than the competition always felt justified, it was like having a luxury car at lower budgets, sadly, not anymore.