Automotive companies find it very difficult to satisfy the present Indian customers, the reason being we opting for optimised vehicles. We Indians always look for a combo pack which contains power, style, reliability and mileage. If a company fails to meet any one of the given requirements, it is brutally whipped up by the customers. The all time example is the Suzuki Kizashi, the car that was launched with huge expectations but couldn’t even state its presence. The extinct car was more or less a ghost in the automobile market with people not even considering it a part of the showroom. We Indians can even bend the spine of auto-giants and squeeze out anything that would meet our demand. The best example is the diesel cars from Honda. Honda launched its first diesel engine in India under the hood of the Amaze and now they will be sheltered even by the City.
With drop in sales of petrol versions and rapid increase in demand of diesel powered cars, the company was looking at a bleak future with all petrol powered vehicles. The Japanese automaker soon learned the concept of “Kitni deti hai?” and decided to come up with a diesel engine. Initially Honda had limited options to go with, which included an existing hatchback or a sedan. But against the odds, the company came up with a brand new sedan with diesel wings. The overhyped diesel variant of the Honda Amaze received an excellent welcome note from Indian customers. Now the 2014 Honda City will be equipped with the 1.5-litre diesel engine that the Amaze has been using. This turbocharged engine would be delivering a power of 100 PS and 200 Nm torque which is pretty decent for a sedan.
The Honda City is now India’s most fuel efficient car with a mileage of 26 km/l (ARAI certified). The City has beaten its sibling, the Amaze by a margin of a mere 0.2 km/l. The reason for the City clinching the crown is because of the 6-speed gearbox, on the other hand the Amaze uses a 5-speed gearbox. The diesel engine has certainly been the trump card for Honda and with such figures on the brochures, Honda is expecting to lure customers to its fold. The all new Honda City will be hitting the showrooms in January 2014 which is little over a fortnight from now. We expect this sedan to win more hearts as it is an already established model.
