Team-BHP - 4th-gen Honda City : Official Review

I really think that the new City especially in Silver looks beautiful (poor man's BMW??) from the rear and left side rear. On most other views, it looks good to very good, and I could find barely a bad view. There is nothing in this segment that comes close.

This has already been bad news for the competition. The last time Honda got it so right in the Indian market was with the Civic in 2006 which absolutely creamed the competition. This benefited me then as I bought a Corolla in early 2007 at a good discount. Have never regretted that decision. Then the crises of 2008-09 and huge fuel parity caused a sharp downturn in Honda's fortunes. They recovered only with the Amaze and as Amaze has now stabilised at a lower level, the City is more than picking up the slack. I think some cannibalisation of Amaze sales may be taking place with people comparing the price of Amaze and City, and going for the City's E and S/SV models.

Honda also got it right with the 2003-08 City but the success of that was arguably not due to its looks. Remember the huge spike in fuel prices from 2003 till late 2008, which also contributed a lot to its success.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasudeva (Post 3739405)

Cost of maintenance may not matter much since the driving will be so low at 300-400/month. I have no problems with Michelins except my last Michelin Primacy LC 195/60 R15 on Corolla lasted 26K and had to be changed due to cracks and tears.

vasudeva, most of the global major tyre manufacturers have brought out India specific tyre models which can take the grind of bad Indian roads and also balances the fuel efficiency expectations with lower rolling friction. For Michelin the XM series does that like Yokohama's Earth series.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adarsh76 (Post 3719668)

The pickup issue is definitely not due to AC. This is something else. I drive a CVT. As expected, there is a rubber band effect when you press the accelerator too hard, but that's expected out of any Automatic car. How to over come the rubber band, just take the foot off from the accelerator for a split second and it will be over. Other option is to use paddle shift if you have the VX version. Anyways, unleashing the power of CVT is to use a lighter foot than a hard foot.

I have never faced a power shortage with AC or without AC. In fact I have never driven for more than 2 minutes without AC. There is definitely something else and you need to get it rectified. Ask the service to have a check up using the diagnostics tool.

Hi Adarsh,
I have bought a Honda City Automatic sv cvt top end model. Need your advice . The car has done about 1100 km so far all of it in Chennai traffic and in chaotic traffic conditions. The first service was also completed . My mileage is a measly 8.2 km per litre measured from the meter and not by full tank to full tank method
The ASC during service took me for a test drive on the highway and showed me a mileage of almost 19 kmpl. But that is on a high way with speeds in excess of 70 kmph.
We are driving the car only in eco mode and ensure that the green light is on and that we dont cross the 2000 rpm level.
The ASC says that the mileage will improve after the car has done about 2500 kms.
Can you please advice . Other wise the car is a dream to drive and after driving a diesel Punto for 5 years am grinning ear to ear while driving this beauty.
Would love to have your advice please
regards

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prabhakarpn (Post 3741734)

Hi Adarsh,
My mileage is a measly 8.2 km per litre measured from the meter and not by full tank to full tank method

regards

Hi
I also own a CVT VX. I was getting over 10kmpl just after i crossed 500km mark and ever since then the FE went on increasing.
I have just clocked over 3000kms and i constantly get over 14kmpl in city with Ac on and over 18kmpl on the highways. But i am situated in chandigarh and there isn't much traffic here. If the traffic in your city is too much, it is only going to return about 10-12kmpl. The FE should increase after another 500-600kms just take it light on the vehicle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prabhakarpn (Post 3741734)

Hi My mileage is a measly 8.2 km per litre measured from the meter and not by full tank to full tank method

I too drive my SV CVT in Chennai and get anywhere between 8 and 9.5 depending on traffic and driving style. My car has completed 4000+ km and I am hoping that with oil change at 6 months service mileage will improve a bit.

I get 7 kmpl in bumper to bumper traffic or during very short runs and get 9 kmpl on longer city drives. The key to get a better mileage in this car is to not accelerate or brake suddenly. Using cruise control (if road conditions permit) dramatically improved mileage.

Having said that, the engine is very sweet and it is hard to drive the car sedately.

I have also seen that there is not a very significant difference in mileage between eco, drive or sport mode - but could be wrong here as I never driven in a single mode for long and shift into sport mode at the slightest opportunity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prabhakarpn (Post 3741734)

You don't need to worry now. It would definitely improve. I live in Trivandrum and being a much smaller city than Chennai, the traffic won't be that much compared. But still there are certain stretches where the traffic is horrible. During my earlier days, I too got a very low FE ranging from as low as 6.9 to 9.9 in bumper to bumper as displayed in MID. This was for the initial 1000 kms I guess. I have mentioned this in my earlier posts, don't exactly remember now :) My car has clocked 12800 kms now and the minimum FE even at the worst bumper to bumper was displayed in MID as 10.5 kms/l. The maximum obtained under normal City conditions is about 13.5 kms/l again in MID. This is with AC automatically set between 24 and 25 and two people on board. This is the scenario from the last 1.5 months or so.

I use ECON mode only during bumper to bumper and on traffic idle time. However, recently the traffic has increased owing to Monsoon season, so I'm using ECON most of the time since frequent braking is required. However, make sure you're not using ECON mode while you're stopped and then starting on a slope. That would strain the engine too much.

For pure city driving, you can inflate tyre pressure to a max of 34 psi in front and 32 psi in the back. Don't do this if you are driving on rough potholed roads or in highway conditions.

We can't expect anything higher than this from any Petrol engines in city conditions. Anyways, for me FE was not the first priority. It was my left leg pain which forced me to take an Automatic and no doubt City CVT is the best in this segment overall. Cheers!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by themonster (Post 3739088)

Hey Everyone !!

4. Yup, it's the same grinding noise. Welcome to the club. I saw your video, and the exact same thing is happening with most of the petrol owners, including myself. When the weather is cold/more chilly it takes an even longer time for the sound to disappear. The sound started for me around 30000kms. When did it start for you? and by the way, you havent mentioned how much is your ODO reading currently.

Had sent the car to Honda yesterday for the noise coming from the car on cold start. It turns out that the A/c compressor has failed. I had told them the previous time I gave them the car that the A/c wasn't cooling properly and the compressor made lot of rattling while starting in the morning. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ahmedabad.html

They told me it was normal and they did something after which the A/c started cooling and was OK for 2 weeks after which it was back to ineffective cooling.

Now they tell me that the compressor had failed which caused the whistling noise. On asking them as to how the noise was coming when the A/c was off he said that the pulley moves even if the A/c is off.

The warranty for the part has been approved and they luckily had the part but it will take 1 day to change the compressor and recharge the gas. Everything is being done FOC. Expecting the car to be delivered by tomorrow afternoon

This means that the first diagnosis was wrong and I was right all along about something being wrong with the A/c:Frustrati

Absolutely disgusted at Honda's Quality check. What kind of reliability is this where the compressor fails within 7k kms and 9 months of ownership. Do note that I always switch off the A/c before turning the car off and only turn it on after the cold sign goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcJPyMC-yCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockporiom (Post 3742756)

I have the same problem and the sound comes during the cold start in the morning hours, but at the same time I haven't face any issues with AC performance.

Now, I am confused!! Is anyone else facing similar problem? Please advise!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasudeva (Post 3739958)

Serial call dealers in NCR and there is a very good chance that someone may have SV AT in your first or second choice of colour. I did that for VX AT and hit pay dirt with 3 dealers (Prime, Ring Road, Ace). Then close it quickly.
Perhaps Honda's factory being nearby, there is a good chance of something on the way soon.

Thanks Sir for your advise as well as email. I am waiting for about a month before going ahead with buying. I am sure this advise will hold good that time too especially with newer models like Creta, S-Cross, Jazz (which I believe DO change demand for Honda City too despite being another category).

In the meanwhile, I shall keep looking for good deals on AT City with other dealers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by feroz_009 (Post 3742790)

Took the delivery of the car today and changing the compressor seems to have solved the problem. I am still monitoring the cooling effectiveness but the sound level has overall reduced by a huge margin. the bearing for the compressor clutch had got spoilt causing the noise and ineffective cooling according to the service advisor. The compressor no longer rattles when the A/c is switched on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockporiom (Post 3743584)

Rockporiom - Keep us posted on the audio system hanging /resetting resolution

Barely 1 year on and while the water leakage seems finally fixed as of now, the alternator grinding has shown its ugly face. :( Also in 1 yr 20km service Solitaire Honda claimed to have done tyre rotation as recommended, but i found that no tyres were moved at all! Disappointed at my Honda experience all around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakv (Post 3743646)

The stereo glitches all the time and factory resets. They say that they cannot process a warranty claim only on the basis of bluetooth issues as the OEM may claim that it is due to frquenct and signal loss. They have asked me to see if the problem comes in usb and aux and then tell them.