[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by divirokr

the 5th Generation Honda City Petrol Manual V (Base) variant in the new Meteoroid Grey color.

Congratulations.

Sheer value for money - It has every modern-day practical feature one can ask for which no other car of this size offers in this price range

This variant is the best VFM car.

Lack of Auto IRVM - The base model should be no excuse to not have something as basic as an Auto IRVM in a midsize sedan

You can easily get a OEM Honda Auto IRVM fitted.

185 section tires - The wheels and the body seem capable of having 195 section tires which would have improved the grip in higher speeds and twisty sections

Don't bother upgrading on 15" rims. Either live with it (It's really not bad) or upgrade to 16" rims and wider rubber.

Lack of 16-inch wheels - I may be asking for too much from the base model but 15-inch wheels in a car of this size feel undersized

Fear not. There is always that one guy who is not satisfied with his OEM 16" wheels and will be upgrading to aftermarket rims. Keep an eye on OLX for his OEM rims.

Honda City - Initially, I was considering the 4th Gen Honda City and took its test drive from the same dealer where I had purchased my Honda Jazz from. The experience was much better than the Hyundai. I was freely able to drive the car wherever I wanted to and the executive didn't insist to drive the car on a certain road only. I felt at home driving the 4th Gen City having driven the Honda Jazz. The only thing which I didn't like in the 4th Gen city was the interior which felt a bit dated and those touch-based AC controls also didn't feel very intuitive. Even the suspension seemed a bit on the stiffer side similar to Jazz which I didn't particularly like. 5th Gen City was exceeding my budget by almost a lakh so I thought let's give its base model a shot.

I think you made a wise decision by going for the latest gen.

The rear center armrest is covered with a zip and velcro cover

Isn't that a bit inconvenient?

They should have provided USB ports for the rear passengers instead of 2 Power outlets. Used one of them to fit in a USB charger to compensate for that

I'd suggest you get one of those flush fitting USB Chargers. Looks almost like there is a set of USB ports.

The spare wheel inside the boot is sadly a steel wheel

Unfortunately that's the norm these days.

[Ravi Parwan]

Originally Posted by divirokr

Thanks for the detailed information, Ravi. I actually don't expect my car to go beyond 25,000 kilometers in 5 years hence it may not suffer any major issues in the extended warranty period. Do you think it will still make sense considering that a warranty often comes with many terms and conditions? Also, I am thinking about upgrading my alloys after 3-4 years which I am afraid might void the warranty.

I don't know enough about the city's quality so can't comment. Maybe other members can share their views.

Unless you are gonna upsize massively (downsizing may not be feasible on the city due to the low ground clearance), you should be ok. Do alloys of similar size void the warranty? the car comes with its own set of alloys so can they still use that argument to refuse warranty?

[adigup]

It's a Japanese car. It's a Honda City. I am more than 100% sure if the car is kept well and regularly serviced, it will not give you any trouble and so you can skip getting the extended warranty, and upgrade the alloys to 16 inches after the warranty period.

If it had not been an Asian car, I would've suggested you to consider extended warranty. Just incase something ever tends to go wrong, I am again, more than 100% sure either Honda or some FNG will be able to guide you with the problem.

[divirokr]

Originally Posted by black.beauty

Barely does any car look so-not-base-model even when it is the base-model. The interiors are neat, especially the infotainment system looks well placed. I completely agree on the tyres, 185 is just too disproportionate for a car that is one of the longest in its segment. For comparison, Slavia has 195 from the base variant and 205 at the top variant.

Congratulations on your car and wish you a million miles!

Yeah, that's what I liked the most. Slavia's base model was disappointing and hence I didn't even bother to take a test drive. The infotainment system is well placed but I wish it was as slick as the one in Verna

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

You can easily get a OEM Honda Auto IRVM fitted.

Don't bother upgrading on 15" rims. Either live with it (It's really not bad) or upgrade to 16" rims and wider rubber.

Isn't that a bit inconvenient?

Makes sense to get the IRVM from the Honda itself. Dealers tend to avoid getting those fitted as it hampers the sales of upper variants. I will see if I can manage to find it.

I have made peace with the 15-inch rims for now and probably once I have paid the entire EMI then I will start looking out for some sweet 16s

The rear armrest in my case isn't used as such since mostly it's just my wife and I who are traveling and my parents usually don't bother using it. But yeah, I think that cover is a bit odd.

Originally Posted by Ravi Parwan

I don't know enough about the city's quality so can't comment. Maybe other members can share their views.

Unless you are gonna upsize massively (downsizing may not be feasible on the city due to the low ground clearance), you should be ok. Do alloys of similar size void the warranty? the car comes with its own set of alloys so can they still use that argument to refuse warranty?

If I upgrade, they would surely be 16 inchers, no less no more. I guess I may just end up trusting Honda's reliability or as you said, go for the extended warranty in the 3rd year in case I face any niggling issues before 3rd year ends.

Originally Posted by adigup

It's a Japanese car. It's a Honda City. I am more than 100% sure if the car is kept well and regularly serviced, it will not give you any trouble and so you can skip getting the extended warranty, and upgrade the alloys to 16 inches after the warranty period.

If it had not been an Asian car, I would've suggested you to consider extended warranty. Just in case something ever tends to go wrong, I am again, more than 100% sure either Honda or some FNG will be able to guide you with the problem.

I had the exact same thought. Our Honda Jazz is about to complete 5 years in a few months and there have been zero issues till now. And as per our past experience of owning cars, its only after 5 years when the car really begins to go heavy on part replacement, etc.

[Thekalacoatwala]

Very informative review my friend. I purchased the same variant albeit in a different colour of gunmetal grey in Mar 2021, my brother drives it most of the time and our ownership experience for the vehicle after 20k kms can be summed up simply if I copy and paste your blog and make a few change here and there :P.

The city is the best choice for a vehicle in 12-13 lacs range. Plus the additional safety of 4 airbags as standard is a good thing. Congratulations on your purchase and happy motoring to you.

[divirokr]

Originally Posted by Thekalacoatwala

Very informative review my friend. I purchased the same variant albeit in a different colour of gunmetal grey in Mar 2021, my brother drives it most of the time and our ownership experience for the vehicle after 20k kms can be summed up simply if I copy and paste your blog and make a few change here and there :P.

The city is the best choice for a vehicle in 12-13 lacs range. Plus the additional safety of 4 airbags as standard is a good thing. Congratulations on your purchase and happy motoring to you.

Thank you so much, buddy. That's really good to hear that the car is aging nicely. Do let me know if you opted for any additional accessories/modifications in your City?

[AnujKapur]

Hi,

Congratulations for the new car and thanks for such a detailed review. It was really a treat to read.

I am also planning a new car and wanted to ask as you about the suspension setup of the car. Is it bouncy on highways when you are doing speeds greater than 70KMPH ?

I recently drove my cousins Amaze and found there are patches of road where the road is undulated and have long ups and downs.

There I have felt that I have to slow down considerably as compared to small cars and suvs which settled very early as compared to Amaze.
While amaze was still wavy other cars settled the undulation and were maintaining straight line.

Is it the case with Honda City as well?

[divirokr]

Originally Posted by AnujKapur

Hi,

Congratulations for the new car and thanks for such a detailed review. It was really a treat to read.

I am also planning a new car and wanted to ask as you about the suspension setup of the car. Is it bouncy on highways when you are doing speeds greater than 70KMPH ?

I recently drove my cousins Amaze and found there are patches of road where the road is undulated and have long ups and downs.

There I have felt that I have to slow down considerably as compared to small cars and suvs which settled very early as compared to Amaze.
While amaze was still wavy other cars settled the undulation and were maintaining straight line.

Is it the case with Honda City as well?

Thank you so much, Anuj. As per my experience, it does get a bit bouncy at higher speeds if the road has undulations however I personally did not find it uncomfortable with 2 as well as 4 people in the car. Also, my usage is >70% in the city so the slightly softer suspension was my preference. I would suggest taking a test drive and finding a stretch where you can test if it matches your comfort level. You can also try the 4th Gen City if you prefer a stiffer suspension. I also have a Honda Jazz in my family which feels more planted on highways and I expect City 4th gen to be the same.


Some updates after 3 months

The roadtrip
I decided to take the City out for its 2nd road trip to Kasauli which included a highway drive from Ghaziabad to Chandigarh and then after some kilometers, a beautiful hilly ride to Kasauli which is one of the best hilly terrain highways I have ever witnessed.

What I loved
The first thing which I noticed was the mileage. Till Chandigarh, with a comfortable cruising speed of ~90 kmph which was also the speed limit once the city was crossed, City gave an astounding mileage of ~18 kmpl (even though the dashboard showed 19, its mostly 1 kmpl less than that as per my observation). Towards the hilly part of the drive, it fell to ~15 but in the overall journey (Ghaziabad - Kasauli - Ghaziabad), it remained upwards of 16 kmpl which is fantastic for a car of this class. I also pushed it for the first time and the sweet sound of the engine at 6000+ rpm put a huge smile on my face.

What could have been better
The softer ride does show its downsides on the highway where the car feels less planted on undulated roads as well as on the bad patches which were very few in this journey.

I also remember a particular stretch in the Chandigarh - Shimla highway where there were speed-breakers just before some turns. In one such turn, I applied brakes a bit late and ended up going through the rumble strip at a higher than desirable speed, and for a moment the car kind of lost control and drifted towards the divider as I approached the turn but thankfully I got it back under control. I am not sure if it was the soft suspension combined with 185 section tires or just because of the speed I approached the rumble strip which caused it.







General experience
The mileage in city drive has also improved 14-15 kmpl with AC in the peak Delhi summer. The 6-speed manual gearbox is a boon and I tend to drive comfortably in the 6th gear at 60 kmph and rarely use the 5th gear.

AC works really well and has passed the test of facing the peak Delhi heat so I am sure it will exceed expectations anywhere in India.

People still can't believe that it's a base variant with the kind of features it offers for the price and I continue to see the amazed faces of people.


Sealant job for paint protection
To maintain the shine of the original car paint, I decided to go for a ceramic-based sealant polishing from a nearby car detailer for INR 6k getting rid of all the swirl marks. I also decided to take the car cleaning into my own hands and now use my Jopasu duster more frequently to clean the minor dust. On a weekly basis, I use a waterless car wash to clean the car properly and maintain the shine. Here are the pics right after the sealant job was done.





As per the detailing guy, this polish can last for up to a year if maintained properly. Apart from this, I also read posts on various threads on how to maintain the car's shine which has been extremely useful.

[Doonite]

Originally Posted by divirokr

Some updates after 3 months

Could you please tell us your observations about the NVH, Seat comfort and Headlights performance as well?

[bajoseph04]

Originally Posted by divirokr

Thank you so much, Anuj. As per my experience, it does get a bit bouncy at higher speeds if the road has undulations however I personally did not find it uncomfortable with 2 as well as 4 people in the car. Also, my usage is >70% in the city so the slightly softer suspension was my preference. I would suggest taking a test drive and finding a stretch where you can test if it matches your comfort level. You can also try the 4th Gen City if you prefer a stiffer suspension. I also have a Honda Jazz in my family which feels more planted on highways and I expect City 4th gen to be the same.

Well, I too have experienced and read a lot about the bounciness of most Honda Cars in India. It was the same with my WRV VX MT Diesel. The car came with Bridgestone Ecopia Ep150 tyres. When it was time to replace them after about 50k KMs, I replaced all 4 tyres with Bridgestone Turanza T001 which has brought in big difference to the driving dynamics. The car feels well planted and the bounciness has gone away. Overall pretty happy with the Turanzas. I initially had planned to replace Ecopia with Michelin primacy 3ST since 4ST wasn't available for my car but then due to poor feedback from one of my friends who experienced frequent tyre issues and bursts with the model on his WRV decided to go with Turanza which has exceeded my expectations so far. Possibly the tyres can make thing better for the City as well.

[abhaumik]

Congratulations and happy miles..

I have been driving one for the last 9.5 years and am spoilt by the comfort and drivability. The only issue with the car is the ground clearance, a real problem on bumpers and steep inclines when driving with more than 2 passengers. But otherwise this is a great car to own and drive. I'm facing a huge dilemma in trying to choose a replacement and most of the times think of getting another City.

[divirokr]

Originally Posted by Doonite

Could you please tell us your observations about the NVH, Seat comfort and Headlights performance as well?

Regarding NVH levels, I have noticed slight road noise at higher speeds when the music is not playing; although the other outside noise is relatively well insulated.

Seat comfort has been top-notch and one of the strengths of Honda City for sure. The cushioning is well balanced and having travelled up to 7 hours nonstop as of now, I can vouch for the comfort it provides on long highway trips.

Headlights are decent thanks to the projector setup but the factory-fitted halogen bulbs don't have a super long throw. I don't drive too much at night so it gets the job done for me but one can always upgrade to more power halogen bulbs or even LEDs.

Originally Posted by bajoseph04

Well, I too have experienced and read a lot about the bounciness of most Honda Cars in India. It was the same with my WRV VX MT Diesel. The car came with Bridgestone Ecopia Ep150 tyres. When it was time to replace them after about 50k KMs, I replaced all 4 tyres with Bridgestone Turanza T001 which has brought in big difference to the driving dynamics. The car feels well planted and the bounciness has gone away. Overall pretty happy with the Turanzas. I initially had planned to replace Ecopia with Michelin primacy 3ST since 4ST wasn't available for my car but then due to poor feedback from one of my friends who experienced frequent tyre issues and bursts with the model on his WRV decided to go with Turanza which has exceeded my expectations so far. Possibly the tyres can make thing better for the City as well.

My City came with Goodyear Triplemax tyres so not quite sure about their performance. I never thought Tyres can make such a huge impact on the bounciness of the ride. I do plan to upsize the tyres later on so will surely keep in mind the set of tyres you got.

Originally Posted by abhaumik

Congratulations and happy miles..

I have been driving one for the last 9.5 years and am spoilt by the comfort and drivability. The only issue with the car is the ground clearance, a real problem on bumpers and steep inclines when driving with more than 2 passengers. But otherwise this is a great car to own and drive. I'm facing a huge dilemma in trying to choose a replacement and most of the times think of getting another City.

Thank you so much. 9.5 years back, we had to decide between Verna and City and I insisted my father buy Verna back then just cause I loved the fluidic design. Later when we bought Jazz, I started driving Verna more frequently and it also had the same ground clearance issues and the petrol engine was very fuel thirsty. But the sheer joy of driving sedans makes it all totally worth it. I think the 5th gen City is an amazing product and till now I am yet to face ground clearance challenges. All it needs is a bit of extra carefulness on bad roads and speed-breakers and it gives you the love back in highways and twisties

[abhaumik]

Originally Posted by divirokr

Thank you so much. 9.5 years back, we had to decide between Verna and City and I insisted my father buy Verna back then just cause I loved the fluidic design. Later when we bought Jazz, I started driving Verna more frequently and it also had the same ground clearance issues and the petrol engine was very fuel thirsty. But the sheer joy of driving sedans makes it all totally worth it. I think the 5th gen City is an amazing product and till now I am yet to face ground clearance challenges. All it needs is a bit of extra carefulness on bad roads and speed-breakers and it gives you the love back in highways and twisties

Between the 2013 model and the current one, apart from the slight increase in ground clearance they have also shorted the front mud guards. I have not measured but visually it does look quite short. I have scrapped that a lot of times while trying to go over steep speed bumpers (even when diagonally crossing them).

[divirokr]

Update: 1 year and 10,000 km completed

Writing this post on the 1st of April 2023, exactly 1 year after I got the delivery of my 'Greyhound'. 10,000 kms were completed in 11 months and that's when I got the 1 yr/10k service done. So far, I have not faced any mechanical or cabin noise-related issues in my City. I did scrap its belly once on a notoriously high speed breaker with 4 passengers aboard even after slowing down as much as I could. Crossing over such speed bumps and damaged roads does cause some anxiety when I have fellow passengers sitting with me. However, I can surely live with 1 scraping a year. The ride quality of the City is indeed for the City where the steering feels light and the suspension is tuned to perfection to deal with minor bumps. It's only when you are out on the highway at speeds close to 100 kmph that it bounces a bit on the undulated tarmac, as I mentioned in my initial impressions post.

What continues to impress me is its fuel economy. My 2017 BS3 Honda Jazz barely matches up with the City which I believe is fantastic! I tracked the long-term mileage from 3k to 10k kms and the odometer shows 15.2 kmpl which in real life translates to ~14.5 kmpl based on my experience. 80% of these miles were in city traffic with AC on the majority of the time.

To sum it up for Highway and City -

Highway: ~16 kmpl
City: ~14 kmpl.





The steering feels a lot better after leather wrapping which I got done from a nearby car accessory shop for INR 500. It feels smooth to the touch and also has some grip on the sides which I felt was slightly missing without any wrapping.





Greyhound on one of its monthly car wash sessions





Specially stopped the car to capture the big moment, 10,000.





10k Service experience

I booked the service from the Honda connect app and got the call a day before the schedule for the pickup option which I always go for. The only major payables in this service were the Engine Oil and Oil filter. The technician offered me 3 options for the Engine oil, priced at INR 1500 (Mineral based), 1900, and 2400 (both synthetic). I wasn't sure if the expensive one was worth it so opted for the 1900 one. I did not opt for Wheel alignment and balancing for which they were charging a total of INR 1600. Thankfully I had read enough TeamBHP ownership reviews to know this . I went to my nearest Ceat Tyre shop and got it done for just INR 650.






First big scratch:

Thanks to poor parking instruction from a 5-star hotel valet, I scraped the lower right front bumper against a very low, black side wall which I missed, right outside the hotel lobby. It hurt me all day although the damage is minor since it was not a concrete wall but a fancier glossy one. I shall be keeping it as is since it was only a matter of time before I got one of these in Delhi NCR.





Conclusion

The 2 major (only?) mid-size sedans which got launched/updated after I bought the City are VW Virtus and Hyundai Verna, apart from the facelifted City. And personally, going by plain looks, I kinda like them all a bit more than my City, especially the new Verna (sorry Greyhound). I cannot really comment on the driving experience of both Virtus and Verna since I have not driven them personally but for the price, I still feel the City V model I got was the perfect package so no regrets.

I do like how they have improved the front grill (the right amount of chrome) in the facelifted City (similar to what they did in the previous gen as well). I feel tempted to get that new grill installed in my City in the future. But alas, 2 more years of EMIs!

If you are okay with its slightly 'floating' highway ride at higher speeds, I still think Honda City is still the best overall package across all midsize sedans on offer today.

[Sabertooth93]

Where did you get the steering wheel wrapped from? It looks quite good