re: 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review My iDtec is now 4600kms old. I did 2 short road trips in Dec and Jan, of 1000kms and 1300kms. Drove about 600kms in single day twice.
Some observations. Maybe my observations will be relative to my SX4 Zxi which I drove earlier. My car is Vx model and I have changed to Michellin 195/60R15 tyres. The bad 1) Ingress and egress is a pain. I am 6'2" and it's not comfortable
2) Underthigh support for tall drivers is not very good as the seat width is less and seat position low. The right leg does start paining in long runs. But have managed to solve that to some extent by keeping a pillow between the right leg and door. Really helps.
3) Getting correct seating position is a bit difficult, again only for tall drivers. Wish the seat height adjust were linear and not angular.
4) The left leg also touches the center console sometimes
5) In passenger seat, the space is constrained for tall persons, back seat is much better. This is due to the dashboard and center console design
6) Car doesn't handle curves that well at high speeds as the SX4 did. But this is not really a problem as it is actually better to tackle curves at lower speeds, not more than 100kmph
7) Driver armrest a tad short, a bit longer and it would have been actually useful.
8) Touch AC is good for show but not practical. Need to take eyes off the road to change anything
8) For a 12.5 lakhs car, touchscreen and voice commands sorely missed
9) BT calling works but the streeing controls don't work to select the call logs, phonebook etc. Have to use HU buttons, which is quite ridiculous
10) Wish the rear camera also had audio warnings which could be enabled or disabled
11) Steering is very light and sometimes feel this as a disadvantage on faster speeds and the car responds too fast. It takes some time getting used to.
12) The HU has a nice custom wallpaper feature but once that is selected, it does not display the audio details. There should be much more customization available in HU. The good 1) Car is a pleasure to drive, undoubtedly. The engine has good power and did not really fall short even with 4 adults and boot full of luggage. No complaints in regard to power
2) Handling is very good, apart from curves. But one gets used to that also. Car feels planted. Drove the ghats at Mount Abu and was very comfortable. Could easily control even with one hand
3) Steering is very light and easy. At higher speeds it is initially a bit uncomfortable but once used to it, it is a breeze to drive
4) Clutch is super light and never felt any discomfort with left leg
5) Brakes are very good and number of occasions when braking from high speed, felt the ABS in action. Brakes do have some initial play and don't respond immediately. But once used to it, not an issue at all
6) No dead pedal but there is some place to rest the left foot so not a problem
7) Seats are comfortable and I felt back support was really good. No one had any back pain even after sitting for long hours
8) Back seat space is awesome, though at cost of seat width. But great nevertheless
9) Body roll is very well controlled in back seat
10) Suspension is good and ride very comfortable, even on somewhat bad roads.
11) The car did not scrap bottom anywhere even once
12) HU audio sound is very good for normal listeners. Plays the MP3 from USB without any issues. Controls are also easy to use. Custom Wallpaper is a good feature.
13) BT audio quality is very good.
14) NHV leves are good. When people are talking or music is on, one doesn't even feel the diesel engine. Only in silence and while accelerating, it is felt. However is in not disturbing at all. It's much less than in our Punto diesel.
15) AC is effective and quite silent too
16) I have upgraded the low and high beams. The high beam alignment is such that on proper highways, with properly marked lanes and reflectors, it illuminates till a long way ahead. But on roads without these, the high beam hardly seems to have a throw more than the low beam, which is good after lamp upgrade. The high beam seems to be going parallel to the road.
In the trip of 1300 kms, drove 600kms a day twice, filled diesel thrice and were doing high speeds. Got a fuel economy of 14-15kmpl, not bad for a new car and at high speeds.
But the car is a pleasure to drive and am very happy with the purchase. Though the cons may seem as many as the pros, the important aspects are all in the positive. The drive is not tiring. For shorter drivers, many of the complaints I mention will not exist at all.
Definitely looking forward to another trip in this gem of a car. |