I chose the Honda City CVT over Brezza even though it cost Rs 2 lakh mo

We came home and finalized the Brezza. Spending an extra 2L didn't make much sense at the time for what the Grand Vitara was offering.

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Why I Chose the Honda City Over Others

Requirements:

• Reliable car (preferably Japanese, Toyota, Honda, or Suzuki)
• Automatic transmission (No AMT).
•  Comfort: Should be very comfortable for 4 people.
•  Budget: 12-15 lakhs. 5. New car only (used was not an option).

Test Drive Experience:

• Took a test drive of the Brezza Delta AT. I was okay with the pull, although its engine specs offer the least horsepower and torque among all other 1.5L engines.
• The Grand Vitara had also arrived at the time, so I took a test drive of the Delta AT. It was almost 2L costlier than the Brezza. The performance was the same as the drivetrain and transmission were identical.
• Visited a Toyota showroom to test drive the Hyryder hybrid. Though beyond my budget, I wanted to experience the hybrid engine. The 3-cylinder engine was a disappointment; it became very noisy at higher RPMs. Overall, I was not satisfied with the car. Additionally, the wait period was too long, though it didn't matter.

Ruled out the Skoda VW twins because they were slightly over budget and I really didn’t need the 1L engine in a 15L car. Many people certainly hold their 1L turbo over other 1.5L NA engines but I was certain of not having 1L at the time. The 1.5L GT was totally out of the budget.

Ruled out Tata Nexon because I didn’t want the AMT. Also not a big fan of 3-cylinder engines and their Revotron engine in particular. Tata has a lot of QC concerns as well as I’ve researched online.

Ruled out any Mahindra car because they only have an XUV 300 in this budget which looks really dated. And they also have only AMT.

Ruled out Korean cars because I have some reliability concerns on DCT transmission overall which were being offered in Sonet/Venue. Creta/Seltos CVT was over the budget.

We came home and finalized the Brezza. Spending an extra 2L didn't make much sense at the time for what the Grand Vitara was offering. We booked the car at Maruti Zirakpur in September 2022 and were given a delivery date of December 2022.

In November, a relative visited us with his recently purchased Honda City ZX CVT. After discussing my car search and decision on Brezza, he suggested I take a test drive of the City as well.

My wife and I then visited the Honda showroom and drove the City for over 15km, both in the city and on the highway. My wife was immediately impressed, primarily by the spacious interior. The City V CVT was almost 2L costlier than the Brezza Delta AT, but after negotiating with multiple showrooms in Haryana and Chandigarh, the Chandigarh dealer agreed to a discount of around 95,000, which made the car only 1L dearer than the Brezza. That extra 1L offered much more comfort, especially in the back seat, along with additional features like push-start-stop, cruise control, and alloy wheels.

Final Decision:

After discussing with the family, we decided to go ahead with the City. The only plus point for the Brezza was the high ground clearance, which I decided to forego as most of our driving would be in Bangalore, where I currently reside.

Purchase Experience:

• Dealer and Location: Bought the car from Harmony Honda in Chandigarh.
• Purchase Date: We completed the purchase on December 20, 2022.
• Booking and Delivery: I booked the car over the phone. We went for a pre-delivery inspection one day and took delivery the next day. The car was manufactured in December only.
• Final On-Road Price: The final on-road price was around 12.9L. Since I opted for a BH number, the RTO amount was not added straight away, and I paid only 12K for the first two years.

Sixteen months later, the car has almost driven 32,000 km. I have taken it to multiple hill stations in the North (Chamba, Dalhousie, Palampur, Dharamshala) and in the South (Munnar, Vagamon, Kodaikanal). It has also completed multiple long highway drives, notably from Haryana to Bengaluru over three days. I've driven over 1000km in a day twice. The car doesn’t break a sweat and is always ready to munch more miles. I have only taken it to the service center for regular maintenance during this time.

Somewhere on NH44 in TN

Somewhere near Dalhousie

Somewhere on Bengaluru - Mangaluru Hwy where the sidewall of the tyre got cut

Likes:

• Good engine performance. The CVT transmission works well. Although the CVT masks the Vtec pull, I'm satisfied with it as I am a sedate driver.
• Comfort: Both front and rear passengers have no complaints about discomfort.
• Mileage is also decent, returning 17-18 kmpl on highways consistently and 10-12 kmpl in Bangalore city.
• Excellent steering feedback.
• Great reliability.
• Good safety rating as per ASEAN NCAP. Although the tested vehicle was a Thailand spec, I'm convinced the Indian spec will achieve at least 4 stars.
• Being low-slung, it offers a very stable drive on highways.

Dislikes:

• Low slung, so getting in and out is a bit difficult, especially for the elderly.
• Inadequate insulation. There is significant road noise.
• 15-inch alloys on the V model. They should have been at least 16 inches.
• Stock tires (MRF) are subpar. The skinny profile of 185 is not ideal; it should have been at least 195. I had replaced two tires in 30,000 km due to sidewall tears
• The infotainment screen is very basic, and the sound system could have been better. It remains way behind the competition, like the Verna
• Engine performance in eco mode is very inadequate. In my journey of 32k kms, I have only used ECO mode for the initial 500 kms or so. Never went back.

I recently upgraded the tires from MRF 185/60/R15 to UC6 195/60/R15 at the 30,000 mark. The biggest impact has been on road noise, which has significantly reduced, and handling has also improved. I now believe that sidewall tears, which occurred twice with the MRF tires, should not happen again.

I recently also had the 30k service done at Dakshin Honda Bangalore. It costs around 5.7k for general service and repair. I rejected all value-added services when offered. I also got the CVT oil replaced at the same time. Though Honda recommends changing it every 20k, somehow SA didn’t check it at the 20k mark. I reminded him at the 30k mark and got it done.

Overall, I am highly satisfied with the car and plan to keep it for a long time.

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