Fast forward to 2024 and the City Hatchback was refreshed here in the Philippines. It received some key updates that will certainly silence its haters. Honda even had us drive it out north to Pampanga to see how the overall experience would be.

Many of the improvements in the City hatchback were done on the exterior and cabin. Outside, there’s slight revisions on the lower section of the bumpers complemented by new gloss black rims. Really, they can do anything with the City hatch and it will still look good.

Inside is where things got more contemporary. They updated the seat upholstery to have a full leather cover unlike before where the center section is fabric. There’s also a slightly larger display screen between the analog gauges, while the touchscreen is now capable of wireless Apple CarPlay (Android Auto remains wired). I greatly welcome the wireless connection of Apple CarPlay but I’m half-hearted with the leather seats. On one hand, I like its practical use against liquids, but I am afraid once I go to open parking areas. I’m not sure if there’s tint that can save my bum from being toasted.

Leather issue aside, driving the Honda City Hatchback was a delight. No one can deny the 1.5-liter mill, despite not having a turbo like in the Civic, is the best in its class. It’s more than capable even with big occupants like me. It doesn’t have a problem sprinting to 60 km/h to merge on the highways or overtaking ‘turtles’ in the passing lane.

Honda has already proven before that the City hatch can handle the curves in the Philippines. This time they flaunted how the low-riding City hatch is also Bulacan proof. From Pampanga, we drove south and exited in Pulilan to check out Honda Baliuag. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, Honda Cars Baliuag is situated along the worst section of DRT Highway. The cement and asphalt are so uneven because of the trucks regularly traversing the area that it feels like the road is meant as a suspension test. My personal Celerio wishes to be a pickup whenever I go through here, which is, almost every day.

So, it was eye opening to me when the City hatchback went through the same rough patches smoothly. Never did the shocks bottom out despite me not slowing down. What’s more impressive is that if you’re a passenger, you can read stuff on your phone. The vibrations can be felt at the floor but it doesn’t creep up to the seats; so unless your arm is on the door panel, your hand won’t be shaky. You can read all the Reddit gossip at your pleasure.

The best improvement in this iteration of the City hatchback is the inclusion of the Honda Sensing suite. This includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Keeping Assist, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Departure Warning, Auto High Beam, and Lead Car Departure Notification. It made the drive so much easier in the city, highway, and even on rural roads.

What’s even better than the features is their individual execution. For example, the Collision Mitigation Braking System or CMBS isn’t full-on every time it is activated. It senses if your foot is on the brake pedal, and if you’re not applying pressure or just not enough. It’s the same with the Adaptive Cruise—it won’t brake at the last second to maintain distance from the car in front of you. Instead, it will gradually apply the brakes so you can maintain safe distance in a gradual way. Basically, Honda Sensing keeps you safe but also isn’t overreactive to the road conditions here in the Philippines.

The price may be steep at P 1,189,000 but the Honda City Hatchback isn’t an exception. All cars are becoming more expensive now for their class thanks to tariffs and taxes. Still, the 5-door City has a few aces that make it worth your peso. It looks good, has a very comfortable ride, available in a variety of seating configurations, and is safer than ever. Haters have now run out of excuses.