Honda finally pulls the wraps off the all-new, fifth-generation City sub-compact sedan in Thailand and with it brings a promise of re-imagining the segment by being “better in every dimension” and “delivering a value beyond everyone’s imagination.”
Initially developed as a regional model for the ASEAN market, the City has since become a very important model for Honda. Selling more than 4 million units since its first generation, 70 percent of its sales remain in ASEAN. With that, the all-new City caters to ASEAN tastes and sensibilities, but will also fulfill its role as standout small car sold in over 60 countries worldwide.
Compared to the outgoing model it goes for a wide and low appearance. With that, it sits 10 mm lower, but is wider by 53 mm and longer by a whopping 113 mm.
In terms of looks, the all-new City doesn’t take a radical departure not like its hatchback sibling, the Jazz/Fit. For the 2020 model, Honda has retained the City’s angular styling which should appeal to the current fan base. That said, it does get one feature shared with the all-new Jazz/Fit: the side mirrors are now mounted on the doors (done for better visibility). LED taillights are standard across the line as are LED daytime running lights. 15-inch rims are found at all four corners.
Inside, it further emphasizes its width with a horizontally-oriented interior. Compared to before, there’s far more soft-touch points and premium materials such as real metallic accents. A traditional two-gauge cluster greets the driver, but at the center is an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In Thailand, the City gains the Honda Connect system, a system that offers additional connectivity between driver and car.
Under the hood, there’s only one engine choice and that’s a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder VTEC Turbo engine. Thanks to a direct injection system, low inertia turbocharger, and electronic waste gate, it delivers torque equivalent to a 1.8-liter engine while delivering 33 percent better fuel economy than the outgoing 1.5-liter. The power output is an outstanding 122 horsepower and 173 Nm of torque. The sole transmission is the Earth Dreams CVT.
Also, for the first time, the all-new Honda City is available in a RS variant. The RS variant comes with a complete set of sporty aero parts including a gloss black front grille with RS logo emblem, sporty front bumper and grille, LED Headlights with LED DRLs, LED fog lights, black power-retractable side door mirror with integrated turn signal indicator, gloss black trunk spoiler, and larger 16-inch wheels. This model also gets suede leather seats with red stitching, a multi-information display with red illumination, and an exclusive color: Ignite Red.
Now comes the most surprising part. For the Thailand market, prices of the all-new City have remained largely the same as before. The previous City was sold there for 550,000 to 739,000 Baht. Now, the fifth-generation City comes in from 579,500 to 739,000 Baht.
Is this new CITY coming to the Philippines? When?
ReplyDeleteLikely, yes--it will be the same City that we'll be getting here. How long? At the earliest? 6 months...maybe longer if it will still be produced at the Santa Rosa, Laguna plant.
Deletethe GM6 Honda City (current gen) was introduced on April 2014. Expect the same month when Honda Philippines unveils the All-New Honda City... unless they read my comment here and say, let's screw up this guy and unveil the All New Honda city in March of 2020.
DeleteAnother question is if we'll get the new engine, or still use the previous-generation engine, which is often done in this country, from Vios to Camry to CR-V to etc.
ReplyDeletemost likely they will introduce the Turbo 1.0 on the Honda City RS "TOTL" variant, while the mid to lower variant will have the same mill as the current gen. knowing Honda, the "Turbo" was introduced to the Civic, while it also got the same 1.8 L engine as the last gen.
ReplyDeleteHmm, lackluster boring exterior design, small turbocharged engine(bad reliability, real world fuel economy, under heavy load), cheap design of exterior door handles, interior looks dated. Skip this and go straight to the Civic if you want a Honda. Otherwise, there's plenty of better choices out there including the Chinese newcomers.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't care. I will buy a fully loaded City RS anyway.
DeleteReally bad decision for them to go with a 1.0 3-cylinder turbo. Look at what happened to the Fiesta. Honda engines are far, far, worlds apart more reliable than Ford engines, but they make the best NA engines out there, barring Mazda (and they make the most reliable ones, barring Toyota).
DeleteYeah except Honda has that oil dilution prone 1.5 turbo.
DeleteBottomline, if you don't know jack shit about maintaining cars, better stick with a more reliable and easier to maintain naturally aspirated engine.
:( Sad. No more M/T?
ReplyDeleteKeeps getting uglier. The best looking City was still the 2009 model.
ReplyDelete