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

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_doctor (Post 3966425)

A lot has been said about the deteriorating quality of the recent Hondas manufactured in India. Ive owned Honda cars for 15 years now and not a single one gave me any trouble, the most recent one being the Honda Jazz which is in its 6th year now. I recently drove this car down from Pondy to Punjab , thus clocking 3000kms in 4 days.

Whatever has been said is quite true. Your's is a 6 years old car. That was the time when Honda used to make good quality products. Your car would look new today and even 6 years from now too. But current Citys and Jazz are built to a cost. Just one look and you can tell that it's not the same anymore.
I was in US some time back and had seen some Jazz cars, known as Fit there. It is the current gen, same as the Indian one, but man the build is not the same. The paint quality, the metal used, the dashboard plastics, everything has same design and layout, but it is different, no two ways about it.

I am a proud owner of a a 2014 Honda City SV (D).

I am keen to make minor DIY upgrades to the vehicle and improve the car.

Yet, I can't seem to find the same on Team BHP!

This car is an international model. It is called the Honda Grace in Japan. and is present by the same name, is most of SE Asia.

In fact, being a Honda, it has a very strong following in Thailand.

Yet, rather surprisingly, very few DIY's.

The VW Polo which is also an international model has a very strong DIY scene. Especially on TBHP as visible below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...ail-lamps.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...ol-module.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...tallation.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...t-cluster.html

These are few of the many Polo DIYs.

And on a separate note, I would like to tell fellow BHPian, Gannu_1, you sir are truly talented. It takes a certain level of skill to be this creative.clap:clap:

Now, getting back to topic.

Those of us many individuals on TBHP, who own Honda City's, please do tell me what one can do to make minor improvements to their vehicles?

And are there, if any resources/websites/ideas which one can consult for the same?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shivs2003 (Post 3968277)

I am a proud owner of a a 2014 Honda City SV (D). I am keen to make minor DIY upgrades to the vehicle and improve the car.

Yet, I can't seem to find the same on Team BHP!

May be Honda City is a perfect vehicle that is keeping all owners happy without the need for any D.I.Y! ;)

Keeping the jokes apart, what is that you are looking in the Honda City or may be the list of things you find absent can be put down. If anyone has done them you can follow the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by a4anurag (Post 3968339)

Keeping the jokes apart, what is that you are looking in the Honda City or may be the list of things you find absent can be put down. If anyone has done them you can follow the same.

Upsizing of tires is a must for Honda City.I own a 2012 model. OEM tires from Michelin XM1 are good, but not confidence inspiring. Upsizing is a must. I am waiting for the tires to go bald asap. However, I am confused about the size. Should I for 195 or 205. I guess the latter one will be too much. Let the time come.

Quote:

Originally Posted by keeprevving (Post 3971223)

OEM is 175 section IIRC. So a 195 one should be more than enough. Anything above is an overkill.

Hi All,

I recently had the 5th servicing done for my city and the ASC guy told that the stock battery (Sonic) is weak and it would be better to replace it. :eek: I was a bit taken back as it's just 2 yrs old with an avg running of 2000 kms per month. I also haven't added any after market accessories to increase the load on the battery.

As per the ASC guy the stock battery had 1 yr warranty which shows another aspect of cost cutting on the city.

Has anyone experienced the same with battery going dead within 2 odd years?

As a replacement I'm thinking of going for Amaron 4 yr warranty one while the local battery dealer was all praise for Luminous 4 yr warranty, zero maintenance one saying it's much better than Exide, Amaron and that it's a rage in northern India.

Any suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shailK (Post 3971952)

Faced the same issue with my Skoda Rapid albeit after 3 years. Ask the SA to show you the Voltmeter / Multimeter readout (the Skoda SA had a fancy print-out from his multimeter that displayed the voltage at the positive terminal). If the voltage is higher than 12.6V (or 13.7V with the engine running), then the health of your battery is fine and don't bother changing it.

Have you faced any issues like lights changing intensity when the engine is idling and being revved?

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoenixash (Post 3972023)

I missed asking him on the multimeter reading...maybe an attempt to fleece. I haven't noticed any issue with lights or power window operations... I would get it checked outside before taking a call to replace.

Any suggestions on replacement options?

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma (Post 3957937)

If it is a 3L ₹ Alto, some squeeks are acceptable.

City is a light weight car masks the poor low end of the iVtec. I just hate everything about the City apart from this butter smooth engine.

The notchy gearbox, the lifeless steering, the unstable high speed behavior and the apalling build quality. I don't understand what went wrong with the City name after the 1st gen model.

After driving my cousin's 2011 City with the same engine and lifeless steering that I wasn't comfortable taking to 3 digit speeds.

Appreciate your views. But hate is too strong a word. Going by your experience , I don't know if you did test the 4th gen Honda City properly, but even if you did , I feel it might have been a lemon.

Initial niggles and issues are there when a product is launched and yes, Honda messed it up. But they have corrected it in later versions and I've not come across any rattle or squeak till now in my car.

I don't know why you said high-speed stability is poor. While the steering may not weigh up like a hydraulic power steering equipped Ford, the stability is not an issue. I have had a horrible incident where I had to do a swerve manoeuvre while going at the higher end of triple digit speeds and I was able to control the car without much fuss. It's no vault on wheels but definitely not as bad as you seem to have perceived it. This comes from me after driving a Fiesta and the city on the same stretch of road.

Build quality though light is far from appalling.Toyota has proved with the Etios that light weight need not be unsafe or unstable architecture. I trust that Honda has reduced weight without compromising on the structural integrity. Goes without saying that the interior quality can be ranked second after those on the cars from the VW group.

Coming to reliability, the initial lot of niggles reported were so high due to :
1. More members on T-BHP :D

2. More owners of car itself. The 4th gen City has set sales record for the brand and we are in an age where many people effortlessly voice their opinion online .

I am willing to bet that all those who cried out loud but still kept their car will be pleasantly surprised by the way the car remains trouble free for years to come, though wait and watch is all we can do to know the reality. :)

Hello. I'm new in this thread. Need the advice of HONDA City experts please.

Today I accompanied my dad to book a City for him. City. SMT. Carnelian Red. Dad booked; and mentioned he wanted the car NOT before June first week. (Some funds free up around then)

The sales guy goes - "Car is available in inventory; Manufactured March 2016; We can pick up when we want"

Question:
- Does something sound fishy ? (Why's that car sitting there since March?)
- Am I falling for a "previous financial year " mumbo jumbo?

Your views, eagerly requested and awaited.

Thanks in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLIX (Post 3973915)

If you are going in for Diesel variant, then it's normal. Sales have slowed for Diesel variant and since it's just the beginning of May, it might be a March end manufactured car. Plus with Ciaz giving it a tough fight and the car you booked being the slow selling S-Variant, it's perfectly normal.

We took our car, a V-MT- petrol, in mid May (it arrived on 11 May 2015) and we got an April manufactured car. The SA had set our expectation that we will not get a May manufactured car till the end of May/Start of June since transit time to Kerala is about 1.5 weeks. The car was allocated in end April, Shipped from factory on 5-May (I had the shipping receipt in the car when I went in for PDI!) :)

Do a good PDI. I have my relative who picked up a Jan made VW Polo in May without doing any PDI (the first time they walked into the showroom was on a delivery day) and has absolutely no problems with the car till date.

You can tell the SA that you want a newer car and ask him NOT to hold the March manufactured car. That will hopefully give you a newer car :)