Why I chose the Honda City Hybrid over its turbo petrol rivals

I checked out the Virtus GT and Verna Turbo and this seemed like the most balanced option.

BHPian Kevinrevvz recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

As a multiple time Honda owner including the 1G City 1.3, 1G FL (Type 2/Z) City VTEC, 7G Accord V6, 7G FL Accord V6 and 8G Accord 2.4, I had lost hope in Honda ever since the Accord Hybrid which I believe was their last great product albeit with negligible sales.

However with the introduction of the City e:HEV I was blown away by the powertrain, tech and quality on offer.

I recently purchased a 5G FL City e:HEV and couldn't be happier. I checked out the Virtus GT and Verna Turbo and this seemed like the most balanced option.

Performance: The performance below 100 is identical to the 1.5 TSI DSG. I managed to get a 0-100 time of 9s on a Dragy with around half a battery as the electric motor makes the car leap forward from low speeds and the instant torque means you can leave behind a Virtus 1.5 TSI or Verna 1.5 TGDI from a standstill without having to deal with DCT or turbo lag. It's surprisingly sprightly and fun to drive on a daily basis. After the ton however the latter begin to pull forward.

Efficiency: The cherry on top is that no matter how hard you drive, the efficiency figure does not drop below 18kmpl whereas it's turbocharged mates drop well below 8Kmpl. On normal driving in the city or highway, 22Kmpl is a common figure and it could shoot upto 27Kmpl if you're being cautious.

Tech: With the addition of the Honda Sensing ADAS suite and the Hybrid exclusive Stop and Go feature, the adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist makes it a breeze on long highway drives requiring minimal effort from the driver. It's also one of the few cars where you can leave the autonomous emergency braking always on on our roads where it's very well tuned and does not engage unless in an actual emergency. The LED lights, virtual cockpit and the audio system are quite good. The Stone Age looking infotainment is the only let down. While it does not quite match the Verna in terms of tech, it's definitely ahead of the VAG twins.

Comfort and Handling: It strikes a good balance between the stiff suspension setup on the Virtus and the super soft suspension setup on the Verna. It's soft enough to handle bad roads with ease and stiff enough to not move around too much on the highway. The steering is quite hefty and corners decently well which could be improved upon with wider tyres. It does not beat the VAG twins in the handling department but it's more confident than the Verna for sure.

Build and Material Quality: All the cars in this segment but the forgotten Ciaz have now scored 5 Stars in GNCAP and AseanNCAP which is commendable. The interior quality on the City is on par with the Verna with a ton of soft touch materials and premium feeling Ivory leather. The cabin feels much more premium than the VAG twins which are filled with hard, scratchy plastics and no soft touch materials in sight. The road noise and insulation could be improved though.

Thus I feel like this car provides the best of all worlds with great performance, efficiency, tech and quality and serves as a refreshingly competent product from Honda in years. This powertrain is much more refined and quick than the one in the Grand Vitara or Hyryder and would've done wonders in the Elevate. The reason Honda chose to omit that is beyond me but I hope they work on marketing this gem and bounce back by providing such a good package in their upcoming products.

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