Honda City has been the go-to mid-size sedan in the Pakistani auto industry. It costs less than other sedans but still offers decent quality, performance and features. International variants of the car come with additional features and are often late to arrive in Pakistan. With new competition coming in and Suzuki Ciaz challenging City, will Honda be able to retain its lead in this market segment?
Let’s take a look at the new Honda City 2017 and what it brings to the table.
The new model debuted about two months ago, and has received accolades for its notable improvements in design and feature list.
The exterior sees an updated V-variant with full LED headlamps and integrated LED daytimes running lights.
The bumper has been slightly redesigned and gives a sportier look, akin to what we saw with the latest Civic model.
The new slimmer chrome grill with a honeycomb mesh and dual tone alloy wheels (15-inch on S variants, 16-inch on V) also adds to the superior design. Just like Civic, the new Lunar Silver Metallic color has also been introduced for City.
The new tail lights, a ducktail spoiler and the new third brake light are also noticeable additions to the car’s rear.
The biggest change Honda brought to the City this year is the 6.8-inch touchscreen entertainment system that comes in with the City V variants.
A push start button has been added across the range, making the cars more secure and automated.
The meter cluster has also been redesigned and now sports white illumination in the surroundings. It’s also available in all variants. There are separate rear smartphone pockets on the V versions.
City fans would also love to know that the V variants also bring paddle shifters, a major improvement over its predecessors.
Mechanically, the car remains nearly the same as before with a 1.5 litre i-VTEC four-cylinder engine, capable of producing 120 HP at 6,600 RPM and 145Nm at 4,600 RPM.
The petrol variants of the car will come with a choice between five speed manual or a seven speed CVT transmission. As mentioned before, automatic transmission also brings paddle shifters.
There’s a diesel variant too with six-speed manual gearbox and 25 km/l mileage but it’s not available in most markets.
Honda has included Vehicle Stability Assist (also known as Electronic Stability Control or ESC) across the range. Previously, it was only available in the higher end City models. The automated car control feature is very beneficial when brakes are applied suddenly as it makes sure the car does not deviate from the road.
While not necessary but a nifty addition, Hill Assist Start (HAS) is also a standard feature now.
Honda City is slated to last longer than before. Honda City’s ARAI-certified figures for car mileage are listed below:
Honda City comes in 3 or 5 variants depending on the market. Each variant sports some of the new features, and retains the rest of the features from the previous year. The low end variant is called S which goes all the way up to ZX where the higher end variants have all the features mentioned in the lower tiers. The variants along with the features are listed below (low-end to high-end):
While there is no official word on when the new model will be made available in Pakistan, it is expected to happen soon with increasing pressure from the likes of Suzuki Ciaz and other new automakers in the market.
Pricing is expected to remain within Rs. 15 lacs to Rs. 18 lacs.
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