[WanderinNomad]

Originally Posted by TSIVTEC

Can you also elaborate more on the differences between the VTEC plus and the other ZX models.As you have mentioned above,my car did have it's driver side switch panel replaced in 2012 if I'm not wrong.It was an amazing car for its time which we had to sell in 2014 at 80,000kms as we were shifting to Bangalore and had some financial constraints.Posting a pic as I couldn't resist to..Attachment 1952099

The differences were
1 vtec engine instead of idsi
2 abs and airbags
3 black and beige interiors instead of brown and beige. Also wooden parts were replaced by silver parts in vtec
4 fog lamps , alloys ( although later added in 10th anniversary model )
5 a certain light blue shade only available in vtec ( which I never liked )
6 chrome tip exhaust
7 alpine head unit double Din instead of single Din

I have the brochures of both the models . Will post them

[Storm2.0]

Originally Posted by WanderinNomad

That's one good looking car. (People will find this statement funny since noone except me likes the looks of this car )
Tafeta white is such an elegant shade . That is the only OEM colour in this car I would like to change the shade of my car to .

Some solutions to your problems from my side .

1 try to get the bumpers changed and car panels dented /painted under insurance next time you have a minor bump ( which will eventually happen in Banglore traffic ) . Remember insurance pays almost complete amount for painting and denting . Any new damage can be claimed even if it is on an older panel .
Get a good comprehensive insurance ( I have Edelweiss which worked out excellent recently )
.

Thanks @ WanderinNomad for the advice. Must get these things done in phases. I am in search of a good FNG who is competent and reasonable enough to deal with the problems I mentioned in my post.



Hi TSIVTEC, initially there were 3 variants EXI, GXI (also came with cvt) and the VTEC in the top end.

EXI was the base model. Came with black and grey interior and silver finish on power window panels. Single tone dashboard colour and non body coloured orvm and door handles. Also I think it missed out on radio, driver seat height adjust and auto up down of driver window.

Gxi came with the missing features which I mentioned above, had beige interiors,single din CD player by alpine, chrome inside door handles and faux wood panels. It had dual tone dashboard too.

VTEC came with 14 inch machine cut alloys,2 din audio system with cassette and CD player, disc brakes on all wheels, fog lamps front and rear, leather wrapped steering, supervision(day time illuminated) instrument cluster and most importantly a more powerful 100 hp VTEC engine.

In late 2007 they launched the 10th anniversary edition and made revision to feature list and added more features. All cars came with special 10 anniversary edition batches. Now this is special because none of other Honda cars in India came with this special emblem.

EXI not much was added apart from body coloured handles and orvms.

GXI now had fog lamps, machine cut alloys, power door lock switch, revised instrument cluster with new font, Silver finish on steering wheel.

VTEC plus came with with spoiler, newer 2din audio system, srs airbags and abs and leather upholstery as additional features.

[BZ25]

What a comprehensive review. Well done! Many don't like the second-generation City, but I found it to be pretty decent looking and practical too. My neighbor had the ZX variant for a long time, which he replaced with a Duster. After bearing the hard clutch of the Duster for 5 years, he bought the current fourth generation City, albeit the VX variant!

It was these early crop of cars from Honda, that established the loyalty shown by many of their customers today, even as the quality of their products decline and aren't class best like they were back in the day.

[TSIVTEC]

Originally Posted by Storm2.0

GXI now had fog lamps, machine cut alloys, power door lock switch, revised instrument cluster with new font, Silver finish on steering wheel.

VTEC plus came with with spoiler, newer 2din audio system, srs airbags and abs and leather upholstery as additional features.

Thanks for the detailed insight. Mine was a 10th anniversary edition from the Jan 2008 batch so it did have the above mentioned features.

The spoiler was absolutely useless in terms of pure functionality considering the design.I remember seeing it flutter around a bit at 160kmph when we had taken it on the Yamuna expressway when it had opened.

Originally Posted by BZ25

What a comprehensive review. Well done! Many don't like the second-generation City, but I found it to be pretty decent looking and practical too. My neighbor had the ZX variant for a long time.

Very true indeed.When we sold the ZX in 2014.The next car on our shopping list was the 4th gen city and we absolutely loved everything about it but the waiting period in Bangalore was 7months for the VX MT (april'14)which we couldn't accept and instead came a Brio AT in a month or so.

No guesses here,but as you can imagine we were such loyals to Honda. Being an old customer it's so easy to notice the differences in the quality of between their old and new cars.

[Storm2.0]

Some interesting facts about Honda City Zx IDSi which I read long time back on some Japanese sites and my observations.

1. This engine is kinda old school since it has totally only 8 valves and fixed valve timing

2. But the unique bit about this engine is that each cylinder has 2 spark plugs per cylinder to enhance efficiency of combustion.

3. The engine in international markets we're tune to produce 88 to 90 HP but it was detuned for India to probably enhance fuel efficiency. I'm not sure if torque figures were also different.

4. International markets got a lot more features such as heated and power folding ORVMs, steering mounted audio controls, integrated head unit in dash, rear adjustable headrests, storage drawer under rear seats. Proof is the owner manual itself which mentions about all these things.

5. The car redlined at around 6400 rpm whereas current gen City can go up to 7000 mark also.

6. The 2nd gen City came with ambient lighting though I realised it later as it was hard to notice. Below the AC control knobs there were two dim bulbs which used to light the beautiful wooden console ahead of gear lever (sadly the bulbs on my car have gone kaput).
7. 0 to 100 kmph took around 13.xx seconds and the iDsi had a claimed top speed of 170 kmph where as the vtec's was around 174 kmph under test conditions.

8. The City Zx was designed to run on ethanol petrol mix as far as I remember ( because it's mandatory in Thailand?).

[Equus]

Originally Posted by WanderinNomad

One other niggle of this car is the driver side auto power window not functioning and returning back while closing the window . This has been there for the last 10 years although I have even replaced the Rubber beading once on Honda 's suggestion .

Same pinch! I thought only my car had this weird problem!
Solution: I got the auto power window function disabled! Its manual now but obeys my command!

[WanderinNomad]

So big day for the car .
Finally reached 1 Lac km . Was waiting for this milestone for the past 6 months but somehow the car usage was very less .

[ATTACH=IMG_20200105_001913.jpg][/ATTACH]

[Storm2.0]

Heartiest congratulations to you WanderinNomad and you car for achieving this milestone at last.
I'm in the same boat as you, my City is being used very less hence it is taking time for my car to reach the 100,000 mark .

[ZMG]

Hi,

I have the predecessor of your model, the Dolphin shaped Honda city bought in 2004

In April it turns 16.

The car has been very reliable, just had to get some parts such AC evaporator coil changed recently.

Can you please share details of your FNG where you got the suspension work done, I would like to get that done as well.

Driving this "City" in Bangalore City is effortless.
Taxi drivers dont cut you like they do when you ride a hatchback, and it is not very big to find it cumbersome to move around or park.

Attaching a photo of my city after cleaning it with shampoo:


It has its fare shares of dent, but I am letting it be right now, as I don't have to worry about someone harming it while it is parked or being driven.

Thanks,
ZMG

[WanderinNomad]

Originally Posted by ZMG

Hi,

Driving this "City" in Bangalore City is effortless.
Taxi drivers dont cut you like they do when you ride a hatchback, and it is not very big to find it cumbersome to move around or park.

Great to see more people driving this car.
How much have you driven in 16 years ?

The FNG I got the suspension work done is in Agra . However if you want to get the same done , do not go to Honda , go to a good FNG as FNG's are willing to replace child parts .
( For eg In my case only a bush for control arm was replaced , instead of changing the complete control arm which Honda was recommending . Result the work costed me hardly 600 Rs instead of 7k-8k recommended by Honda .

[WanderinNomad]

Would like quick suggestions from your side. The car banged with a half bent pole which was not visible while reversing. This damaged the bumper, boot and related components.
I have given the car for denting and painting at popular automach HSR Bangalore. The SA is insisting that the boot cannot be dented/painted and will have to be repaired.
I have serious doubts on the same . The boot panel costs close to Rs 15000/- for replacement and seems unnecessary to me .
What is your guys' opinion on the same ?

[Storm2.0]

Hi WandeinNomad, I strongly suggest you to take a second opinion. The boot has deformed but I don't think it's beyond repair. There are some online portals also which perform doorstep dent repair. I don't remember the names though but please do check it online.
Last option you have is, if the part in not repairable go to a garages which deals with scrap/accident cars and tell them your requirement and they shall source the same part at fraction of the cost for you from another car. You may have to pay for painting though if the color doesn't match.

[WanderinNomad]

The car came back post repair (As shown in picture above)
The boot as well as the bumper were changed and repainted, the Honda Logo at the back is also new. The panel behind the boot was also repaired (this was dented before the crash). The total that I paid from my pocket was Rs 12666/-.
Insurance paid the remaining 18000/-

The workshop insisted on changing the boot panel citing it beyond repair. The boot panel alone costed 15000/- .This made me aware that the accidental parts of old cars are very expensive. Just for reference the boot panel of a new Honda city is just 5000/-. Similar story is with other parts.

However, the workshop has messed up the camera/rear sensors and the same aren't working. Can anyone guide me to a good technician in Bangalore, who can re-install the same properly. Had visited a nearby accessory shop but they were obviously interested in selling me a new system citing the same unrepairable. The system is Worldtech make.

[Equus]

Did you try talking to a known FNG? Naveen from Automechs in Jakkasandra is a recommended guy on the forum here. I went to him for some work and was very satisfied.
But nice work done - looks great! Where did you find the logo's? Are they available at Honda ASS?
I dont need the H logo but the HONDA CITY GXi logos. I am sure I dont want to buy from Amazon.
SP Road is an option but going all the way there just for these is a non-starter.

[WanderinNomad]

Originally Posted by Equus

Did you try talking to a known FNG? Naveen from Automechs in Jakkasandra is a recommended guy on the forum here. I went to him for some work and was very satisfied.
But nice work done - looks great! Where did you find the logo's? Are they available at Honda ASS?
I dont need the H logo but the HONDA CITY GXi logos. I am sure I dont want to buy from Amazon.
SP Road is an option but going all the way there just for these is a non-starter.

I didn't explore much due to insurance issues.
This garage had hassle free cashless tie up with Iffco Tokio.

The logos are available at Honda or you can just order the same from Boodmo.