[RahulNagaraj]

Honda City Hybrid

Honda City Hybrid Pros

• 20+ km/l fuel economy in city driving conditions, giving it lower running costs than a diesel!
• Seamless Hybrid system that makes driving a breeze. A car you will enjoy driving in traffic
• Tractable power unit that delivers performance on par with internal combustion counterparts
• Loaded with safety tech such as ‘Honda Sensing’ consisting of lane-keeping assist, lane departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, auto high beam, collision mitigation braking system as well as ESP, 6 airbags and a lane watch camera
• This generation of the City feels grown up in terms of overall feel & exterior dimensions
• Spacious cabin will keep your family happy. A sedan you’d love to be chauffeur-driven in as well
• Compliant ride quality in the city. High-speed bounciness (rear) reduced due to beefed-up suspension & battery pack weight
• Honda's proven reliability is comforting, as the hybrid system is complex
• Lower emissions in the city. Will appeal to the environmentally-conscious customer

Honda City Hybrid Cons

• Not a car for enthusiasts - it feels like an alien experience and is completely disconnected
• Honda Sensing ADAS system is too intrusive for Indian highways; requires the driver to adapt to it and be comfortable using it
• Boot space is compromised due to the battery pack and spare tyre. Down from 506 to 306 litres!
• We’re worried about the price. Honda is usually optimistic with pricing, and there is no lower variant without the ADAS features
• Build quality still feels light and not as reassuring as competitors
• Overall road and tyre NVH levels should have been better to keep up with the refined & silent hybrid powertrain
• Missing features for this price point = powered seats with ventilation, rear side sunblinds, wireless charging…
• Honda City Diesel will give you comparable running costs at a far lower price
• Some misses such as the puny 185-section tyres (upgrade is mandatory), outdated audio head-unit, ICE sound quality is just average

Review Link

2022 MG ZS EV

MG ZS EV Pros

• One of the most sorted EVs in India! Drive it and you'll be a convert
• A well-built car with good interiors
• Green image & zero tailpipe emissions appeal to the environmentally conscious
• Fast performance and excellent mid-range. 0-100 km/h run of 8.5 seconds is enjoyable
• Selectable regenerative braking and drive modes help you extract maximum performance or efficiency, as needed
• Range is adequate for urban commuting as well as road trips to nearby destinations
• Low running costs & cheaper long-term maintenance (as is the case with all EVs)
• An excellent city car. Smooth driving experience, easy to drive, very chuckable
• 5 year / unlimited km warranty, 5 labour-free services & 8 year / 150,000 km battery warranty
• Features such as the panoramic sunroof, cruise control, Bluetooth key, connected car tech & more
• International model got a 5-star Euro NCAP rating. The safety kit includes 6 airbags, blind-spot monitoring, ESP, HSA, TPMS etc.

MG ZS EV Cons

• Expensive! Even after subsidies, EVs carry a huge price premium over ICE cars. You're paying for the tech & being an early adopter
• The very similar & arguably more practical MG Astor is 8 - 12 lakhs cheaper
• Needs a charging point installed at your home parking. This is not doable for many people
• Lack of charging infrastructure & ~350 km range limits long-distance/highway usability
• Firm ride quality means you always feel the road, especially with the recommended 41 PSI tyre pressure
• Long “full tank” charging times in comparison with an ICE car. Overnight charging is best
• Missing features such as ventilated seats, auto-dimming IRVM, steering reach adjustment, ADAS tech (which Astor gets), wireless Android Auto / CarPlay…
• Size & interior quality are more comparable to a Creta than other 28-30 lakh rupee cars
• The rear seat is better suited to 2 adults & a kid, not 3 adults
• 6-speaker sound system is ordinary for the price. Subwoofer conspicuous by its absence
• Lower Excite variant is currently unavailable. It is cheaper by ~4-lakh rupees

Review Link

Honda City

Link to list of observations

Link to Launch thread

Skoda Slavia

Review Link

Volkswagen Virtus

Volkswagen Virtus Pros

• A ‘complete’ car that just might bring some love back to sedans
• Classy exterior & interior styling, along with solid build quality
• Cabin has good legroom on offer, supportive seats, perfect ergonomics & enough storage
• 521-litre boot is the largest in its segment (along with the Slavia’s)
• 148 BHP engine makes the Virtus among the most fun-to-drive sedans in the segment
• Sporty 1.0L & 1.5L turbo-petrol are mated to smooth transmissions
• Sorted suspension offers a balanced ride & handling package
• Safety features include 6 airbags, ESC, 3-point seatbelts for all, electronic differential lock, brake disc wiping, multi-collision brake and more
• Features like active cylinder tech, ventilated seats, sunroof, wireless Android Auto and CarPlay, auto headlamps & wipers etc.
• 6-year extended warranty & 4-year all-inclusive service packages available

Volkswagen Virtus Cons

• No 1.5L diesel is a major disadvantage in a world where petrol costs over 100 bucks/litre
• DQ200 DSG transmission has a history of poor reliability & breakdowns in India
• No MT option available with the 1.5L petrol. The Slavia offers this combination, as does the City
• Backseat better for 2 healthy adults and a child, rather than 3 adults
• Lovely 1.5L TSI is only available on the top variant. Should have been there in the mid-trim too
• Interior quality doesn’t feel up to old school VW standards. Body-coloured interior highlights are polarising too
• Missing some features such as a subwoofer, driving modes (sport), 360-degree camera & electric driver's seat adjustment
• Turbo-petrol are very sensitive to driving style. FE will drop drastically when you drive hard
• VW’s after-sales service can be a hit or miss. The brand’s long-term reliability can be patchy as well
• Slavia's 'clever' touches are missing = no spot on top of the dashboard to place a deity, no smartphone holders on the front seatbacks, no ticket clip on the windshield, no elastic band in the door pad to keep items in place, or even something as simple as the small reflective tapes on the doors

Review Link

[GTO]

My pick would be the ZS EV or the Slavia / Virtus 1.5 TSI. Because I already have 3 ICE sedans, I'll go for the ZS EV which will nicely round up the garage. Excellent city car.

Honda City Hybrid is too overpriced. For green aspirations, I'd happily buy the cheaper Nexon EV Max or pay a little more for the ZS EV.

[saisree]

Voted for City Hybrid. A delightful concoction of both ICE and EV. Peaceful City Rides and no Range Anxiety as in case of Pure EV's, added with Honda's no nonsense practicality and dependability.

My second vote goes to Skoda Slavia 1.5 Manual.

[Javelin]

I have a transferable job. Never in the same State for more than 3-4 years. Staying away from EVs for a while.

I would pick Virtus 1.5 DSG, differentiating sporty exterior and fun to drive element, makes me take a chance with DSG. Planning to replace my Honda Jazz soon.

Would have picked Slavia 1.5 eyes closed vis-à-vis Virtus 1.5, in case there was some effort from Skoda to make Slavia 1.5 stand out when compared to Slavia 1.0 at least.

There has been a lot of discussion on Volkswagen 2.0 QC not at par with their previous gen models or the more expensive models. IMHO, Although not as good as before, but still their quality levels are at par if not better than counterparts. Furthermore, there is no ICE engine that matches the level or refinement of 1.5 TSI south of 20 lacs.

In case of a permanent house in a city, MG ZS EV Excite does make a lot of sense. It would be VFM and likely to be launched next month. The ever rising fuel prices :-( makes you think twice before buying ICE car.

[attrip2008]

Have not test driven any of these cars. So all my thinking is based on my reading and YouTube reviews.

Honestly the choice depends on the usage as folks have already started to allude to.

If you want a primary car with do all capability, city plus highway, and fun- Slavia / Virtus is a no brainier I feel. Loaded with all the required features as build quality should be good given VAG past performance. There will always be a bit of uncertainty about the reliability since it is the dreaded DSG transmission.

If you have a primary ICE car, and some cash to burn- city hybrid ( city plus highway) or ZS EV (mainly city drives). Between these I do feel the hybrid makes more sense to tackle lack of charging infra and that it does not require a special charging set up which many folks may not have an option of.

City ICE also makes a case for those who are looking for no nonsense high reliability, high VFM package. Basically if you are on a budget and don’t want to go wrong- go for the city.

I will put in a wild card here and which would be my first choice as well- Škoda Octavia - maybe style variant to keep the budget in check. Last of those ICE cars under 30 lacs that will give you a lot of fun for the years to come.

[Palio_2005]

Voted for the Honda City Hybrid. Love the styling and the fuel efficiency it offers, interior space comfort, reliability, service quality and mainly freedom from range anxiety. I don't mind paying a bit higher price if I can save bit of money and environment. My current ride a Yaris CVT barely gives 7-8 kmpl in Mumbai traffic.

[Asoon]

If you are paying north of 15L you deserve the quality with others lack apart from VW / Skoda twins, thats why i do-not recommend creta / seltos to others,

I would stay away from Honda given their lack of aggression over last decade (Over priced / under powered CRV & unplanned Civic), not sure what management is thinking

[FAIAAA]

Voted for the VW Virtus.

Rationale
- No pure EVs for me 1) as long as electricity comes from coal powered plants 2) till EV tech gets mature, reliable, cheap 3) I do long cross country trips and cannot afford range anxiety 4) due to lack of charging infrastructure

- No hybrids as 1) they give a disconnected driving experience like in the City HeV 2) or expensive like the Camry hybrid 3) compromised boot space

- Will enjoy ICE engines as long as they last.

Current drive is a CVT and having owned cars with ZF, other TC and CVT gearboxes, may go for a TC. No DSG for me esp DQ200 if GTO and other experts on the forum believe it has inherent design issues.

[Chrome6Boy]

I voted for the MG ZS EV as we have another car for road trips.

Exhilarating power, super cheap to maintain and costs something like Rs. 1.5 / KM. Range is more than sufficient for city drives and my weekly round trip of 250 KMs.

The car has so many adjustments in terms of drive modes and regen control to completely change the driving experience depending on the situation or our mood.

The Nexon EV Max is a honourable mention as it is way cheaper and covers all the points mentioned above.

[SouravS]

I haven’t driven any of them yet, so mine is based on my readings of reviews.

Honda City Hybrid makes for interesting reading, and very enticing with the idea of not requiring charging infra – which many of us staying in metro flats do not have access to, at least currently – and hence have to really think through our green aspirations. But I would give myself some more time with the technology to set in. Plus, City hasn’t really been a enthusiast’s baby!

My pick would be the 1.5 TSI Slavia / Virtus, with maybe a 60:40 inclination towards the Slavia (have voted for the same). As a poor enthusiast, can’t ignore the love for DSG! As @RahulNagaraj said, hoping either of Slavia / Virtus would “just might bring some love back to sedans”. Can’t afford to see the segment dying the way it is, especially in this price range.

[vagman]

Tough call between Virtus and MG ZS EV, but I would go for Virtus.

- Already own 2 diesel hatchbacks(Polo and Fabia) returning minimum 14kmpl in Mumbai bumper-bumper traffic, hence the added premium for City Hybrid does not make sense to me as I already have 2 decent city cars returning tremendous mileage, and performance wise, the Hybrid is nearly identical to ICE City.

- For performance alone, it would be a tough sell between Virtus and ZS EV. Both the cars are extremely quick off the line, ZS might even have a slight edge here. However due to range anxiety, and cost of battery replacement down the line (question of when, not if), the offset of saving on fuel would be negligible.

The third card in my garage would purely be a highway cruiser with minimum city driving, and for that reason, Virtus has my vote for its brilliant engine/gearbox combo and excellent road manners over the rest.

[ranjith_cbz]

Voted for MG ZS EV. Was a tough choice between Virtus and MG but considering the fuel prices and maintenance costs I will very likely take the plunge into EV verse and see the charging ecosystem catchup. Might as well enjoy the performance of EV and excitement of driving into future.

Honda hybrid will be contender once we get to know the real world impressions of driving experience and savings of Hybrid vs ICE vs EV. No point in jumping midway onto Hybrids compromising driving experience.

[Shreyans_Jain]

It’s direct toss up between the ZS EV and the Virtus. If this is to be someone’s premium all rounder car, something that will be used for local driving as well as long distance tripping, it has to be the Virtus. For all the EV goodness, they aren’t totally practical for long distancing. For every other scenario, I’ll pick the ZS EV. This is all the car you’ll ever need for 95% of your driving needs. The super quiet drive and instant pickup need to be experienced to be believed. It just does not get any better at this price point. If you have another car for long distancing and a spare 30L, getting the ZS EV as your daily driver is the best automotive decision one can make. This is purely from a driving point of view, the ultra low running costs are added bonus.

[myavu]

My vote for: MG ZS EV

The one big factor is all black interior. I can never sit in a beige - white - light themed interior car. For that case alone never a Nexon EV Max Lux too (Hate Dark Edition with that all black body colour)

[sunikkat]

My first preference would be Slavia 1.5 DSG. Picking Slavia over Virtus as I am extremely happy with the Skoda service in Bangalore. Do not have experience with VW service personally. Also I feel Skoda is more responsive and has more dealer network in Bangalore.
Will defintely upgrade the wheels, suspension and lower if I get 1.5 DSG.

If I have to go EV route, only for city driving, I would rather go for Nexon. For the ZS EV money, I would prefer to increase the budget and buy Octavia.

Do not find any benefit buying City Hybrid.