[AutoConsultant]

Just a brief background about me -
- Born and brought up in Delhi
- crazy about cars since childhood, have attended each and every Auto Expo since 2000, also went to the Frankfurt Motor show in 2017
- have an automotive engineering as well
- have driven more than 30 vehicles via rentals across the world but this would be my first self-purchased car

Background and Requirements
• I had been driving Dad's cars (Alto till 2017, Baleno after that) for the past decade and decided to get my own car post my marriage in 2020
• Always had an inclination towards the sedan body type and as it would be driven in City (Delhi NCR) 90% of the time, GC wouldn't be an issue
• No minimum requirements as such as the price point I was looking at, I would be getting most of the essential features.

Cars considered

Rapid Rider - Just the sheer VFM proposition and the punchy engine made me consider this one. I would not have gone for anything beyond the Rider/Rider Plus variant. However, as I am planning to keep this one for a good 8-10 years, the horrible ASS stories as well as it being a 10-year old design made me drop this one

Verna - This car makes a lot of sense, has all the essential features along with wide network of Hyundai and considerably cheaper than City. However, the 2020 model's front look did not go well with me. Also, I would like to have decent space in the back seats if I am spending this much.

City - Had been waiting for the 5th gen since the beginning of 2020 and wasn't disappointed. The front chrome bar was a little off-putting but the overall package is simply superb. And I just kinda felt connected to it somehow. So after almost a year of research, finalized this one

Booking and delivery
• Went with Ring Road Honda Peeragarhi, booked the car on 27th Dec 2020 and got the delivery on 1st Jan 2021.
• Extremely smooth process, got discounts of around 45k and there were no hassles wrt documentation
• Was confused between A. VX or ZX and B. White or Golden Brown. Went with ZX for the LED lights and leather seat covers (given that it has seat airbags, didn't want to go with the hassle of getting the right seat covers done). Wrt the color, the car looked larger, longer and much more elegant in white (all the cuts and creases are clearly visible) than in golden brown
• Variant booked - City ZX MT Petrol (Pearl White) - Rs 14.7 on-road
• Went with Honda Assure insurance, didn’t take the Basic Kit worth Rs 8,000. Just went for Window Chrome molding as part of accessories
• Shout out to RTO offices - the dealer applied for registration on 31st, got the confirmation and by evening the HSRP number plate was installed on my car





Initial Review

Exterior
• Makes heads turn on the road - anyone can easily mistake if for a class above, the overall silhouette is just beautiful
• The LED headlights are simply gorgeous, amplify the looks of the car and the throw is great as well, auto headlamps is a handy function too - you can almost forget about ever operating it manually
• Tail lights are sharp as well and make the rear look bigger
• Only flaw I found were the interior of wheel arches - look very ungainly from certain angles, could have added some sound insulation material or just made it more aesthetic














The Wheel wells

Interior
• Very simple and laid back dashboard design yet very ergonomic and crisp - something that would age very gracefully
• The head unit is decent and I mostly use Android Auto/Apply Carplay whose interface is quite good
• One minor flaw is that when you are using Maps and listening to the radio, there is no way for the front passenger to change the channel without stopping the navigation. They should have added physical buttons on the head unit for that also
• The camera quality - both the rear and lane watch camera - is just pathetic. You get better cameras on a 5-7k smartphone. The Lane watch camera is a handy tool but is almost useless at night
• The HVAC controls are minimalistic and functional with great tactile feel on the knobs and buttons
• Sunroof adds to the roominess of the cabin and is great to enjoy the chilly Delhi weather
• Leather seat covers are brilliant, feels like they will last a lifetime
• Should have given height adjustable seat belts at least in this segment, would have been very useful for shorter people
• As it is a low car, the front head room is limited and good enough for a 5’9-5’10 person, anyone taller than that might find their head touching the roof
• No point commenting on the space on offer, it's just very roomy everywhere; Dashboard is huge but does not intrude in the front seating space
• Road and Tire noise is audible when there’s absolute silence in the cabin but not a deal breaker

















Engine and Transmission
• The transmission unit is just fantastic with such a wide band of speeds achievable in each gear
• It feels as if you can drive on any gear at any speed and the transmission would be just as smooth always
• The engine is quite punchy for city driving and overtakes are simple

Ride and Handling
• Glides over the usual small potholes you discover on city roads, you actually feel like you are floating when you are on a smooth road
• The steering is light but weighs up when you reach triple digit speeds
• Haven't faced any GC issues yet and can't comment much on handling as have not driven on any proper curvy roads

Additional Work done on the Car
• Got a gear lock installed, the technician had to struggle a little bit as he said that the gear positioning has changed as compared to previous gen
• Ordered 7D Mats from Coozo.com for Rs 3990
• I got Ceramic coating done on the 3rd day itself so that the paint and shine are maintained for the initial couple of years, you can find the pictures below









Overall Opinion
• I feel at this price point, this car offers much more value that the Pseudo-SUVs on offer, is a proven product and easy to fall in love with
• The few misses (Head unit, Camera quality etc) are bearable if we compare it to the major mechanical failures other customers of the above mentioned cars are facing.
• Also, right now this car is very exclusive , especially on Delhi roads, which is a plus!

[AutoConsultant]

And just like that, she has turned 1! Although it was not a very road trip-friendly year but I still managed to clock in ~8500 km (target was 10k) which is decent given that I don’t have any daily travel routines. It has been a pleasant and trouble-free journey with lots of high moments.

I have already given a lot of detailed Pros and Cons through my (The 5th-gen Honda City in India. EDIT: Review on page 62)Initial Ownership, (Exploring Rajasthan in a 5th-gen Honda City | First road trip with my first car) Rajasthan and (Exploring Rajasthan in a 5th-gen Honda City | First road trip with my first car) Manali road trips so will cover points that haven’t been touched upon yet.

No creaking sounds – As there were a lot of early reports of users hearing constant creaking sounds from either the roof panel or suspension, I have spent the entire year trying to listen to even the faintest of sounds. Luckily, my car doesn’t suffer from any issues. The cabin is pretty silent although rear wheel arch insulation could have been better. One more thing – they could have added rubber pads in the storage spaces on the center console. Anything you keep there which is not an exact fit will move around and produce very noticeable irritating sounds.



Some rubber insulation would have been better


Ride, Handling and Power delivery – The soft suspension is really comfortable in city driving conditions and I feel the car is quite stable on highways and haven’t experienced any bouncy effects of the soft suspension. It performs really well on curvy hilly roads and instills confidence while overtaking and switching lanes at high speeds.

I have only one word for this powertrain – Versatile. I can easily upshift to 6th gear and drive at 50-60 kph when I am in a relaxed mood or thinking too much about fuel prices OR I can rev it to the max and easily touch 80-90 kph in 2nd gear! This car will never let you down irrespective of your mood swings or road/traffic conditions. I am happy that I did not go for a smaller capacity turbo-petrol as it might not have suited my driving requirements.

Ergonomics – Honda is well known for this and the new City is no exception. Couple of notable mentions :

• Chunky Steering Controls - including separate buttons to pick up and end a call and activate the voice assistant. A lot of modern cars are doing away with these physical buttons.
• AC Controls – Just love the touch and feel of the knobs as well as the physical buttons. Kudos to Honda for moving from touch to physical controls, other manufacturers are going the other way around
• Arm Rests – The positioning of both the center and door arm rests is quite good and comfortable, although the center arm rest should have a sliding function

Fuel Economy – It has been getting better and better with time and increased KMs under its belt. For example, following are the MID figures I got on my recent trip to Mussoorie :
1. Delhi to Dehradun (all flat roads, no AC) – 261 KM – 20 KM/L
2. Full Delhi to Mussoorie – (including 50 KM of hilly roads) – 320 KM – 17.2 KM/L
3. Mussoorie to Delhi via Rishikesh – (30% AC and 50-60 km downhill) – 370 KM – 18.6 KM/L

In my experience the MID figures are 1KM/L more than what I get in tank-to-tank but still these are good numbers. I have always done a full tank during petrol refills and maintain an excel sheet. Below are a few key FE figures achieved :
1. Highest – 19.5 KM/L (Rajasthan road trip, cruising at ~80 kph)
2. Lowest – 10 KM/L (perpetually stuck in Delhi traffic)
3. Overall (calculated across 8500 km usage – 90% city, 10% highway) – 13.5 KM/L


Accessories I have used

1. Coozo 7D Car Mats - They fit well and are easy to clean. Had to cut out a bit near the accelerator as it was interfering with the controls. Also, the plastic locks joining the upper and lower mats tend to break with usage but the seller was gracious enough to send 10-12 locks as spare free of cost



2. Door Sill Illumination - The one provided by Honda were very costly so got these after market. Was mostly getting yellow light ones but I dug deep to find these white light ones.





Things I definitely miss and feel could have been added at low extra cost :
• Wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay
• Seat Belt Height adjuster
• Better sound insulation
• Cooled Glove Box
• Retractable Sun shades for door windows

First Full Service – 1 Year/10k KM

One day prior to the service appointment, I went through the user manual to see what all does the company recommend so that I don’t get fooled by the workshop.

I went to Cherish Honda in Mangolpuri, Delhi and following were the jobs suggested to me apart from the usual service which was free this time :

• Engine Oil + Oil Filter – Rs 2200 (I had checked online which oil is generally used, I found that 5W40 is the usual one but the SA told me that nowadays they are only using Honda Synthetic 2.0 which is 0W20. I thought of asking him that I want the 5W40 only but felt that if it is company recommended and not too costly, I can go ahead with 0W20 which would obviously be better)
• Wheel Alignment – Rs 750 (No thanks, too costly)
• Wheel Balancing- Rs 600 plus weights cost (No thanks, too costly)
• Electric terminals clean up etc – Rs 600 (nowhere mentioned in the user manual)
• AC Duct cleaning – Rs 650 (nowhere mentioned in the user manual)

So I skipped getting the Wheel Alignment and Balancing done from the workshop and didn’t find the last 2 necessary jobs at this point of time. So it was the basic servicing and Engine Oil and Filter change. The total bill was around Rs 2500 and took around 4 hours. I was glad that the SA didn’t push me to get unnecessary stuff done.

The next day I took my car to a trusted local tire shop. I got the wheel alignment, balancing and rotation (the rotation pattern is mentioned in the User manual and I made sure that I followed that). The car required some camber work so it took a couple of hours but I was satisfied with the overall job done. It costed me a total of Rs 850.

Conclusion
One year down the line, do I think that I made the right choice? Absolutely! Even in the current market, I don’t see any worthy options which I would go for. I do not prefer the higher driving position of the mid size UVs and even though I like the WAG twins (Kushaq and Taigun) I did not like the 1L Turbo and couldn't have stretched my budget enough for the 1.5L Turbo. Slavia looks promising but I would not want to go for the 1L turbo and the 1.5L turbo would definitely be out of my budget. The only future downside could be Honda shutting shop but I feel this car can be handled relatively easily by FNGs so service wont be that big an issue and I don’t care about resale value because (hopefully) I would be looking to sell it anytime soon.












Ceramic Coating also holding up well after 1 year

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing! Clubbed your initial post and 1-year update into one thread. Going to our homepage this weekend .

[vigsom]

That was quite a sensible buy, and arguably the most nice looking model of the City offered this far. In fact, the first time I saw the 5th Gen City, I could immediately draw a parallel to the 2017 Accord - sample images attached below.

The 2017 Accord - sample images

Makes heads turn on the road - anyone can easily mistake if for a class above, the overall silhouette is just beautiful

Very simple and laid back dashboard design yet very ergonomic and crisp - something that would age very gracefully

A friend of mine who picked up my Corolla back in 2012 finally let go of the car last year and got himself a beautiful City AT in white. I was given the keys to take her for a spin, but then decided to just check the car out in the garage. I found the seats supremely comfortable. Here are a few pics, that will hopefully complement your review of your car.

Side profile - pleasing to look at


View of the inside


Control stalks plus paddle shifters


LaneWatch button


Spare alloy - a rare item as an offering today


The large boot


Engine Bay - uncluttered as always

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by AutoConsultant

And just like that, she has turned 1!

Congratulations on completing 1 year with your Honey(when I was a kid I used to personify cars by giving them names so I named the Honda City as Honey, Fortuner as Frank and so on, I know stupid thing but as a car crazy guy I do so even now). When you bought your car 1 year ago I wasn't a forum member then but I had read and loved your initial ownership experience review and also read each and every travelogue you penned down, I also loved reading the comparison between the Škoda Kushaq 1.0TSi and the Honda City you posted a few weeks ago.

No creaking sounds – As there were a lot of early reports of users

Very relieving to know indeed! Many owners of new Honda cars are irritated and frustrated with this rattling issue and Team-BHP has even a separate thread which compiled the various issues and niggles in the 4th gen Honda City. The initial customers of 5th gen City too faced rattling issues and strange squeaking noise from the front dampers. I hope Honda has fixed this issue for good now in their newer batches and provided a genuine solution to the existing customers who are facing issues.

I have only one word for this powertrain – Versatile.

That's VTEC working for you, even though it has been well over been two decades and turbochargers have taken the game forward I just can't help but admire the magic and legendary innovation of the VTEC which at the same time is very reliable and simple technology to implement too as well. VTEC makes the engine dual faceted, efficient and silent at low engine speed but fast and raspy at high rpms. In my view the actual benefit of VTEC is the fact that it can be enjoyed at low speeds too and makes mundane city driving pleasurable too. Even though TSi and T-GDis of the world have outpaced the VTEC by a fair margin but still the thrill of revving a Naturally Aspirated VTEC motor and hear it screaming past 5000rpm is a joy still unmatched by modern day turbos.

I did not go for a smaller capacity turbo-petrol

Even though I agree with your statement I think its high time Honda should bring in its turbo VTEC range at the least the 1.0VTEC turbo in the W-RV as the 1.2VTEC is underpowered for a car of that footprint and 1.5VTEC would attract higher taxes.

AC Controls – Just love the touch and feel of the knobs as well as the physical buttons. Kudos to Honda for moving from touch to physical controls, other manufacturers are going the other way around

+1 to that. The Touch controls even though looked very futuristic was fiddly to use and switch to the knobs has been a very wise change from Honda, also the knobs with the knurled finish and click-feel and variable red-blue illumination adds a dose of über feel to the car as well. While at it do you remember the dashboard and centre fascia of the erstwhile 8th gen Civic? It was so futuristic and the layered digital speedo and big analogue tacho all lit up in a cool electric blue theme was so unique and fascinating and well ahead of its time. Looks very nice even now IMHO.

Ergonomics – Honda is well known for this and the new City is no exception.

Honda and Toyota both usually get their ergonomics spot on and driving them is a joy as the drivers get that perfect driving position easily and can truly connect with the car(without requiring any unwanted telematic Connected tech ). Hyundai has in fact adopted this from Honda and implements it on their cars. Quoting from the official review of the Elantra

Anyone who has driven a Civic will feel right at home. The ergonomics, driving position, handbrake + gear lever placement, reach for the power windows etc. are incredibly similar to the erstwhile Honda Civic.

Door Sill Illumination - The one provided by Honda were very costly..

I don't know why but from the time being the Honda genuine accessories are always steeply priced whichever car would be it. I still remember when I casually hopped into a Honda showroom in 2010 when Civic facelift was launched, Honda introduced an accessory package named as Elegance package or so which came bundled with spoilers for every section of the car was priced well over 35k INR!! Maybe then they were imported and really lived upto the legendary quality of Honda then but can't really comment about them now.

The next day I took my car to a trusted local tire shop.

A related question, what's your feedback on the OE tyres i.e the Bridgestone Ecopias. In general the Ecopias aren't very well received by the consumers and also the City is provided with relatively puny 185 section as well considering they have to handle 121BHP.

One year down the line, do I think that I made the right choice? Absolutely!

Great! I too think that Honda City even in todays day and age is a very compelling choice and is a good buy as well only if Honda takes care of some loose ends like wheel arch claddings and better infotainment screen would be icing on the cake. Wish you many happy miles with your machine for the time to come. Stay safe and happy motoring! Thanks for sharing.

The only future downside could be Honda shutting shop....

That would be a heart wrenching day for me and literally speaking one of the saddest day of my life. I grew up as a Honda fanboy and had a teen age crush on the drop-dead sexy and gorgeous 8th gen Honda Civic 1.8VTEC, every car they made whether it be the Jazz,City,Civic,Accord or C-RV they were so good looking, futuristic and were all wrapped in the legendary Japanese quality. Even small things were taken care of beautifully, remember the Civic's large, thick opposed flat blade Made in Japan Mitsuba wipers, even nowadays so few cars are equipped with those, so well ahead of their time. The other day when I was looking at some of their old brochures and wonderful portfolio they had in India and then looking at the worrisome condition with just basically 3products as of now in India I literally had tears on my eyes. I really hope Honda takes some stern action and brings some irresistible cars equipped with some groundbreaking tech and wrapped in that typical high quality package and gives the Koreans and Chinese a chill down their spine, telling them what Honda actually is and who is the real boss.

Originally Posted by vigsom

That was quite a sensible buy, and arguably the most nice looking model of the City offered this far. In fact, the first time I saw the 5th Gen City, I could immediately draw a parallel to the 2017 Accord - sample images attached below.

Even the Amaze is uncannily similar to the current-get Accord from the back side especially the elongated C-shaped taillights. The recent facelift is heavily inspired from the 2010 Accord 2.4VTEC!

Spare alloy - a rare item as an offering today

Absolutely! Its a rarity and hard to fin even in cars twice the price. I think the only other cars are the Toyota Innova Crysta and Fortuner which offer a full-size alloy spare wheel.

Engine Bay - uncluttered as always

I can hear it asking for a for a 1.0 VTEC turbo, its high time Honda should introduce it at least as an option with the RS Pack as they do in Thailand.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by AutoConsultant

Versatile. I can easily upshift to 6th gear and drive at 50-60 kph when I am in a relaxed mood or thinking too much about fuel prices OR I can rev it to the max and easily touch 80-90 kph in 2nd gear! This car will never let you down irrespective of your mood swings or road/traffic conditions.

This captures the essence of a larger NA vs smaller turbo petrol.

Good to hear about the fuss free ownership and most importantly you enjoying the car.

To the best of trips

[AutoConsultant]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

Congratulations on completing 1 year

Thanks for writing such a detailed post sharing your opinions! Much appreciated

Yup I agree, Honda should get their Turbo engines in India. It is just sad to see that they have altogether stopped planning new cars for India. They can easily get a mid-size SUV to begin their revival, improve or revamp the WRV according to customer demands and play around with Jazz. There are enough customers who would trust Honda more that the German or even the Indian manufacturers due to their track record in India.

Sharing a photo along with my friend's modified Civic

Originally Posted by vigsom

That was quite a sensible buy, and arguably the most nice looking model of the City offered this far. In fact, the first time I saw the 5th Gen City, I could immediately draw a parallel to the 2017 Accord - sample images attached below.

Yes, although I still am not 100% convinced with its front fascia and the overdone chrome but the side and back profile is just brilliant. Thanks a lot for sharing your views and experience

[SanatJ]

Hello AutoConsultant!

First off, brilliantly summed up all your experiences in the one year, hope to read very many such summaries in coming year with this machine.
To know car is brilliant with no niggles of any sort is relieving. City looks as glorious as ever and, in my opinion, except for a little bit overdone chrome this is the best looking City till date.

One thing that is in my mind and want to enquire about as it seems like a downgrade to me is the head unit. It just does not fit well in current age. But I always like to look at practicality aspect of things, so, wanted to ask you:
1. How you feel about it after 1 year of use?
2. Is the lane watch camera useful in Delhi, realistically have you gotten to use it in this span of a year?

Warm Regards.

[AutoConsultant]

Originally Posted by SanatJ

Hello AutoConsultant!

One thing that is in my mind and want to enquire about as it seems like a downgrade to me is the head unit. It just does not fit well in current age. But I always like to look at practicality aspect of things, so, wanted to ask you:
1. How you feel about it after 1 year of use?
2. Is the lane watch camera useful in Delhi, realistically have you gotten to use it in this span of a year?

Warm Regards.

See, the head unit definitely looks and feels like its from 2015 and clearly a downgrade if you compare it to the competition. However, 99% of the time I am using either Android Auto/Apple CarPlay and both of them work absolutely fine (CarPlay experience is much better actually) and I am able to do the 2 things I really want - Maps and Music. So haven't felt like its not good enough for my requirements.

Wrt the Lane Watch camera, sure it's a handy feature but as I was already in the habit of checking the left side ORVM every time I move the car to that side, I haven't found it very useful and have switched it off. Also, as the camera quality is not that great, the view is better in the ORVM than the camera display.

[vjbox]

Nice one and congratulations on this sweet ride. City is one of those reasons, we still like Honda and its a shame they couldn't weave the magic with the Civic and dropped the ball altogether with the CRV which was once legendary. The new City's design is pleasing to look at and I must say I like it better than the earlier gen.

The side profile somehow resembles a BMW especially with those strong shoulder crease lines and the rear boot shape from the side view. Except that it not as squatting as the Bimmer. Honda for once decided to keep the design clean on this one as oppose to the polarising design they came up with on the New Civic.

[BleueNinja]

Great review @AutoConsultant, I remember reading your and Trackday's review repeatedly before finalizing my 5th gen and then binge reading it after booking the car.
So you definitely did play a crucial part in me finalizing the car.

I got a 5th gen V MT and have done 12,230 kms in 6 months.

I upgraded car's 15` 185/60 MRF stock tyres to R16/55/195 continental uc6, which has enhanced the aesthetics and helped increase road performance of the car.

Added Roger ab suspension buffer to help reduce body roll a bit and get a tiny bit of extra ground clearance.

Apart from these two I have upgraded horn, lights, sound system of the car. Also got sound damping done on all 4 doors.

[sbm]

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Ceramic Coating also holding up well after 1 year

Congratulations on the 1st bdaywish you many happy kms. By the way, is that a little bit of tint on the windows? Is it factory fittment or aftermarket?

[Strider24]

Can you comment on the audio quality of City? Is it good or a need for subwoofer is felt?
Somewhere on a YouTube review videoI saw that ZX variant has subwoofer in it , though it is not mentioned anywhere in Official brochure.