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

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Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4070863)

I did a test drive of 6 cars back to back on the bad roads I have to use everyday and the most comfortable car considering the suspension + seating + space inside was the new Linea followed by City. I am really unsure of the future of Linea and Fiat, so the next best thing is this. I did do two 5Km test drives on the City CVT and felt realllly comfortable. Of course, I am 6 foot tall and the low seating worries me on very long drives (which I don't do much btw :D). I just need to decide between SV-CVT or VX-CVT or come down one notch to Amaze CVT with a smaller engine. Confusion. Confusion.

If bad roads is your worry and good ride quality is what you want, then sure enough you should reconsider Linea. Nothing beats the ride and handling of Linea.

True, you have to deal with inconsistent Fiat after sales but still worth considering.

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Originally Posted by androdev (Post 4070876)

Did you consider any crossover type of cars? People say SUV-ish cars are better if you have back pain.

Agreed. Which is why I checked out the BR-V and personally I am impressed, at least with the CVT engine-transmission combo and the suspension. Yes, the seats are are slightly firmer but they are also taller. But everyone I know jumped on me with a red NO flag when I mentioned BR-V as an option for 15 lakhs.

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I will keep it simple between SV vs VX. Buy the cheaper one and run it as-is. Or buy the fully loaded one. Don't buy SV and spend money to deck it up. Just my opinion. City will surely offer better ride and ergonomics than Amaze.

I think I also agree with you. Though there are people complaining about build quality of the 4th gen city, it also comes with better suspension and more features than the old one and it looks like it is also in the top 20 in terms of sales per month. May be 14.5 - 15 is worth investing on the VX City if it lasts 6-7 years at least. Looking for someone to convince me lol:

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Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4070656)

That's not encouraging though I've seen a few quoting 12Kmpl + in city traffic. I did hear them mention changing the driving style when using CVT. May be there's a trick.

Why are you bothering about mileage? You have mentioned that you don't do long drives so then it won't make a difference of more than a few coffees! I get 9 in treacherous Mumbai traffic but then I also get 12 in decent conditions and 16 on the Mumbai - Pune expressway (mine is a V-MT petrol). The iVtec is just awesome to drive and am sure a few hundred bucks here and there won't matter. So, just forget the mileage. More so when you are buying a car costing 7 figures!

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Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4070656)

...

Paddle Shifts: Good to have
Sunroof: Can be ignored
Alloy Wheels: Must have in such an expensive car!
Turn Indicator on body instead of ORVM: Whatever
Key start instead of Push start: Not a deal breaker
Rear Parking Camera: Must have
Electrically Foldable ORVM: Good to have
Keyless Trunk Opening: Must have (considering checks in malls etc)
Rear Reading Light: Umm
Advanced integrated Audio with 5 Screen: Much better than the SV one
CD player: Can be ignored
Tweeters: Should have
1 power socket instead of 3: Useful if multiple people using the car or is you utilize the backseat
Fabric seats instead of Leather: You'll anyway spend on covers mostly
Front Fog Lamp: Good to have

Spend the extra 2 lacs. Am sure you'll anyway spend at least 1 lac and not have factory fitted. The only reason I stopped at V and didn't go for the VX was because the essential difference was sunroof and push start. But the difference from SV to VX is quite substantial.

Push hard for discounts. Read my post on the previous page... for my friend we were able to negotiate a 30k cash discount and 15k accessories. His was a VX-MT petrol in Mumbai.

Quote:

Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4070863)

....I am really unsure of the future of Linea and Fiat, so the next best thing is this. I did do two 5Km test drives on the City CVT and felt realllly comfortable. Of course, I am 6 foot tall and the low seating worries me on very long drives (which I don't do much btw :D). I just need to decide between SV-CVT or VX-CVT or come down one notch to Amaze CVT with a smaller engine. Confusion. Confusion.

I'm 6.1, and with a turban it means I have to keep the driver seat at the minimum height possible. Used to frequently drive to my hometown (250km, 4-5 hours) and would have back ache after 3 hours. The last two hours would be spent driving in discomfort.

Recently while coming back I raised the height of the seat and reclined it backward a bit further. Voila! the pain I was having completely disappeared and I drove the remaining time cursing myself for not having thought this earlier :) So if you find it comfortable initially then it might work out well over long distances too by some trial and error.

(I'm wondering if it's a coincidence that you had back pain in i10. It's merely anecdotal, but my entire friend circle has begun to detest Hyundai for the back pain their seats cause. We had to travel to Delhi recently and no one was willing to sit on the back seat of the new Verna after spending some time. One friend simply refuses to travel in any Hyundai since he gets terrible back ache within an hour. And he does 3-4 hours easily in his Swift.)

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Originally Posted by avisidhu (Post 4070951)

I think it's a very individual thing about comfort, discomfort and discomfort to the extent of pain. I don't know about all Hyundai but the old I10 definitely had very hard suspension, hard seats, no lumbar support and absolutely no adjustment in steering. Verna also was relatively stiffer to me than City. Of course, there are always those with iron backs who will never feel this. I feel if Honda had given telescopic steering, the possibilities of finding an ergonomic position would have increased so much more. Coincidentally I also had done the exact same higher seat with recline adjustment to get a good seating position. Hopefully there will be no unexpected stains on longer journeys.

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Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4070881)

Brother, BRV is the wrong car! It is just a stretched 5L Brio being sold with a fancy name. You should be considering the Creta. Or take a good hard look at the S Cross if you are not fussy about the AT

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I am saying this after driving my 4th gen City for 57000km. It is NOT WORTH spending 15L on the City. Honestly, even 10 is stretching it. As for the suspension, it is comfy to begin with but the ride quality deteriorates in not much time at all. Seats are overtly soft. They loose shape and start sagging.

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Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain (Post 4070995)

That's really disheartening to hear :( , but there are very few cars that have been around for very long in this price range that would last for 4-5 years and not deteriorate a little. May be it depends on the person maintaining the car?

By the way, it's not just you. I have been getting this vibe in the last few comments from many that they want me to explore cars other than City. I also researched a lot and the two awesome suspension cars: The Duster is still too expensive for what it offers on the inside and Linea has great comfort and build but it feels like a lost cause sadly.

What is your alternate suggestion within this price range that will hold its strong build for a few years to come, has the common modern features, most importantly have good (soft for the broken city roads, dont use highways) suspension and awesome lumbar support (creta has complaints in this regard). I can give up on Auto transmission if the above criteria are met.

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Originally Posted by Blow Horn Ok (Post 4071058)

Try out the Duster/Terrano duo. I believe they have the best ride quality in the price segment. You can also opt for the duster AMT. There is also news about the terrano automatic.

Earlier generations of dusters were "rusters" - huge rust and build quality issues. Have those been ironed out recently?

Else an older second hand city would be a very good buy - anything other than the "ANHC", say the third generation.

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Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4071036)

What is your alternate suggestion within this price range that will hold its strong build for a few years to come, has the common modern features, most importantly have good (soft for the broken city roads, dont use highways) suspension and awesome lumbar support (creta has complaints in this regard). I can give up on Auto transmission if the above criteria are met.

I am in agreement with your take that the Duster is too expensive for what it offers and the Linea is pretty much a lost cause now.

If you are looking for a no tension 4 year ownership (like the Hondas of old used to offer), the S Cross seems to be the best bet. All reviews point towards it being a sturdy and well built car with good front seats and a mature suspension setup.

Personally, I am very particular about seating comfort and ride quality because I have slip disc problem. When I test drove the Creta, I also noticed that the lumbar support wasn't that great. But the seats were pretty comfortable nonetheless. Owners have reported doing 12hr+ drives with no discomfort in the Creta thread. Good thing is that the compound was not too soft and should last for quite some time.

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Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain (Post 4071091)

Aren't you a City owner too? Anyways, my first experience with 1.3 Scross was better than City and then the 1.6 was incredible!! But when I took the test drive again 2 days later, the test drive vehicle was sooo bad. Engine was loud. AC blower was loud. I could hear every vehicle on the road, especially on the passenger side. I immediately dropped the idea. In fact, I was thinking of mentioning the same on the Scross thread because I fear that's how the car will turn out to be 4-5 years down the line.

The top end VX model has a dotted visor (called frit) on the windshield, a thin stip of dotted pattern running along the top of the windshield and a thicker dotted section covering the top glass area just behind the rear view mirror which the sun visors doesn't cover.

I've found it useful to have this frit to avoid getting the glare from the Sun, especially from the open area at the top between the sun visors.

Unfortunately, none of the other variants other than VX has this frit.
The frit is literally baked into the glass at the time of manufacturing.

I was wondering if a dotted pattern sticker/film is available in the market which can be stuck to the windshield at the top to have the same look and effect as a Frit.

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Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4070881)

Agreed. Which is why I checked out the BR-V and personally I am impressed, at least with the CVT engine-transmission combo and the suspension.

The BR-V is built on the Brio platform and so is the Mobilo (MUV). So not a 'true' mini-SUV / MUV. The price tag for the BR-V is high considering it is built on the Brio platform. The Hyundai Creta or Duster / Terrano would be a better choice for a 5 seater SUV (mini).

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Originally Posted by komalthecoolk (Post 4070881)

Not sure of the 4th gen City's quality, as I have not owned or driven it. However, I have friends who own the 4th gen City and are very happy with it. It could be true that the build quality may be slightly questionable (as compared to earlier models, based on forum feedback), but the mere pleasure of owning & driving a Honda i-vtec far outweighs any niggles that the 4th gen City may have. Like I said, the quality issues I have read mostly on forums, but the owners of 4th gen City that I know are generally happy and really like their respective Honda Citys'. Cars from all manufacturers at some point may have some sort of selective 'shortfalls or niggles' and that is understandable. I have known people owning a INR 30L + Mercedes and that too had some sort of niggle but surely not a deal breaker. But one thing is for sure, one cannot really go wrong owing either a Honda or a Toyota. These are cars that have matured & time tested engines and relatively low periodic maintenance costs.

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Originally Posted by varunsangal (Post 4068609)

A definitive sign of the battery showing its age. Would advise you to get a battery test done at the service center. They will check the specific gravity of the battery and its ability to hold charge and advice replacement.

Having said that, 2.5 years is a low life for an OEM battery, they typically last a full 3.5-4 years.

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Originally Posted by avdhesh15 (Post 4069951)

Get the battery checked and recharged. I had a similar issue which seems to have been rectified during the last service ( the SA mentioned they've recharged the battery ).

So my wife had taken the car out. Once done with her work, when she tried starting the car, it was dead. Luckily, there was a battery shop(pretty decent one) right across. The folks came and checked the battery and post all the tests, declared that its really weak and not able to hold charge and needs a replacement. They mentioned that the battery is of 32 Ah instead of recommended 35 Ah. I told him (over phone) that its an OEM battery and should be what Honda gives. Anyways, I was asked to replace battery. I did question on the 2.5 years life which he was surprised but all the tests showed that battery is not holding up. I went for Amaron (he had Exide as well but with OEM Exide, planned to go with Amaron) and now car starts immediately.

Still trying to figure out why the battery lasted only 2.5 years.