[TSI_Exhaust]

Originally Posted by divirokr

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.

Cool 10K review

Check if these are just scratches or has the paint also been removed. If these are just scratches, they can be removed completely by using a rubbing/finishing compound. There are many YouTube videos out there in which people can be seen using '3M-PERFECT-IT 1-STEP FINISH COMPOUND' or 'Waxpol Rubbing Compound HI FI'. You can google these products and their demo videos and judge for yourselves.

[samee_arian]

Wow. I think you are getting a fairly good FE. I have a third gen Honda City and generally get around 8-9 in the city (I try not to venture out during peak traffic hours and most of my city rides are mild traffic outings) and for highway runs I am more than happy if I get anything above 13 km (once I saw 18 on the MID from Tumkuru to Bangalore on a Saturday night, and this was the best indicated FE that I ever saw). I always wonder how most of the guys nowadays manage to get around 20 kmpl with their hybrid cars, a number I do not even manage on my RE Classic 500.

[divirokr]

Originally Posted by Sabertooth93

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

Thanks a lot, buddy. I got it from Car Nikhaar, Shyam Park Extn, Sahibabad.

Originally Posted by TSI_Exhaust

Cool 10K review

Check if these are just scratches or has the paint also been removed. If these are just scratches, they can be removed completely by using a rubbing/finishing compound. There are many YouTube videos out there in which people can be seen using '3M-PERFECT-IT 1-STEP FINISH COMPOUND' or 'Waxpol Rubbing Compound HI FI'. You can google these products and their demo videos and judge for yourselves.

I think some bit of paint is also removed but maybe I can give rubbing a shot

Originally Posted by samee_arian

Wow. I think you are getting a fairly good FE. I have a third gen Honda City and generally get around 8-9 in the city (I try not to venture out during peak traffic hours and most of my city rides are mild traffic outings) and for highway runs I am more than happy if I get anything above 13 km (once I saw 18 on the MID from Tumkuru to Bangalore on a Saturday night, and this was the best indicated FE that I ever saw). I always wonder how most of the guys nowadays manage to get around 20 kmpl with their hybrid cars, a number I do not even manage on my RE Classic 500.

This FE sounds a bit similar to what my old Hyundai Verna used to deliver. I think BS6 engines in general are much more fuel efficient than BS3 ones. Also, I try to be light-footed during my city drives shifting gears under 2000 rpm which helps. On highways, the 6th gear makes a difference too when cruising at speeds close to 100 kmph

[samee_arian]

[quote=
This FE sounds a bit similar to what my old Hyundai Verna used to deliver. I think BS6 engines in general are much more fuel efficient than BS3 ones. Also, I try to be light-footed during my city drives shifting gears under 2000 rpm which helps. On highways, the 6th gear makes a difference too when cruising at speeds close to 100 kmph[/QUOTE]

Yes, I sorely miss 6th gear on my highway rides. Mine has 5. I think you are right, the newer engines are definitely more fuel efficient. I heard most of the newer car (BS6 versions) has become more refined and have become slightly for fuel efficient due to implementation of RDE norms.

[VaibhaoT]

Hi Divirkor,

Nice review. I am also considering a pre-owned 5th Gen V-CVT. I am yet to see the car.
In the main 5th Gen City thread, many folks have complained about rattling noise in cabin. Mostly from dashboard and roofline. Have you experienced similar noise in your car?

[shubham322000]

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 [/quote]

Completely echo with you, loving my 2023 ZX manual. I feel till the time anyone is mindful they're driving a sedan will never face ground clearance issues.

[divirokr]

Reflecting on 2 years and 20,000 kilometers with my Honda City

Introduction

My yearly mileage continues to be consistent at approximately 10,000 kms a year as I continue working from home majorly. The first year was a hassle-free experience and things continue to be the same in the second year with a few niggles which I will talk about in the subsequent sections.





Performance Evolution

My love affair with this 1.5 iVTEC continues and every month or so I make sure to rev it to 7000 rpm whenever I am feeling meh. Its an instant therapy shooting past all the other vehicles as the traffic light turns green with a sports car style grunt.

Fuel Efficiency: I have noticed 3 levels of fuel economy.

1) Short drives nearby which include a 150 second red light and notorious E-rickshaws every now and then where the mileage is close to 12-13 kmpl (with/without AC).

2) Office drives from Ghaziabad to Gurgaon, which are ~50 kms one side and include nice open stretches where the mileage depends on the time of taking the route. In the early morning hours I have managed 15-16 kmpl with less traffic and 14 kmpl when there is traffic in a few stretches.

3) Intercity highway / expressway drives, where I have clocked 20+ kmpl with intermittent AC use maintaining speeds of 90-100 kmph. I noticed a significant improvement post 2nd year service as before that the best mileage I had been able to manage on a similar highway was under 20 kmpl. Driving in the hills does impact the mileage and in my last trip from Ghaziabad to Bhowali (Uttarakhand), I clocked 17.5 kmpl in the round trip (500 kms plain and 60 kms hills)

Overall, between 10,000 to 20,000 kms, the overall mileage was ~14-15 kmpl (odometer showed 15.2 and I have noticed the actual mileage is lesser by ~0.5 kmpl)

In terms of drivability, it continues to be comfortable and is surely aging like a fine wine so far.


Durability and Maintenance

While there hasn't been any major issues in the car, the first issue which I faced in the City was in the rear parking sensor which stopped working and would just keep on beeping irrespective of the distance. This was solved in the second year service free of cost.

Another issue was with the co-pilot door handle where many co-passengers were struggling to open the door as the door handle seemed to not work smoothly. I used some WD-40 to lubricate the handle which seems to have fixed the issue.

Sometimes, the front power window wouldn't go up automatically, in fact it abruptly goes down again and I have to pull the button firmly until the window is completely up. This is also something which does not happen all the time but I thought is worth mentioning.

The other issue which I have recently noticed is a mild clicking noise from the steering while turning it. I have heard from other City owners about this issue but since its very faint and does not come all the time, it does not bother me as of now but I hope its not something which turns into a bigger issue.

Lastly, I scraped the front side part of the bumper on a concrete pillar while taking the car out of a tight parking which I got corrected from a good quality local paint shop as I don't feel like spending almost twice the amount from Honda for a not so major paint job.



Apart from that, I gave the car the annual detailing job it deserves and the shine made me fall in love with it all over again. It is so difficult to maintain a dark color but every time it comes out of a car wash, it looks brand new!


Look at the difference left vs right in the bonnet





Good as new



Interior and overall cabin comfort

The dashboard looks and feels good as new although the beige upholstery gets dirty especially the door panels where power window buttons are located.

The suspension works like a charm although NVH levels continue to be average as the road noise at higher speeds is there but this has been the case since the beginning.

I switched to android from iOS and happy to report that Android Auto works equally well in the infotainment system.

Few more random photo shots

Rear profile which I love the most


Daring to be a sedan in the sea SUVs


Trying to capture an artistic shot


Closing Thoughts

Overall, I am happy with the car and not once, felt that I should have purchased a midsize "SUV" instead. The combination of power and comfort make me forget all those small issues I encountered. I have also driven the Honda Elevate where I could sense the Honda City DNA in the drivability but the overall comfort of a sedan is unmatched. Sad to see the numbers dropping down for the City post launch of Elevate.

I also drove the VW Virtus 1.0 Turbo which was exciting once the turbo kicked in but I guess I am a sucker for naturally aspirated engines where there is no turbo lag and power delivery is linear before iVTEC kicks in yo.

[nomadsuniverse]

I am 70+ and after a lot of checking out settled for the V CVT version in August 2022. My wife and I have driven nearly 20,000 km across India ( I am one of those oldies who drives everywhere) The car is beautiful and tireless to drive and believe it or not I have scrapped the bottom lightly only once and that too over a mountain of a speed breaker going over which even SUVs would not have got away.

The service has been excellent and speedy. In several of the posts I see mild complaints of poor NVH but keeping within speed limits on our highways and expressways I could easily converse with my co passengers and enjoy listening to music without adding anything to the sound system the car came with. But yes there are some cribs.

The AC takes a long time to cool after parking in the open under the sun. The screen is not great to view on bright days. The speedometer cluster too is lousy in bright daylight. The cup area is too small in diameter to take anything more than a cup ( the ones on my Etios Liva were large enough to hold a flask.) Then a little more space between the accelerator and brake peddles would have improved the driving experience.

But these are minor cribs and do not take away the sheer comfort and drivability of this car. The CVT functions noiselessly even while accelerating but this is something that the driver has to train himself or herself to achieve. The milage is great - 12-14 in city and consistently 18+ on highways. One reason for poor sales of the City is probably the urge among the young to try something else. Perhaps the City needs rebranding to restore it's appeal.

I have driven a wide variety of cars in India and overseas and rate the City as one of the two best for being a pleasure to drive - the other is the Baleno sedan which I owned and was fantastic to drive..

[divirokr]

Originally Posted by nomadsuniverse

But these are minor cribs and do not take away the sheer comfort and drivability of this car. The CVT functions noiselessly even while accelerating but this is something that the driver has to train himself or herself to achieve. The milage is great - 12-14 in city and consistently 18+ on highways. One reason for poor sales of the City is probably the urge among the young to try something else. Perhaps the City needs rebranding to restore its appeal.

I have driven a wide variety of cars in India and overseas and rate the City as one of the two best for being a pleasure to drive - the other is the Baleno sedan which I owned and was fantastic to drive..

I agree and it is sad that sedans in general are losing their appeal in the market and compact pseudo SUVs are selling like hot-cakes. Even raising the ground clearance has not really helped (Slavia and Virtus) so it's mostly the SUVish design which is selling. Hence hatchbacks are also being eaten up by micro-SUVs (jacked-up hatchbacks) like Exter and Punch.

Perhaps the next-gen City could take even more cues from the global Honda Civic which has a lot more appeal among Indians, especially the sedan lovers.

Lastly, I just wish Honda becomes more proactive in launching the right products for the Indian market. A step in that direction could be launching more strong-hybrid products with base models so that the prices are competitive along with catering to our SUV design-loving customers.

[PNTEN]

I have a question: Is the manual gear shifter always hard or not as smooth as in the Seltos or Virtus? Yesterday, I went for a test drive with my uncle, and when we drove the Honda Elevate and City (both manual transmission), the gear shifter didn't feel smooth. Is this common in all 5th-gen City and Elevate models? The sales person and the service advisor said it's common. Is it true?

[shubham322000]

Originally Posted by PNTEN

I have a question: Is the manual gear shifter always hard or not as smooth as in the Seltos or Virtus?

Yes this is common across the Honda line-up. Early last year when I shifted from Hyundai to Honda, this is the first thing which was initially annoying me. I checked with the service guy in my first free service, and he clarified they're hard as compared to other companies. I have made peace with it now. You will get eventually use to them as you begin using them regularly. Thanks