| The All New Honda City SMT - A new owner's comments
PRE-DELIVERY/BOOKING/DELIVERY ETC -
The new Honda City came home on 3rd Nov after a ten day wait from the day of booking!
I began a survey of cars to replace my six year old Ford Fusion and locked on to the Honda City as the car with the most reliable name, engine and after sales service plus good user experience and good resale value. It had most of the features I needed in my budget. Once my Fusion was sold, I got a car loan from State Bank sanctioned in a week or so. However the tango with the City dealer went on for nearly two weeks prior to this.
It was a mixed experience at the dealer. The sales person was not completely transparent and I had to wrench out the available 'festive' discounts from him. There seems to be a hierarchy of sanctioning authority and speaking to the next higher person got me additional discounts. In all for the SMT model I got free insurance, corporate discount of 2500/-, another 5000/- off and a zero dep policy for the first year.
We chose the Carnelian Red colour and were about to book when we were told 'it may take a month'. I stopped in my tracks and said I will then cancel the idea of booking the car. Till then there was no mention of this and we presumed the cars were readily available. Looking back we began to wonder if the sales person was trying to sell us a car with 'Sparkling brown' colour that looks very close to black - the colour of our last car. Finally after a brief discussion with the 'Logistics' chief at the dealers they said they would give it on the 8th. It actually arrived on the 29 October or so. Then I decided to go for the PDI.
Having armed myself with the Team BHP PDI memoir, I sought a pre delivery inspection. The sales person casually showed me a car saying 'this is your car'. I noted the month and year of manufacture (9th and 10th letters of the VIN for Honda) and when I returned to sign the RTO forms I requested to see the certificate 22. The part B was not attached, so I asked for it. When it came I found the chassis number was different from that of the car shown to me. I told the man that this is not the car shown to me, which he initially tried to deny but a second visit showed I was right. The 9th digit (month of manufacture) was different and that had given me a clue. I was annoyed at the casual and needless deception. I then signed the RTO forms after the chassis number had been entered in it. I paid the full amount agreed in the contract - which is a one page statement of what price is agreed. This contract is important because once you sign it, no amount of bargaining will get you any more discount or goodies and 25k of your money will be with the dealer. This was on 30th October (Wednesday) afternoon. Three days was the time needed for registration and it was agreed the car would be delivered Saturday 3rd Nov at 1 pm with the number.
Thursday morning I got a phone call from the salesman that the RTO has a 'holiday' on Saturday. I checked with other sources (a VW dealer RTO man I knew - and WIAA) and found it was not a holiday. I then told the dealer that the sales person was in the habit of speaking untruths and I did not want to deal with him. They changed him for another person who gave me much better service and on 2nd Nov (Friday) night at 10 pm he even sms-ed me the car's registration numbers. Again on the day of delivery (Saturday) they confirmed the time I would come.
The second point I noted was that the car does not physically go to the RTO for the Road worthiness certificate. The odo was at 3 km when I saw it pre registration and it was at 4 km when I took delivery. It is plain the rule is only in the books and never followed by the RTO or the dealers.
The delivery procedure was smooth and a bit of initial paperwork, then showing me the controls, then a small puja and a photo session. More papers and a gate pass. The car was driven into the open. The ceremonial coconut was broken. The dealer gave me a small packet of chocolates and I had taken a gift along (as per Team BHP guidelines) that I gave the salesperson.
Then the car was driven out with all the care that I could take to avoid any bumps and scratches on the first day. Filled about 20 litres of petrol and came home and took some more snaps.
OTHER CARS AND THE CITY COMPARED -
I had test driven the Vento petrol and diesel. The diesel is a great car, very responsive when you step on the pedal, but more expensive and I don't drive more than 1000 km in a month, so dropped the idea. The Highline had no discounts and the Comfortline had no safety features like airbags and ABS. I like the VW lines but was a bit apprehensive about the After Sales and the need to get things from Germany on occasion. Amongst other options, the Verna is highly recommended but expensive compared to the City. I also like the City's shape and design as well as reputation as a 'good car'. I avoid Hyundai cars ever since they came in the market. I think the averson has to do with their first ugly Santro! Perhaps, if the Ford Ecosport had appeared would have tried it and in fact I did wait for it to come this year. The Tata and Fiat cars I did not try due to questionable after sales and resale values. The Ford Fiesta (new) I did not like the rear end styling. The Chevy stable is selling mostly Chinese models and their Optra is old. Skoda Rapid - I did go for a test ride - it had the advantages of a new car and a reasonable price. However the salesperson was clueless when I said I am hitting my head when getting in the car and did not think of pointing out that there is a height adjustment seat in it (which the Vento people did). The City is the first sedan in 18 years I have (Fiat 1964 sold in 1994) so I was till now a hatchback man. I had also tested the Brio and the Polo 1.2 as I was contemplating buying a smaller car at the same time - an idea I later dropped. The Brio is good as far as engine and the front seats are concerned. However I was disappointed with the rear seats, the head supports, the boot and the ride quality behind. The Polo is a well built car with many good features in it. However the engine noise is appreciable - could it be the 3 cylinder engine?
THE CITY - EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR -The external design is good although the front City grill is just a bit loud. The door of the City surprisingly has a good thud like my last European car and not tinny. It is also fairly heavy. It seems a well built car with a soft suspension. The seats are not as easy to get in and out of as in my last car - Ford Fusion -, but has height adjustment in the SMT model - that I use although I am not short - and that makes it more difficult to come in and go out of the car. The tilt steering is useful. There is no telescopic steering but I dont miss it. The paint (Red Carnelian) is very good and the finish is good. It looks like a premium car.
Interiors are pleasing although the black material on the dashboard just near the front glass could have been better. The front arm rest is short and does not get in the way of the hand brake. At the same time it is of no use in city drives as it is a bit away from one's elbow, perhaps in long journeys it may help. The electrically adjusted mirrors take time to get used to. They are useful for the left side mirror (because it is far away) but would prefer the manual for the right as it is faster. Space inside is ample - both at the front and the back, the seats recline at the back just enough to make it a luxurious experience and the hand rest is well designed. The driver's seat is comfortable and is moulded for good thigh and back support for the long rides I intend to take the car on.
AC is good for front seats, have not tried them by sitting behind but the air gradually passes behind I suppose. The back AC vent is under the carpet, not visible and not much use.
One irksome point (as compared to the Ford or VW) is the three monthly service. If one sees the maintenance schedule there is no real need for it as most things are checked or changed at six monthly intervals so this remains an enigma.
THE RIDE/FEATURES -
The engine and gear shift are smooth and good. The absence of a dead pedal is felt. I wonder why Honda has a Cruise control in the VMT model. I feel we dont have the roads for this yet. The car's pick up and ability to weave through city traffic is better than the Fusion even though I am still scared of a two wheeler scraping against the car or hitting the rear of the car. The brakes are responsive and the car stops pretty quickly when needed.
The audio system (no CD) is reasonably good - the salesman said it was Mitsubishi but there is no visible brand on it. The steering audio controls are useful and one does not need to take one's eyes off the road. One misses some things like fog lamps (priced at 21500 or so in accessories) that I was used to - in the SMT - although one may use them just a couple of days in an year. The Distance to empty dial is shared by other info dials (trip meter/petrol average/total running odo) so one cannot see all together as I could on my Ford. In fact I realised how fully loaded my Ford (Fusion) was in features when I saw some things missing. For example, it had fog lights front and back and the front passenger too could lock all doors. There was an boot opener in my remote key opener of the Ford in addition to the normal lock - unlock buttons. I missed these simple add ons. Of course the Honda City has ABS and air bags, alloy wheels that my Ford Fusion did not. However these help when they are really needed in tragic scenarios and not in day to day running of a largely safe driver.
The boot at 500 litres is one of the largest in the C2 sedan class and one need not worry about fitting those bags from airport trips.
I have driven the car in different times and scenarios of traffic in the city. I have not yet hit the bottom on any of the speed breakers and have driven about 150 km so far. It is a good car and the maroon (Carnelian red) colour is great. The petrol average shown with AC on at all times is 10.9 km/litre in fairly busy city traffic.
ACCESSORIES -
I got art leather seat covers for 9k from a good shop in Pune. They have small pores for 'respiration' according to the owner. It took 2.5 hrs to fix them. I also got moulded beige 3D mats (five pieces) for 5500/- and a mat for the boot for 400/- plus a microlite cloth for 200/- for taking the dust off the car without causing minor scratches on the paint. My Car body cover was delivered by the dealer and it fits very well. It will be good protection when I park for a couple of hours specially from bird dropping.
I also researched the fog lights for the Honda City. I phoned various dealers in Mumbai and Pune. The fog lights (OEM) were out of stock everywhere but I got quotes ranging from 17000 to 26000/-. I spoke to Honda one on one who got the dealer to call me obviously not satisfying my query of different prices. The accessories shop assured me he can fix me a lamp in the fog light slot that would actually be a 'Driving Light' for 5000/- without cutting any wires. I then told the salesperson at Honda to enquire whether their service centre will fit it for me if I buy it and bring it to them. Hope to get an answer soon. The accessories shop told me that if u need a 'fog' light, you can put yellow cellophane on this light and it will become yellow light and as good as a fog lamp. Dont know if this is correct.
THE WISH LIST-
Today comes the news Honda is introducing eight new models in two years! Looking at the City, there is not much they ought to tinker with. However if they have to these are the areas they need to improve
1. Automatic climate control. The present system is a generation old with rear vents under the carpet and the front seats.
2. A really good built in audio-system.
3. Remote keyless boot opening button added to the key.
4. Trim a couple of centimetres from the pointed front end (even at the hypothetical cost of the 'arrow head' style design) as it makes the car too long without adding much to the aero dynamics.
5. The sun roof and cruise control option (top end model) are really not much use in India. It is strange to find evey car offering sun roof when we have too much of the sun here. The cruise control similarly is not much use in our congested twisting roads and unlikely to help in the future.
6. The glove compartment is difficult to open when a passenger is sitting on the front seat as its opening is obstructed by the person's knees.
7. The headlights need to have better more powerful bulbs. Too many people have had to get their bulbs changed to better ones.
8. The boot has not place to keep the tool kit secured and can rattle around. The box to keep the 'danger' triangle in case of a breakdown can be substituted for a place to stow the triangle.
9. A 'net bag' to hang across the boot to keep small things/laptop in the boot (as one got with the Fusion) will be a help.
10. Only some models have the facility of dropping the rear seat to increase stowage area. This can be offered to all models. After all it is the company that gave 'magic seats' for the Jazz.
Looking forward to an exhilarating ownership experience in the days to come. Next weekend is a trip to Mumbai where I can put it through its paces! I will update the thread after the first service to give the first 1000 km experience.
Last edited by frequentflyer : 7th November 2012 at 19:42.
Reason: adding and clarifying the ownership experience
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3rd November 2012, 21:30
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Thanks
