India-bound 7th generation Honda City breaks unveiled in Thailand
The Honda City brand name was first introduced in 1981 in Japan. The Japanese carmaker entered the Indian market in 1998.
Honda has unveiled the seventh generation Honda City in Thailand. The sedan is slated for launch in India by mid-2020. With new exterior and interior designs, the City will be retailed in four variants. It carries several design cues borrowed from the tenth-generation luxury sedan Honda Accord.
The new sweptback LED headlamp console has slim LED daytime running lamps (DRLs) with a dark housing tint. The front grille has been made slimmer while the overall design language is on the sporty side.
While alloy wheels in the Thai spec City are 15-inch units, the Indian version is expected to be shod with bigger wheels.
Replacing the old 1.5-litre i-VTEC mill, the 2020 Honda City is powered by a Euro 5 compliant 1.0-litre VTEC engine. This three-cylinder, turbocharged powerplant is capable of producing 122 PS of power and 173 Nm of torque.
Coupled to this engine is a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) gearbox. The company claims the new model will have a fuel efficiency of 23.8 kmpl.
A 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to Honda’s compact i-MMD mild-hybrid technology will also be on offer. This piece of tech was first seen in the new Jazz (Honda Fit). However, specific output details have not been revealed yet.
In terms of safety, the new City gets six airbags, ABS, Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Hill Start Assist (HSA), and Multi-angle rear-view camera. The sedan also utilises a G-CON (g-force control) body structure.
The car has several colour options, including Ignite Red Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl, Modern Steel Metallic, and Taffeta White.
The interiors in the new 2020 Honda City are roomier than the outgoing version. Also, the eight-inch infotainment system comes with Apple CarPlay and Siri voice control. The driver information console consists of twin analogue dials with red outlines and has a decent-sized multi-info display.
In India, Honda City competes with the Hyundai Verna, Maruti Ciaz, Volkswagen Vento, and Skoda Rapid.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
