Honda has raised the curtains of the much awaited fourth generation of the all new City at a world premiere held in Delhi, India. The all new 4th generation Honda City marks the introduction of a diesel engine under its hood and has evolved from its predecessor significantly. The new Honda City will go on sale in January, 2014. Pre-launch bookings have been opened up at the company’s dealerships across the country.
The new Honda City is the result of extensive surveys done in ASEAN countries and other markets depending customer needs and feedback. It is the first car from Honda to carry the new H design concept in India. The exterior styling has been termed as Sleek Cross-motion form and houses coupe like styling that adds to the sporty appeal in the design. On a first look, the car isn’t vastly different on the exterior front, but has new body panels that make it look more athletic with sharpened exterior lines.
The 2014 Honda City features a big bold chrome grille upfront and a new bumper with fog lamps, no LEDs though. The front of the car looks fairly similar to the outgoing model while the rear is where the real change comes in. The tail light design is completely new and houses a combination lamp and a lid lamp. A chrome slat runs between the tail lights, while the bottom right portion of the boot carries the variant moniker.
The side panels are also new on the City with sharper lines and a toned body making it more aerodynamic than the outgoing model. The wheel covers also feature an all new propeller like design theme that adds to in-motion design language that Honda has worked upon. The rear actually looks like from a segment above to be true.
The fourth generation Honda City is based on the Jazz platform and measures 4440 mm in length, same as the current model, 1695 mm in width, same as the current model and 1495 mm in height, 10 mm more than the current model. The wheelbase has been extended by 50 mm over its predecessor and measures 2600 mm. Honda has applied its “man maximum machine minimum” concept on the new City as well, offering more space and comfort on the interior front. The cabin design has been termed as “Layered Floating Cockpit” with more driver centric controls. Over all, the cabin has been designed for convenient use with a smart phone like operation.
Features like start-stop system, AUX input, Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control, sunroof, rear air-con vents, 5-inch LCD display screen, 8-speaker sound system, steering mounted audio controls are offered on the new Honda City making it very feature rich. The interior looks and feels of good quality and features a dual tone black and beige colour scheme.
Now coming to the part you have all been waiting for. Yes! the diesel engine is finally here. Powering the new City will be the 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder i-DTEC diesel engine that is found on the Amaze with Earth Dreams Technology. The engine has been developed keeping in mind Indian driving conditions and has proved its mettle on the Amaze. The 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, SOHC i-VTEC petrol engine will continue to perform its duties, but expect a significant rise in power and torque figures along with being more fuel efficient and emitting lesser CO2 emissions. The 5-speed manual and automatic transmission will continue on the petrol version but the diesel engine is paired to a 6-speed unit.
The new High-Balance chassis should improve the dynamics on the new Honda City. It has added 24 percent to the structural rigidity of the vehicle compared to the model it replaces. Suspensions on the car is McPherson struts up front and H-shape twist beam suspension at the rear for better ride and handling.
Honda hasn’t revealed the specifications of either of the motors as yet and we will have to wait till January next year to know the specs and prices of the new Honda City. The company has brought back the ace in the mid-size sedan segment which has been a favourite for a long time, only to have lost its crown recently. Honda recognises the importance of the City in India and has given us the first look before other markets. This only speaks volumes of Honda’s plans for India. We will be eagerly waiting for the prices of the all new Honda City in January and expect the vehicle to be costlier by around Rs. 50,000/- over the third generation model.
