[cityvic]

July 2008
I saw the first Spy Pictures of the 2009 Honda City posted on Team-Bhp!
A Silver Camouflaged City doing the rounds of Delhi-Noida.I Fall for it!
Autocar's July issue states it going to have a Launch in Diwali.

Waiting..Waiting,it finally launches in the last quarter of 2008.

Nov/Dec 2008
My cousins get the 1st Silver City in town to replace their aging 99 Lancer GLXI.I sit in the car for the first time and absolutely love it.Superb Interiors,Great Looks from the outside,Airbags,ABS.Though I missed the Alloy Wheels,CD Player and Leather Seats.Come back home and tell dad,''Papa what an Amazing Car''.Dad too was wanting to replace his 02 Honda City 1.5exi and asks me Civic or City?
Civic anyday Papa.I read somewhere that the Civic is also soon to get a Facelift and we wait for that to replace our City Type 2.Meanwhile Honda City Type 4 chapter closed.

June 2009
Our 04 Lancer started giving some problems and it had also started showing its age at 95,000kms.I try to convince my parents to get a City to replace the Lancer.They tell me they shall think about it.Mom wanted a linea because she liked the way it looked.We TD'd the linea the next day and disliked it.After owning 2 generations of the City without any problems(touchwood) we didnt hesitate in going for the City again.2 weeks later I get a call from my mother asking which color City to book?Black or Silver?
My reply:Black
I had also told the salesman to give me Michelin Tyres with the car.
When we had got the car,only E/Mt,S/Mt,S/At was available.V model launched 3 months after we booked our car.

So a Black City S/Mt was booked.
Dealer:Pinnacle Honda (Windsor and Imperial Honda had closed down)
Freebies:None except the basic floor mats,cushions,pendrive,perfumer.Got Corporate Discount though.
Waiting Time:1 month
Expected Delivery:Last week of July/1st week of August.

The Countdown Begins

[cityvic]

August 2009
I get a call from the Salesman that the car has been dispatched from the Factory and should reach them by the 8th of August.
8th August at 7pm,I get a call from them that the car has arrived and it would be registered the next day.I told them,I wanted to do a PDI before it gets registered.
Next day i reach Pinnacle at 2pm sharp just after school gets over.Look at the car Love it!No scratches,paint differences.I had also started it and heard the engine roar.What a delight it was!
Next day the car got registered and we got the the number 4307 as we asked them to get any number with 07 in the end.They tell me I would get the delivery the next day.
Went back home all excited after school,I ask the salesman to get the car by 3pm sharp to our house.I couldn't go to the Showroom as I didn't have a driver.At 2ish I get a call from the salesman that he has arrived.I rush downstairs and check out the car.After checking the car thoroughly with the Team-Bhp PDI list,the salesman explains all the features of the car to me.It was nice to learn how to use the Integrated Audio System in it and the Search facility was a nice feature to have.
I get the car parked safely on the pavement and sign the Papers.
The car is finally ours.

Pictures taken on the D Day,11th August 2009.

[cityvic]

What I Like:

• Amazing Looks.It gives brilliant competition to the Verna,Linea,Fiesta,Vento.Nothing like how ugly the Honda City ZX looked.
• Loves to be revved like the Honda City Type 2.
• High Speed Stability is very good.
• Excellent Pickup,beats most of the cars at Traffic Light Runs.
• Seating Comfort is Excellent.The front seats are well shaped.
• Spacious Interiors.
• Powerful AC for the warm and humid Calcutta Summers.
• Round Gear Knob feels great to hold.
• Loads of cubby holes all over the car.
• Gives Amazing FE.
• Very Practical Car.
• Brilliant AfterSales Service at Pinnacle and Eastern Honda.
• I still find the City a better deal than the Verna Fluidic.(No Offense to Owners,everyone has their own choice)

What I dont Like:

• Lacks many features in the then 'Top Model',Alloys,Fog Lamps,CD player,Leather Seats which the City ZX also had.
• Interior Material cant be compared to the ones in the Older City's.They were way to softer and of much better quality
• Low GC,the car had a habit to scrape over many speed breakers earlier no matter at what angle or speed you tackle them.
• Door Hinges need to be Oiled everytime the car visits the workshop.
• The car is undertired with 175/65/R15,an upgrade to better rubber is a must.
• FE shown by the FE calculator on the ODO is not Accurate.Its always a 2kmpl less.For eg:The odo shows 12kms to a litre,on actual calculations it gives a 10.
• Speakers provided are Ok'ish,nothing great.
• Headlight Beam inadequate.
• Very Common.
• My Dad likes the City more than the Civic.
• Friends think I'm a Honda Showroom,All 3 gens of the City and 2 Civics in house.

[cityvic]

Modifications on my List.

1. Audio Upgrade.
2. Tints
3. Misc (Mats,Door Gaurds,Door Beats,Door Sills,No Plates)
4. Leather Seats.
5. Spoiler.
6. HID's.
7. Alloy Wheels.
8. Rubber Upgrade when the OEM set wears out.
9. Some Add Ons to the Exterior to make it Stand Out From the Rest.

[cityvic]

Audio Upgrade
Well,the audio bug had just bit me.After going through the I.C.E sections and listening to some Aftermaket Audio in Calcutta,I wanted those on my car too.Come November and got a budget of 25k from Dad for it.The Upgrade was done in 2 stages.

Stage 1
This install happened at Glix in Calcutta.
Components: JBL 265c,Basic components from JBL.Didnt want to go in for the Sony and Pioneer which we had over the years.Heard them first,liked them and selected them.
Amplifier: JBL S644,Again an entry level 4 channel amp from JBL.Wanted to add a Subwoofer later on so got a 4 channel over a 2.
Wiring: Scosche.
After the Install,I went back home with a Grinning Face.Absolutely love each and every inch of the Setup.

Stage 2
After Stage 1,I still felt something was missing in my setup and that was Bass and the Clarity for the Rear Passengers.This time the install happened at Status.Stage 2 happened somewhere in March 2010.
Rear Coax: JBL 265,the younger brother of the 265compos.I wanted to get 6x9 on the Rear Tray but the installer advised against cutting the Rear Tray.
Subwoofer: JBL 1215T, a basstube from JBL,love the Boom Boom but miss the accurate bass we get from sub in a Sealed Box.A decision I sometimes regret.I will get the Sub removed from the Tube and get it fitted in a sealed box in a few months to come.

Break Up:
Front speakers : 5500 with B&W
Rear speakers : 2500 with B&W
Amp : 6990 with B&W
Sub : 5200 with B&W
Wiring : 2000

(Pardon the Pathetic Quality Pictures Taken from the E71 Camera when the Door Panels had been opened to put the Leather Seats)

Front Compos fitted.


Tweeters mounted on the Dash.


Rear Coax.


Amplifier.


Basstube.


Rear Boot at Current.

[cityvic]

Tints
I wanted some Dark Tints.After having Garware Dark Natural Ash fitted on the City ZX,I went in for the same for the City i-VTEC too.Got them fitted at Glix on the same day when the Stage 1 of the Audio was installed.They have lasted well,45kms in 2 years and still not faded worth the price paid.Heat rejected is also pretty good.

Pictures of the car with the Tints in May 2011.

[cityvic]

Leather Seats
Come August 2010 and the Stock Beige Seats provided by the company had become all dirty and it was time to go the Leather Way.This time I again went to Status and Selected Stanley Satin Leather.Colour options were Black or Grey,went in for Black.Beige wasnt in the options because my car's interiors were a combo of a Grey and Black which was later replaced by Beige and Black in S/Mt when the V model launched.The covers selected were half Leather.The touch portions were Leather and the rest Art Leather.I had asked them to get the mid portions in the Seat Perforated and also do up the Door Pads and Arm Rests.They removed the OEM seat fabric and then put these covers to give me the OEM look.The Seat Cover install took 1.5 days.Stanley Satin Black with Perforation came up to 32k which went well above the budget of 20k given to me.

[cityvic]

Spoiler
I got the Mugen Lip Spoiler from Speed & Sameer.


H.I.D
Since the Headlight Beam of the stock bulb was inadequate I got HID's in 4300K.Also changed the Parking Lights,No Plate Lights and Interior Lights to White.Got the HID's from Speed & Sameer too.
In the Pictures on Day 1 the Bulbs were not aligned properly which I got aligned the next day.

[cityvic]

Alloys
The Biggest Dilemma was to select the Alloy Wheels.I wanted either Lenso or HRS.If Lenso then PD01 in Hyper Silver or SC05 in Gunmetal.Lenso was not available in Calcutta.Tried calling the Bombay dealer and he was least interested in selling me rims so Lenso rejected.HRS was good but a friend of mine just got a City V/Mt and he was changing his rims so I bought them dirt cheap and have planned to paint them very soon.Colour options are Grey,White,Matt Black and Gunmetal.

Tyres
The car crosses 42k and the Stock XM1+ have lost quite alot of grip now,I plan to wait till 45k to replace them.In the meanwhile did the research and was confused whether to get C Drives in 195/60/R15 or S Drive in 205/55/R15.

My Criteria was

• Least amount of Tire Noise
• No Drop in GC
• Not a Major Drop in FE
• Comfort like the XM1+

After being suggested C Drive in 195/60 by Ishan,Nikhil and Predatorwheelz,I went for them.I got the tires from Indo Radial Club.And to my surprise the car doesn't scrape over those speed breakers anymore.
After the Tyre Upgrade the car feels much more planted than before.FE has dropped by 1kmpl,so its not an issue as long as the car doesnt scrape over speed breakers.

Some Pictures

Car all Jacked up.


XM1+ vs C Drive.


Finally the wheels are on the car.




Finally the car stands all complete.


Exhaust Tip Added.

[cityvic]

The Story so Far at 45,000kms.

The car keeps going for a regular service at every 5000kms to Pinnacle Honda.Always get the extra special care at this dealership with all our Hondas.
My car was one of those affected by the faulty lost motion spring in the valve train which was replaced by the company for free.My car also developed a steering rack problem which was also changed under warranty.This was done at 35,000kms.

Service Bills have never crossed Rs 4,000.Really cheap to maintain except the worry of the rising fuel prices.

The car had got a respray at the dealership in April this year after it completed 40k because of the dings and dangs we get on Cal roads.The paint finish was perfect,same as how I received the car from the showroom in Aug 09.

Even ay 45k,my car runs smoother than my friends car which has just done 15k.45,000kms and not a single rattle on the car,thats the way Honda builds cars.

Love the fact that my car was bought before the V Spec was launched because I have Black+Grey Combo for the interiors instead of the now Black+Beige given by Honda.

This car isnt as fun to drive as the Honda City VTEC Type 2 but way better than the City ZX.

The Exhaust Note when Revved is Addictive.

With the car now being complete as I have done all the mods/upgrades,the car manages to turn some heads.

The car being black I have to get it Professionally detailed every 3 months even I wax it once or twice a month.I also do clean the alloys and the leather myself.

It still feels like yesterday I had taken delivery of this new car.

Some Pictures of the car over the years.















Some dents thanks to mad Calcutta Traffic.



At Pinnacle Honda,Denting & Primer & Sanding done.Awaiting the Paintjob.

[cityvic]

Car after the Paintjob.I got the grill painted to black too as I thought it would go well with the Red Honda Logos which would be put soon.

[cityvic]

Pictures of the car after the Red Honda Logos were added.
























































Another Photoshoot of the car coming up soon.Need to take pictures with the alloys.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Long-Term ownership reviews forum. Thanks for sharing!

[mikon]

Nice review and nice audio setup.
Black is my favourite colour!
How is the HID lights 4300k output? How is it different than 6000K. I'm planning to upgrade.

[cityvic]

Originally Posted by mikon

Nice review and nice audio setup.
Black is my favourite colour!
How is the HID lights 4300k output? How is it different than 6000K. I'm planning to upgrade.

Thanks a ton Mikon.
Black is my favourite too.Out of the 6 cars at home 4 are black!

The output of 4300K is the best.Though it doesnt have that complete white light effect like 6000K but it illuminates the roads way better.Visibility with 6000K is not good.VW might have warranty issues if you upgrade hah?