Honda City facelift to launch on feb 14, more details emerge

Honda's most popular car model, the City, is due for a mid-life refresh in India. The City facelift is scheduled to launch on Feb 14 and dealerships across the country have started to accept bookings for the refreshed model at Rs 21,000. From the details that are emerging, it looks like Honda will bank upon segment-first features to keep its revered nameplate ahead of the game.

The City facelift is inspired from the new Accord; that's where the chrome applique on the squared headlamps come from. The Honda logo on the front grille is bigger and protruding. Together with a wide air dam on the front bumper, the City facelift looks aggressive from the front. The rear is only slightly altered, with minor changes to the tail lamps and a redesigned rear bumper.

Body colours – two colours removed, two new added

The pre-facelift Honda City was available with six exterior colour options including two shades of white, Urban Titanium, Alabaster Silver Metallic, Carnelian Red Pearl and Golden Brown Metallic. Our sources claim that the Urban Titanium and White exterior colours have given way to Steel Metallic and Moon Silver.

Variants – five trims on offer, E and VX(O) variants removed

The Honda City was available in 6 variants before. However, the facelifted City will only get five – S, SV, V, VX and ZX. ZX is the new top-end variant. E and VX(O) variants have been dropped.

Features – Sunroof with pinch guard and LED headlamps will be first-in-segment features, safety could be given a boost with six airbags

The top ZX trim will offer features like LED headlamps, sunroof (now with pinch guard), six airbags (likely), rain sensing wipers, 16-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery, automatic headlamps and a new Wi-Fi enabled 7-inch entertainment system with 1.5GB inbuilt storage, expandable up to 16GB. Safety features like ABS and dual front airbags will continue to remain standard.

Engine-Transmission Options – No diesel in base S variant

Honda is expected to continue with the existing petrol and diesel engines on the facelift City. However, chances are that the base S trim will be available with a petrol engine only, which hints at a barebones variant to keep the entry-level price competitive. V, VX and ZX variants will get automatic transmission option with the petrol engine.

The City currently draws power from a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, i-DTEC diesel engine that makes a maximum power of 100PS. It gets a 6-speed manual gearbox. The 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, i-VTEC petrol engine is good for 119PS of maximum power and is available with an option of a 5-speed manual or a CVT transmission.

Prices – The fully loaded City ZX diesel may cross the Rs 13 lakh mark now

Prices of the City currently start at Rs 8.31 lakh for the base E trim and go up to Rs 12.65 lakh for the top-end diesel (both prices ex-showroom, Delhi). For the City facelift, the base variant is expected to remain around Rs 9 lakh, but the top-end ZX trim may cross the Rs 13 lakh mark, considering its longer feature list.

Competition and market check – City may become the most expensive car in its segment

The Honda City has always enjoyed a premium positioning in its segment, and it could now become the most expensive car to own in the C-segment, with even the diesel DSG Skoda Rapid priced well under Rs 13 lakh. However, this time, the top-end Honda City will be feature-loaded and will set a new benchmark for the equipment it'll offer.

The Honda City is the first C-segment sedan to receive an update in 2017. However, this segment will see two significant launches this year – the Ciaz facelift and the Hyundai Verna. While the Ciaz facelift may not be as feature-loaded, an update will certainly give its sales boost. The Hyundai Verna will be one car to watch out for since it is expected to be loaded to the gills, and with the SHVS-like hybrid tech under its belt, Hyundai will be able to price it aggressively too.

Source: CarDekho.com