Honda has launched the fifth-generation City facelift with prices starting at ₹11.49 lakh and going up to ₹20.39 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the top-spec City Hybrid. The City facelift includes minor cosmetic changes, more equipment, new entry-level variants and a new paint shade.
The starting prices of the City Petrol and City Hybrid have come down, thanks to the inclusion of new trims. The entry-level City Petrol is now ₹38,000 cheaper than the pre-facelift car. The City Hybrid, along with the new entry-level variant, is a full ₹1 lakh more affordable than before.
Bookings for the Honda City facelift are already open at ₹5,000 if booked online and ₹21,000 if booked at the dealership.
Like most mid-life cycle facelifts, the updated City gets minor cosmetic changes on the inside. Up front, Honda has tweaked the bumpers, and the grille now has a thin chrome bar. The facelift retains the sharply styled, swept back tail lamps with nine LED arrays as before. The grille design has also been updated and includes a honeycomb pattern on the upper ranges and vertical slats on the lower ranges.
Aside from that, not much has changed except for a new design for the alloys. At the rear, the City facelift gets redesigned bumpers and Honda has changed the positioning of the reflectors by adding a spoiler on the trunk. This update also comes with a new Obsidian Blue Pearl paint shade option.
Like the exterior, changes to the interior of the City facelift are minimal, with the layout, upholstery and switchgear remaining the same. The City facelift continues to get a beige and black theme for the petrol variants and an ivory and black theme for the hybrid variants.
With this facelift, Honda has added new entry-level variants to the City range. It sees the addition of a new SV trim, which comes only with a manual transmission. The facelifted City, in petrol guise, is now available in a total of four trims – SV, V, VX and ZX. Apart from the SV trims, the rest get a CVT gearbox option.
Honda has also introduced a new entry-level V trim on the City Hybrid, which was previously only available in the top-spec ZX trim.
In terms of equipment, the City facelift gets ADAS features like adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and autonomous emergency braking even on the petrol variant.
Honda has also added a new feature in ADAS tech to the City Hybrid called the “Low Speed Follow” function, which enables the driver to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front. It also gets a “Lead Car Departure Notification System” that alerts the driver when the vehicle in front departs.
Top variants of the mid-size sedan get six airbags, tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and some new features like rain-sensing wipers, ambient lighting, a wireless charger and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The City facelift loses the 1.5-litre diesel engine, ahead of the upcoming Real Driving Emissions (RDE) norms. Honda is only offering the City with a 121hp, 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine mated to either a 6-speed manual or CVT gearbox, and a 126hp, Atkinson-cycle 1.5-litre petrol hybrid eCVT transmission. .
The City is still the only car in its class to offer a robust hybrid powertrain. Petrol and petrol hybrid powertrains will meet RDE norms as well as E20 (20% ethanol blend).
With the petrol manual, the City facelift claims fuel efficiency of 17.8kpl and for the petrol auto, it is 18.4kpl. The City Hybrid offers a claimed fuel efficiency of 27.13kpl.
Honda is offering a three-year/unlimited kilometer warranty as standard on both the City Petrol and City Hybrid. The warranty can be extended up to five years. For the City Hybrid, Honda is offering an eight-year/1,60,000 km warranty on its lithium-ion battery.
