[saket77]

Likes and Dislikes summed up:

Likes:
- The amazing 1.5L free revving motor is a joy to drive. Sounds terrific too.
- Mated to a slick 6 speed MT with a sweet clutch.
- Well tuned steering.
- Good equipment levels.
- Physical buttons for entertainment system and climate control system.
- Has good street presence in times when sedans are literally dead.
- Spacious cabin and boot make it a practical choice for families.
- Honda's reliability.
- Good ergonomics and supporting seats.
- 5 Star safety with good safety kit (ASEAN NCAP for the international model)
- Good highway manners with balanced suspension set up at fair speeds.
- Good interiors with improved part quality.
- Some smart touches in the cabin design like phone holders, driver side dashboard compartment, strategically placed small lights.
- Honda connect app is useful- more for those using services of a paid driver.

Dislikes:
- Weak low end torque felt especially with passengers and taking the second gear speed breaker test and on small inclines.
- 185 section factory fitted tires: Upgrade advised for enthusiastic driving.
- ADAS concerns especially regarding the emergency auto-braking system (CMBS).
- No wheel well insulation. Road noise filters into the cabin even with better tires.
- Steel rim space saver (read: cost saver) spare wheel.
- Poor resolution of reversing and lane watch camera.
- No USB-C port.
- Non-adjustable driver's armrest.
- No ventilated seats from factory.
- No option to turn off Auto headlamps.
- No 360 Degree camera.
- No TPMS to show exact tire pressures- though it gets a tire deflation warning system based on wheel speed calibration.
- Honda Connect app acts glitchy at times.

Prelude:

Since we sold our 8th Gen Honda Civic a few months back (Story is here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ip-review.html (The Story of Our Honda Civic | Long-Term Ownership Review)), we started scouting the options to fill the void. In times when SUVs, compact SUVs, cross-overs, etc are in rage, we felt like outliers whenever we discussed getting a sedan with family and friends. We all have our own cars opinions and true to it, we got so many advice from all friends and well-wishers who surely meant well, but none of them suggested a sedan. Also due to the market demand and dynamics thereof, the C-segment sedan market has dried up of options with basically only 4 cars to choose from: Honda (City), Hyundai (Verna), VW (Virtus) and Skoda (Slavia). Sorry if I ignored Ciaz, but only after Maruti did

Choice of car:

Of all the cars above, design wise I liked the Virtus the most with its clean lines, the Euro design philosophy paired with the timeless looks. For me, a car has to look good first and Virtus was the best looking of the lot. Somehow not a fan of Slavia looks and interiors. Verna was too loud for my taste. We didn't visit the VW showroom because if we had, we might have fallen for the looks. I keep my cars for long, and honestly VW didn't give me the confidence in terms of long term reliability aspect which is another very important criteria for me, hence we did not consider the Virtus at all despite being the looker it is.

However, we did visit Hyundai just to check the Verna since wife had gotten her i20 recently and she liked the Verna then too. I liked the proportions and the side profile of Verna but the front and rear end styling was too radical and polarizing. My wife seemed to like it, especially in the black color but unfortunately it simply didn't click for me. Also, the suspension seemed to be tuned a little too soft. The ventilated seat was a tempting feature and if we went for the City, we would miss it (Or did we - read on to know) as even the top end City didn't have it.

Coming to Honda, I liked the 5th Gen City since it was launched. Honestly, given our good experience with Honda, we were more or less already decided about the City. Generalizing- but in the long term, Japanese cars, especially the likes of Honda and Toyota tend to prove reliable workhorses. The City, it looked good from most angles. Though proportions wise, Honda could have done better, especially the boot compartment and the rear end but still I would rate the overall design as good. The front looks wicked especially with the LED headlamps. Even the projector lamps on the other variants looked good on this car. In the top variant (ZX), carbon finish inserts in bumpers and the grill made the front styling look pretty aggressive.

We walked into the showroom casually (Victory Honda, Ranchi) on a Sunday for an average experience and checked a Blue ZX and a White VX variant. The VX is an absolute value for money variant. My 8 year old daughter had just one simple demand- she was okay with any car but it must have a sunroof and thankfully that was available in VX too. The VX ticked most options for us and we made a mental note that we will get the VX since the ZX was a good 1.25L higher.
[As per Honda's nomenclature: ZX>VX>V>SV]

Choice of color:

The Blue and Brown shades looked lovely in person but given the lazy soul I am, maintaining such colors would have been a nightmare for me. White also looked good but somehow most City(s) we came across on the road those days were White, giving us the impression that it has become a common color. The only color which wasn't available with the dealership was Silver. No variant. Also, we used to spot a lot less Silver City(s) on roads. Wife wanted a darker color but for ease of maintenance, we finally decided to go for silver even without seeing the color in person. I wanted some more time to get my research done fully so we did not book the car at that time.

Started reading about the variants and features of the car and noticed that the carbon inserts on the front and rear bumpers of the ZX variant looked really good. Also, the honeycomb grill on ZX looked better compared to the simple plain slatted VX grill. The ZX came with LED headlamps which were a looker. I am not a fan of rear trunk spoiler but the ZX gets that too. I would have been happy without it too. However, more than that, feature list of of ZX included full leather seats (other variants get fabric seats), leather wrapped steering, a better music system, very premium auto-dimming rear view mirror, 16" wheels (more on this later), all windows auto roll up/down & rear sunshades among many others which totally justified the premium over the VX. Hence we decided to stretch a little more and get the ZX and be done with comparing what we get vs what we miss if going for any other variant. Going for the top variant also avoids any after market addition as most features are already built-in.


The Impulsive Booking:

Once we had made the variant choice clear, we visited the dealership to take a good look at the Blue ZX display piece they had and booked the car paying a nominal amount. Booking was almost impulsive as we didn't plan to book it on the same day. Crossing the fingers, we put the money on the silver color without even seeing the car due to non-availability of the shade just hoping that it would look good. We ideally wanted to delay the purchase by a month at least but soon Honda announced a price hike from April upto the tune of 30K and this is when we decided to go get it in March itself.

[saket77]

Getting a Fresh Loaf!

After 6 days of booking the car, the GM Sales at the dealership called us to inform that a Silver ZX is available at the factory and if I confirm the choice of color on mail, they would pick the same for me. I replied to their mail in affirmative and they informed me that the car will be in transit as soon as they get a few other cars to fill their cargo full load. I asked for the VIN and they shared the same a couple of days thereafter on WhatsApp. Decoded the VIN and found the car to be Feb-2024 manufactured- almost freshly baked!!

Although the dealership experience was just 'okayish' throughout until the car arrived at yard, what I liked about them is that they did not ask for any payment except for the nominal booking amount I had paid earlier till I completed the PDI at their yard and asked to expedite the delivery before April price hike hits. I read here on the forum that some dealers even ask for part payment for sharing the VIN, which wasn't the case here. To their credit, neither they pushed for the 'basic accessories kit' and they were okay even if I bought the insurance from outside (Later I got the Honda Insurance only). They showed me the contents of the accessory kit and let me decide if I want to take it or not. Must appreciate them for the same.

The car arrival took a good 12-13 days after my mail confirmation, which was put down to the fact that they were waiting to get a full load of cargo (6 cars) to dispatch the container truck. The way things are going at Honda India, I can understand that it might have been a task

The PDI Experience

On 27th March, the sales rep confirmed that the car has arrived at their yard and we can do the PDI at our convenience. Enter LeoShashi, the PDI expert

Although I have done a few PDIs for my friends and colleagues, I didn't want to do my own car's PDI all alone by myself. It is easy to overlook stuff in excitement of a new car. I just asked LeoShashi if he was available for help to which he replied in affirmative. On 27th of March, I reached the dealership and my SA got me a test drive vehicle, also a City, to drive to the yard- some 8 kms from the place. Now, this was the first time I was driving the 5th gen City. I realized that I have almost bought the car even without a test drive. We reached the yard and Shashi made it with his smashing Jimny. We reached the large open yard and there I got the first glimpse of my would be, standing at a lone corner in the crowd of Elevate(s) and Amaze(s) covered in a thin layer of dust.

It was a sunny and hot afternoon and I thank Shashi for coming over. Also, appreciate the SA who patiently waited in the sun while we checked the car. Coming to the car, the power supply was cut off as a protocol during logistic, hence we could only check the physical aspects of the vehicle. As said earlier, it was manufactured just a month ago and it showed. All plastics films and covers were intact, no scratch marks on any door sill, no scratch or evidence of any repaint on any panels. Fit and finish was perfect. Fitted tires were 185/55 R16, Bridgestone Ecopia, which were manufactured in the last week of 2023. In all, the car was in perfect factory shape and we didn't find any reason to be unhappy with.


Some pictures taken during the PDI:























We returned to the showroom and confirmed picking up this car. Then the formalities started rolling and the dealership and the SA became super-responsive thereon. We wanted to get the car delivered next day, i.e..28th on my mother's birthday, but this meant taking the delivery after dark (since the formalities would take the full day). We finally decided that we get all the paperwork done on 28th, making it the effective purchase date for all purposes and just take delivery on 29th morning being the Good Friday holiday.

The NCB transfer!

This was important for me. As a well-deserved reward.

When I sold my Civic, I had a 50% NCB accrued in the policy. I didn't want to lose it. I walked to the insurer's office and completed the formalities to get the No Claim Bonus Certificate. This included getting a new policy being done for the Civic (by the buyer) to cancel the existing policy and get the NCB certificate. Due to some hassles involved and some holidays in March, it took some time but I was glad that all was completed just in time.

I passed on this NCB certificate to my SA, who took care in issuing me the new policy through Honda. It helped me knock off a good 11k-12K off the new policy for the City. Mind you, this saving is just not for this year; the same NCB will be applied to subsequent year policies too in case I don't make any claims- touchwood.

The D- Day!

True to his word, the SA informed me by 28th evening that the car has been registered at RTO and is all ready to be delivered whenever I feel like. We decided to take the delivery on the next morning as it was a moment to cherish, especially for my young daughter and we didn't want to rush through the process after a long working day- both for us and for the dealership staff.

The evening before the D-day, I got a bag of gifts wrapped up for the SA, who was super helpful in rolling things at a real fast pace especially after the car arrived at the yard and to close everything before the April price hike deadline. Next morning we got sweets packed for everyone at the dealership and reached there by 11:30 taking a cab. The atmosphere at the showroom was vibrant that day. Greetings exchanged once we were there. I completed all paperwork with my SA while my daughter and wife took a stroll around the showroom. Once that was sorted, the formalities for the delivery began. We unveiled the covered car decorated with ribbons and balloons. Other formalities like lighting a diya, painting a 'Swastik' etc were done by Missus. The dealership also gave us a plateful of 'puja samagri' including roli, coconut etc along with a big box of Rochers for our daughter. My daughter and wife received the keys from the GM sales but the dealership goofed up with the photographs of the moment!

[saket77]

The Accessories.

In the meanwhile, someone from 'accessories department' took me through all the accessories available for the City which included door visors, chrome kit, door sill plates, and a Honda basic accessory kit for 10K (included floor mats, car care kit, microfibers, key chains and emergency hammer with seat belt cutter). Thanks to TBHP member @Latheesh, I was directed to one of the best floor mats available for City, (though little expensive @ 4.5K but very nice- GFX floor mats) and I had ordered it before hand from Amazon. I didn't take any of the accessories, except which I found very useful- OE Ventilated Seat accessory & the OE car cover.

Ventilated seats, I thought I will miss the most if going for the City in place of the Verna, however, there is an Honda Accessory to take care of that. Priced at 6K each (12k for the pair) I wouldn't say it is cheap but additionally it also has a massager built to it which is a cool addition to the car's luxury. I am sure that the ventilated seats are not as efficient as factory fitted systems but it is a good add-on to vehicles which don't have one. This accessory runs of the 12V socket (which the City has in plenty!!) and is strapped to the front seats. Theoretically, this can also work at the back seat but we got only a pair for the front and paid an additional 12K for it. I asked for a demo of the seats before opting and they quickly strapped one to my driving seat and I found it to be working effectively.

The City has 2 rear 12V sockets on the rear AC vent console and these were put to use for powering these seats. Thankfully the wires could be channeled discretely. It has a 3 step control fan placed at the bottom part of seat (part which drops under the seat around your feet) and pushes out air through the channels. The air flow feels more stronger at the lower back and sitting area than the upper back but still I found it useful for our weather conditions. It has another switch for the massager function. Both these switches along with small LED indicators are placed ergonomically just near the right leg. These lights do not distract anyone as they are small and hidden by the occupant. There is a good amount of fan noise depending upon the speed you choose. The 2 drawbacks- Looks like an aftermarket fitment and it hides the beauty and comfort of your original car seats.

The OE City branded car cover cost me Rs. 1850/- and is thin & light. Does the job well.







Apart from these, I also got a safety hammer and seat belt cutter- AmazonBasics for Rs. 250/-. I already have a dashcam which I fitted myself later in the evening. The SA had committed a pair of Honda Cushions during the initial negotiations and he put them inside the car without me even reminding him.


The Tire Upgrade.

BHPians true to their salt, need to upgrade the tires of their City the moment it rolls out of the showroom . But seriously, Honda has missed a trick here by giving 185s on a car with such a potent engine. I had fixed a deal with a Yokohama dealer prior to taking the delivery and took the car to them the same afternoon with just 32 kms on the odometer. The initial plan was for Yokohama Earth-1 tires but some real life users opined about increased road noise once tires got little old. Plus ride comfort was also slightly compromising. Both these factors were most important for me apart from good wet and dry grip, hence decided to move up the ladder & get the BluEarth-GT (AE51) 195/55/R16. This is a well acclaimed tire and I liked the tread pattern, so finally got these fitted and received 5 years of pro-rata warranty on the set.

Total damages- Rs. 15K; old tires adjusted. Since I drove only 32 kms on factory fitted tires, I am not really in a position to comment on the improvements this new tire set brought. But surely as per physics, the 195s should be grippier, more comfortable and less noisy (due to softer rubber). Also, the ground clearance, as per my calculation should have increased by 5mm. I think this is the perfect tire size for this car.

[saket77]

The Initial Experience

Exterior:

Most of the comparison parameters would be pitched against our older car since it remains my benchmark of a great timeless design.

This car is big in terms of length. In fact, it doesn't show, but it is slightly longer than even our 8th Gen Civic, which itself was a big car. Comparing the specs gives you the idea. However, in terms of looks, I will still rate the Civic a notch higher than the 5th Gen City. The design was way more proportional in the Civic as compared to the City, whose rear feels a bit narrow and short. Honestly, I miss the swooping clean lines of the Civic even today.

Changing the tires helped filling the wheel well a little more and coupled with the wider contact patches, the stance of the car is much improved compared to the stock fittings. The inside of the wheel well is naked with no cladding. A cladding inside could have made the cabin more silent as even after upgrading to better tires, some road noise filters into the cabin. The finish inside the wheel well leaves much for asking on a car competing in this segment & price point. The alloy design is more like a family sedan than the sporty design which the Civic had. Though no complains here- it is still good enough compared to some hideous designs out there in the market. @506 ltrs, the boot is sufficiently accommodative but the car gets a space saver spare tire (175/65/R15) with steel rim. One rough & oddly finished area was found on the inside of boot-lid.

The Accommodative Boot:





A rare badly finished edge; not many would notice though:






Coming to the rear, the trunk spoiler is subtle and I would have been probably happier without one. It is neither here nor there kind of design. The real show stealer here are the beautiful (ahem...BMW inspired) wrap-around tail lamps. I don't know if it is Honda's bad luck or something else but their tail lamp designs have always been something more than being just lights. Remember how the Civic's tail lamps were almost identical to the Chevrolet Cruise's while it looked like the 4th gen City and Maruti Ciaz shared the same parts bin for tail lamps. In the 5th gen, though the tail lamps look nice, they look inspired by BMW indeed. Extending well to the side profile, they look amazing specially in dark when lit up. Though the rear indicators and brake lamps should have been more prominent here. They look tiny in the overall set up.








The side profile is fluid and panel gaps around the car is tight and uniform. The front has a large overhang and the bonnet shut line exudes premiumness. The bonnet feels solid and heavy and has a nice underside insulation- even though the fantastic 1.5L motor might not have needed it. The front shut-line above the radiator grille also has a rubber beading for noise insulation. The engine bay has underside protection cover which is commendable in today's cost cutting era.







Coming back to the design, the headlamps, esp. those on the ZX look quite good & aggressive. DRLs are a job well done without going overboard and same with the side indicators. The new bumpers on the facelift version with the honeycomb pattern grille add to some sporty look along with the carbon inserts at the bottom.





Overall the 5th gen is a design which should offend none despite some flashy elements. Check the pictures from various angles:




















Interiors:

Migrating from the Civic, I felt home with the new City when coming to the ergonomics and switches. Many controls are similar and the driver's door console feels identical which is a good thing. The overall material quality is very good and feels premium. The instrument panel houses an analog speedometer & digital RPM gauge. Neither show up when the ignition is off. The console has 2 parts- digital and analog. The digital part houses the RPM gauge, settings/ warnings, messages etc. The analog part houses the speedometer and some warning lights. The entire area is very likeable even for old school people like me. Along with the analog speedo, there is also a digital speedometer which helps to register the speeds quickly in mind; in my opinion. A temperature gauge is missed here though but that is the norm these days with all manufacturers.

The plastic area is well designed and more importantly, of good build quality. No rough, unfinished edges are to be found in the interiors and the car feels well rounded. The climate controls are great to work with. They have a tactile feel when used and small intelligent touches like changing colors of knobs while corresponding to temperature change feels nifty. Simply clever The best thing is that all such controls have physical buttons in contrast to the 4th Gen City and this is something to be appreciated if you are buying a car in 2024.



One thing which Honda missed here is a usability error; If the ACC is off, and you hit the windshield clear button and then turn if off, the AC will remain on. It would have been great if it returned to the initial 'Off' setting. So, if you don't need the climate control, then you will need to turn it off manually if you happen to use the windshield clear button. This was done the proper way in Civic and is preferable but Honda thought otherwise or overlooked it.

Another usability error- if the driver locks the passenger power window switches, then even the driver cannot operate them! This error was there in the Civic too, which Honda has not addressed and has carried over. However, on the flipper side, the top end City gets all 4 auto up/down window switches on the driver's door console with pinch guards which makes the job very convenient.

Noticed in dark, are some intelligently placed interior lights. Though footwell lights are more of an aesthetic feature, there are other small lights which light up the door handles, door pockets and the USB port area, which along with aesthetics add great utility. These small lights are not intrusive at all otherwise.





The 3-spoke leather stitched round steering feels great to hold and special mention as it has been tuned excellently. It weighs up very nicely and feels very lively and direct. Full marks here to Honda. Most enthusiasts will appreciate it. The steering has control switches mounted for the music system, MID settings and phone calling on the left side while the right side has controls for adaptive cruise control and some other ADAS features. The right side of the dashboard has traction control, headlamp leveler switches and a small secret closed compartment accessible only to the driver. The cabin has some intelligent touches like this slot to park your smartphone:



The 6 forward speed gearbox shift stick is slick and leather wrapped. It has a short throw and feels very clunky to hold. The area around is glossy and blends well with other elements around it. There is also a wireless charger provided which is removable as there are cup holders beneath. These cup holders can only be used without the charger in place. There ought to be a better arrangement in this regard and the charger should have been hardwired. Currently, the charger wire, if not the charger itself, looks aftermarket addition and more annoyingly, blocks the front 12V socket.

The leather seats look and feel great in the car. They offer good support, however, some may miss the electronic setting. They provide good posture for driving and sitting. Another intelligent touch at the rear is a slightly raised floor board just under the driver's seat where the feet of the rear pax fall naturally. This makes sitting comfortable, especially for longer durations. The floor hump at the rear is relatively small. Though the Civic had a completely flat floor which made life easy for the third passenger but even in the City, this is manageable as the hump is not pronounced.

Thing I miss in the interiors is the large space between the windshield and the dash which gave a very premium and roomy experience in Civic. There could have been some more storage areas which could have made life easier, however, the biggest bummer is the armrest which doesn't slide forward! You don't expect this in a premium car & is a glaring omission.

The Entertainment System:

The top end City gets a very nice sounding music system with wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto to go with it. The 8-speaker system sounds pretty good to me and with my listening preferences, I don't miss a sub-woofer in the set up. The speaker placement ensures the entire cabin fills up with very levelled listening experience for all occupants.

There are steering mounted controls for the same, however, these controls lack the mute or pause button. Thankfully pressing the power button on the music system mutes it while 'press and hold' operation of the same button shuts down the system completely. The screen resolution is acceptable (until you use the rear camera or the lane watch camera). You can connect your phone, listen music through it, or use a flash drive. There are 2 USB ports, but only the one marked for Carplay (or AA) can be used for playing music from the flash drive. The other USB port can power accessories like the dashcam. Since both these ports are in permanent use in my car, I have ordered a USB splitter which should help if I need to power some other device through the USB port, i.e.. Charging phones. One feature Honda missed is the flexibility to turn off the display with the music playing. I saw this in a friend's Jeep Compass and instantly liked it.




Electronics and Convenience Features:

There are many other electronic features but I will jot down only the ones exclusive to the City or what I like the most. So, this list is not exhaustive.

- Auto Headlamps (with a caveat I will explain later)
- Auto Hi-Lo beam change as per incoming traffic
- Rain Sensing Wipers
- Very premium frameless auto dimming mirror.
- Honda Sensing (more on this later)
- Auto up/down for all windows with pinch guard.
- Sunroof- some like, some hate it. I like it in winters and it makes the interiors more lighted.
- 6 airbags (now standard across Honda)
- Remote open close windows and sunroof
- Nice Honda Connect app (though glitchy at times)
- Walk Away Auto Lock- Nice execution.
- Rear Sunshade
- Rear AC vents
- Wireless Charger
- Hill Start Assist
- Lane Watch Camera
- Tyre Deflation Warning System as it doesn't use any battery requiring replacements.



Irritants:

There are a few irritants in the car and mostly related to electronics and programming thereof.

1. First the mechanical aspect- While the gear ratios are perfectly set for puttering around in the city, I will make it clear, the low end torque of the car is still weak which is especially felt while taking speed breakers or small inclines in the second gear given you are not in the right RPM range. iVTECs are notoriously known for it. Even Civic was better in this aspect as it had a more powerful engine to pull. Sometimes the car takes too long to get going from slow speed if you are not in the correct gear and suitable RPM range. I am not too optimistic but really hope that this gets better as the engine puts on some more kilometers.

2. Now coming to electronics part- first the auto headlamps. You simply cannot switch them off at night unless you shift to fog lamps or pull the handbrakes. The calibration for auto headlamps is also such that it will turn on with fairly sufficient ambient light. Some may argue that why would one want to switch off headlamps at night anyway but this is a flexibility I would like to have. Some security conditions may demand for it. My wife's i20 also has automatic headlamps but it has an 'off' position in the stalk which turns off the headlamps. The problem with the implementation of this system in the City is that the headlamp stalk, although has an off position, is spring loaded. It won't stay at off position and rotates back to auto as default position. Now if the car detects low ambient lighting, the headlamps will turn on itself. You can only switch to 'fog lamps only' mode if you don't want the headlights. Or pull the handbrakes to turn off all lights- which cannot be done if you are in motion, effectively prohibiting you from turning off the headlamps in some conditions.

3. ADAS systems- especially the emergency auto braking system which Honda calls Collision Mitigation Braking System or CMBS. There are some other functions incorporated in the ADAS package (Honda Sensing) which you can turn off and they will remain off until turned on by the driver. However, the CMBS will turn back on every time the car is restarted. There have been reports of car applying brakes violently in unwarranted situations resulting in rear ending by other vehicles. This can be dangerous by itself. I have faced a similar situation myself when the car applied brakes automatically very strongly even at crawling speeds. Thankfully there weren't vehicles tailgating me very close. Even ABS kicked in, although the speed was pretty low and I was well in control of the car. I would prefer to keep this feature switched off, however, it turns back on every time the car is restarted. I urge Honda to provide a software update to permanently switch off the CMBS and turn back on only when the driver wants until they recalibrate and fine tune the system.

There are other features in the Honda Sensing suite like Road Departure warning, Lane Keep Assist which are good to have- although intrusive at times, they will help inculcate disciplined & smooth driving practices in the driver. The adaptive cruise control works well but it accelerates and deaccelerates very aggressively at times, with which many drivers may not be comfortable.

4. Dead Pedal- Although the car has a dead pedal but it is half hearted effort. It feels like just a raised area and is simply not as comfortable as a proper dead pedal that my old Civic had. If I have to write it in line with the TBHP parlance- "the dead pedal is sorely missed". Ok, half missed.

5. The rear view mirrors on the door should have provided a larger field of view. It is simply inadequate for more than 2 lanes.

[saket77]

Summing up the overall experience

The Jewel in the Crown- the famed 1.5L iVTEC Engine:



Car is something which is, and should be primarily mechanical unless we are talking about EVs. Thus, the best aspects of a good car has to be mechanical in nature and the City holds true to it. The amazing free-revving engine is something you associate almost instantaneously with Hondas. These iVTECs have been known to rev like water till the redline on the tachometer. The City keeps this tradition going and in style. It sounds terrific at higher RPMs. If one has the ear and knows what to hear, even the mid range sounds fantastic. Compared to the Civic's 1.8L engine, this 1.5L sounds different. The Civic had a powerful growl when accelerated hard, whereas this engine sounds like a free flowing turbine. Both have their own takers.

All this comes coupled with great performance and the car accelerates briskly. It is a car with which one can have some amazing fun. With 121 BHP on tap, my advice will be to upgrade the tires immediately to at least 195s to improve road grip and braking performance. The suspension has been tuned in a balanced way and is slightly on the firmer side. This setup shines on the highway translating in good handling of the car at higher speeds especially while cornering. Due to this, body roll is also very well contained. The engine feels very relaxed with the gear ratios. The car is happy doing 60KMPH in the 6th gear while the engine relaxes under 1500 RPM. This should translate to good fuel efficiency while cruising on the highway. During my initial drives, the car has returned about 13-14 KMPL in mixed driving conditions (100% AC) which I expect to increase as the car puts on some meaningful miles on the odometer.







Rear passenger space and luxury was always a selling point of City and this generation takes the legacy forward. Looks wise, size wise it is a leap forward from the 4th Gen City and definitely feels more upmarket. I am not a fan of too much electronics when it comes to cars, hence I would have been quite okay with a car with lesser features till the basics are in place & sorted.



Safety wise, the car was awarded 5 star rating by ASEAN NCAP and I hope the Indian car is no different. 6 airbags, ESP, ABS, EBD etc do provide some assurance on the safety front. The only thing I would like Honda to do for now is to provide an update to turn off the emergency braking off permanently as it can kick-in in unexpected situations, making the car's nature slightly unpredictable at times which no driver wants.

The AC works pretty nicely, however I will reserve my judgment till the peak summer arrives.

Coming from the Civic, the ground clearance is a big step up. While the Civic felt more planted to road at speeds due to lower center of gravity and more weight, the City trumps it by avoiding the under body hits by speed breakers and large potholes. This is a massive relief. Also, fitting the 195/55 tires against the factory spec 185/55 would have increased the ground clearance further by 5.5mm.

The car comes with a complimentary 5 year subscription to Honda Connect app with some nifty features. One can lock/ unlock the doors, boot, turn on the AC (for CVT only) or find the car by blinking the lights or sounding the horn (or both). The best thing is that you can check the status of the windows, doors , locks, sunroof, lights, etc even remotely through the app. Also, the car can be located on the map anytime. The app can display the battery voltage, coolant temperature, interior temperature, fuel range and odometer along with maintaining a log of all your trips. The given features can be useful for people who have an unattended driver or even if someone wants to keep connected to their cars. Though I have seen that the app acts up sometimes.

The car is equipped with a reverse camera and lane watch camera. Both cameras are activated respectively when the car is put into reverse or when left turn signal is activated. However, the camera quality leaves a lot to be desired, especially at night.

The Lane Watch camera:



The camera can also be manually activated using this push button switch:



The key fob of the car can be used to open (or close) the windows and sunroof from a distance. This can be useful if your car has been parked in sun for long. Opening the windows and sunroof remotely can help let go the trapped hot air inside and cool the interiors a bit before you step into the vehicle. The CVT model can also be started remotely and the AC can be switched on before you are inside. Smart feature I would say.

Tidbits:

Lo Beam:



Hi-Beam



Rear Underbody:



Front underbody protection



Ventilated Seat Sockets under the Vents



The Space Saver Spare (read: cost saver)



The spring-loaded headlamp stalk. Notice the default position is 'Auto':



Battery is well insulated from the engine heat. Should prolong the life:



The Busy Engine Bay:



View from Engine Bay- Underbody Protection is adequate:



Honda has done away with Variant badges; looks clean in my opinion: 2023 Facelift onwards.



Every car has its own negatives and strong points and City is no exception to it. While it is a great car to drive and own, it is not perfect. Even the Civic had its own set of Achilles heel but served as exceptionally well. Hope my second stint with Honda is as stress and trouble free as my first one with the Civic. These two cars are generations apart, and as expected, the newer City has plenty of electronic features and gadgets in line with state of the art with a gem of an engine where as the Civic excelled in looks and everything you can ask from a car from mechanical point of view with a bigger iVTEC engine, save for ground clearance. I hope to keep this thread updated and trust it will be helpful for anyone evaluating the City.

Thanks for your time!

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of cars have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also gone here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[ByKaizen]

Congrats on the awesome purchase and happy driving!
I had 4 concerns with the City (Bought on Dec-2022):
1. Auto headlamps, it will switch on immediately if the car enters a shade area which in turn will dim the Infotainment and MID. If we are trying to park the vehicle in a sunny day this dim will cause irritation. But somehow my auto headlamps are not functioning after few months and I do not want to fix it, happy with manual headlamps
2. Headlights are dim compared to other vehicles in city traffic and on highways, only solution is to replace the fog lamp with a much brighter one.
3. Low end torque is less (coming from a Sunny diesel so will never satisfy with a NA petrol torque), but I got a remap from Wolf which slightly made it aggressive and I felt it was worth
4. OE Tyre size, I upgraded to 195 as well (Blu-Earth GT)

[RunSam]

Congrats on your purchase! It would be my pick as well in the same price bracket. The facelifted 5th gen City is quite the looker amongst a sea of Slavias and Virtuses

[Latheesh]

Congrats!
I have a suggestion for the boot mat. Please check my post https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5172081 (The 5th-gen Honda City in India. EDIT: Review on page 62)

It is a must have accessory and costs ~ 2K.

[Highh5]

Reading a good ownership thread first thing in the morning sets the tone for the whole day.

Congratulations on the acquisition of the new Honda City. This car has my heart, looks beautiful, is well proportionate from every angle, and has decent features. I have been tempted multiple times to replace my Baleno with this car, visited showrooms a few times, and came back after controlling my urge. The only reason is I want to go for the eHEV version, which is priced way higher.

A couple of questions, why didn't you consider the eHEV version since you keep your cars for a longer period and it will have better low-end torque as well?
And why didn't you replace the spare wheel with a full-size tire?

[sachin_cs]

That’s a beautiful machine brother, I have seen a couple of Zx in blue and it looks smashing. As you pointed out, these so called autonomous driving/braking features are somethings I am not comfortable too. We have seen many instances of cars braking too hard when there was no need & has ended in not so pleasant results. There was a case of XC90 facing the same issue where in there’s no way to deactivate the collision braking system as replied by Volvo. Just recently came across an article where a city was rear ended because of CMBS

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ml#post5748376 (ADAS dangerous in India | Sudden, unexpected braking causes rear-end collision)

[Phantom 510]

Congratulations!!!! What a lovely machine. There's something about sedans. Nothing beats a low slung well proportioned sedan and the City in this silver colour does it so very well.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by ByKaizen

Congrats on the awesome purchase and happy driving!
I had 4 concerns with the City (Bought on Dec-2022):
1. Auto headlamps,----
2. Headlights are dim -----
3. Low end torque is less ------
4. OE Tyre size, I upgraded to 195 as well (Blu-Earth GT)

Thanks KaiZen. Your concerns are mostly valid. Points 1,3 & 4 are very genuine. Regarding headlamps, they are not exceptionally bright but in my short stint, I have found them to be adequate. In case my opinion changes, I will certainly point that out here.
Also, how has your experience been with BluEarth GT? Grip wise I find them very good (again short experience) but there is some road noise- though the tires have done just 300 kms as of now.

Originally Posted by RunSam

Congrats on your purchase! It would be my pick as well in the same price bracket. The facelifted 5th gen City is quite the looker amongst a sea of Slavias and Virtuses

Thanks! Yes, the 5th gen is certainly a head turner even in today's market.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Congrats!
I have a suggestion for the boot mat. Please check my post https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5172081 (The 5th-gen Honda City in India. EDIT: Review on page 62)

It is a must have accessory and costs ~ 2K.

Thank you Latheesh again for the recommendations. As per your suggestion, I went for the GFX mats (bought from Amazon) and I couldn't be happier. They fit supremely- even better than the Honda OE mats!

Originally Posted by Highh5

Reading a good ownership thread first thing in the morning sets the tone for the whole day.

Congratulations on the acquisition of the new Honda City. This car has my heart, looks beautiful, is well proportionate from every angle, and has decent features. I have been tempted multiple times to replace my Baleno with this car, visited showrooms a few times, and came back after controlling my urge. The only reason is I want to go for the eHEV version, which is priced way higher.

A couple of questions, why didn't you consider the eHEV version since you keep your cars for a longer period and it will have better low-end torque as well?
And why didn't you replace the spare wheel with a full-size tire?

Thank you for the nice words.
I could have considered the eHEV if it was priced in vicinity but the price differential of 5 lakhs on ZX was too much to justify the fuel cost savings even in 15 years. Regarding the spare wheel, yes, could have gotten the 195s there. 2 things that stopped me- the steel rim (& not the alloy wheel) and the rim for spare is 15". Means, for proper full size spare wheel, I would need a spare 16" wheel of ZX. So, even if I had gotten 195s, I would still have to go for 15" instead of 16" as ZX has 16" inch compared to other variants which have 15" wheels.

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

That’s a beautiful machine brother, I have seen a couple of Zx in blue and it looks smashing. As you pointed out, these so called autonomous driving/braking features are somethings I am not comfortable too. We have seen many instances of cars braking too hard when there was no need & has ended in not so pleasant results. There was a case of XC90 facing the same issue where in there’s no way to deactivate the collision braking system as replied by Volvo. Just recently came across an article where a city was rear ended because of CMBS

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ml#post5748376 (ADAS dangerous in India | Sudden, unexpected braking causes rear-end collision)

Yes, that plays at the back of my mind too. Sometimes I prefer to switch the CMBS off before a trip; however, sometimes forget it too. I am planning to send a mail to Honda to urge them to provide a software update for an option to turn off the CMBS permanently. Looking to find relevant IDs for the same.

Originally Posted by Phantom 510

Congratulations!!!! What a lovely machine. There's something about sedans. Nothing beats a low slung well proportioned sedan and the City in this silver colour does it so very well.

Thank you so much! We had no second thoughts if we wanted a sedan. However, most advised against one! Wish sedans do make a come back as roads and infra are improving.

Thanks.

[Arun_S]

Congrats on your purchase.

Happy to see D'Bhpian buying a City (Bought it in Sep-22).

Expecting regular updates from you, so that if any suggestions can do it for mine.

Already got one, regarding the Ventilated seats, planning to order them soon.