The Honda City has undoubtedly been a hit with Malaysians, and the response to the recently-launched mid-lifecycle facelift says so, the car managing to rack up 2,000 bookings in the first 10 days following its launch in March. Beyond the requisite cosmetic updates, the City is mechanically similar to its pre-facelift form. Is it, then, a case of leaving well enough alone? It would appear to be largely so.
Save for select detail updates, under the hood, the 120 PS and 145 Nm 1.5 litre i-VTEC naturally-aspirated inline-four cylinder petrol engine, which is paired with a continuously variable transmission with a torque converter, continue on unchanged.
Being a mid-lifecycle update, the facelifted Honda City retains the same overall structure, which means the cavernous (for a B-segment sedan) cabin and the 536-litre luggage compartment is untouched. Conveniently for reference, its Japanese competitors the Nissan Almera, Toyota Vios and Mazda 2 Sedan were present at the media drive, and the City’s best-in-class luggage capacity dealt with luggage duties effortlessly.
Ditto the front half of the cabin, where the dashboard architecture remains the same as before, and as is the case elsewhere on the car, detail updates aim to spruce up the proceedings. Paddle shifters for ‘manual’ override of the continuously variable transmission appears behind the steering wheel here, while the infotainment touchscreen unit receives a new trim surround, which matches that of the air-con vent.
At the back, the usual Honda City hallmarks of spaciousness and ease of use remain, along with its marvellous amount of rear legroom. There is space to stretch not just fore and aft, shoulder room remains as accommodating as when the car first appeared. All these come together with further detail improvements which, as we will explore later, make for a more amenable environment. Front and rear, so far so familiar.
It has been some time since the Honda City was driven at length by yours truly, however it was all very familiar as soon as the engine was started and the wheels were turned. No changes to report where the steering and suspension are concerned, and unsurprisingly the City drives exactly as it did like before.
The 1.5 litre i-VTEC mill is adequate in its assumed duty, and just as its name implies, the compact four-door’s skill set is skewed further towards handling urban environments rather than prolonged high-speed jaunts out on the open highways.
On the latter note, the City has actually been improved in a number of areas, chiefly with regards to its soundproofing. No empirical data was retrieved, however the purely subjective observation is that occupants will emerge from the facelifted model feeling less fatigued from a long journey than they might have in the previous car.
For the one behind the wheel, the experience remains largely the same as with the pre-facelift, with the same clear and simple instrumentation in view. Ditto the switchgear, which is easy to locate and use. Once on the move, steering the City is effortless, if rather numb.
Meanwhile, the power and drivetrain combination continues to be obliging rather than outright enthusiastic, though the torque converter-equipped CVT has been improved further with better lock-up for better engine drag, and the paddle shifter-equipped ‘manual’ over-ride now gives a more pronounced impression of stepped ratios.
Again, the clue’s in the name, where Honda’s updated B-segment sedan is rather more adept at navigating the urban hustle and bustle in a civil manner, rather than tackling the twisties with significant effervescence.
A trait of most, if not all cars in this segment is their susceptibility to crosswinds due to the generous overall height relative to its width, with the swaying effects just about discernible to its driver on longer stretches of highway. On the day, it was more noticeable, particularly through more wide-open spaces.
On this occasion, we were also given the opportunity to put the City through more vigorous paces. Its Japanese B-segment competitors were also present on a closed-off, touge-style twisty road course, where the City acquitted itself fairly well.
Here, the tighter torque converter lock-up plays to its advantage, allowing for more confident corner entries rather than the ‘runaway trolley’ sensation of cars with more freewheeling transmissions off-throttle.
Also present for this exercise were the Toyota Vios and the Nissan Almera. Given the whip on this stretch, the Almera turned out to be surprisingly entertaining in a slightly wayward manner, with its most pronounced body roll almost, but not quite nudging it into roll oversteer. The Vios fared slightly better than the Almera with better body control, and the Toyota also had the sportier, angrier engine note of the three here. The Mazda 2 Sedan was not present for this exercise.
In the end, the handling exercise, while offering a good take, seems almost peripheral to the concerns of the typical prospective buyer of Japanese cars, considering that many in that group will be upgrading from smaller vehicles.
Of greater concern will be practicality and accommodation, which the City has in very large spades, as well as the breadth of a strong service network, which Honda Malaysia of course has. These have been among the Honda City’s great strengths, and to that the update has brought further refinements and improvements to the way it drives, which is a nice bonus.
This facelift is a classic example of yielding a favourable result from a sparing approach to changes, and at RM92,000 for the top V variant, there little to count against the Honda City with.
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why settle for City? when you can Toyota CH-R^^
THOSE RIMS TAKEN FROM JAZZ KEENLITE CONCEPT
I feel those rims not nice. Give it a sportier one please ….
Told you already, you won’t go wrong with sushi cars. Buy kimchi you will cry on the RV.
Why the ugly CH-R when you can have CX-3?
HM: How can we make Msian happy with this cr*ppy model?
Also HM: Give paddle shift. They’ll like it even they didnt know how to use.
HM: Done.
In fact, it is very useful, especially during down hill.
Paddle shift is good emergency safety spec. Arigato Honda Japan !
Paddle shift is a good emergency safety spec????ok…
Yes, emergency downshifting via the paddle kept my Civic from rear ending someone Myvi who locked up their brakes in front of me.
emergency safety spec abah kau.
Downshift for engine brake abah ko.
Wut m8?
Emergency safety spec?? You must be thinking your paddle shift is a F1 paddle shift..Oh, did you know this City is not even a normal torque converter and only a CVT??
So you all agree bigger speedometer is easier to read at a glance, right? Pls tell proton to change all the Lotus Elise-inspired one. One reason why the british didn’t buy the savvy and gen2 sold in UK. The other thing or course, is lack of low end power.
Why was the Mazda 2 not present for the actual driving part of the event?
Outclass all 3 lmao. No other reason.
Hahaha.. Most probably blast all the others after the corner exit
They’re no match for Mazda 2
Soo…..u rather resort to engine braking when 4 disc brakes could have done the job for you? pathetic defence. one of the things Honda is hiding from you. Only 2 disc brakes
Obviously the only area that beats Mazda 2 is luggage space…lol.
Proton Preve more powerful, spacious & safety features.
Powerful, yes.
Safety is same same except Preve has HPF body.
The Preve is not in the same segment as the Honda City.If you want to compare, go compare with the Civic.
Wah, my uber and grab driver’s car is getting safer and more luxurious xD
I like “your name”, Nissan Tidur!
Would be interesting to see the test drive/review of the facelifted Honda City against the Mazda 2 & the (facelifted) VW Vento..
Tidur nicer than P1 brain dead on life sapott!
SIan butthurt, dragging in P1 no other ideas kah?
Better add money and buy a HRV. no regrets!
hahaa dodgy people…i liked how they remove the mazda from the handling test…for reasons everyone knows heheheh
Erm…honda choose to add in paddle shifter rather than rear disc brake. Hope they will add it back as on previous models, though some may say for small B segment car drum brake also no problem, it save more $ on service and maintainence, but if someone know how the drum and disc brake work, u will know there is still a downgrade compared to previous model. Saving money or safety, i personally opt for safety.
It might be gud but for a B segment 1.5L car, u wondered if its necessary. Just take a look at vios rear disk. Its pitifully small compared to my Gen2.
FYI, gen2 rear disc brakes are slightly bigger than the front one. Try measure.
I expected ppl will doubt that is the rear disc necessary for B segment car, yes it might not be necessary, but compare a small disc to a drum, which will have a better braking force especially when rainy day. My point is that, previous City used rear disc but now get downgraded to drum even on full spec
Gen 2? Wakakakakak pls lah….
Because car companies love to add useless stuff
Mick-san,
Did u try to mirrorlink smartphone to the HU?
Bias review, why left out Mazda 2 in performance and handling section?
“The Vios fared slightly better than the Almera with better body control, and the Toyota also had the sportier, angrier engine note of the three here. The Mazda 2 Sedan was not present for this exercise.”
Obviously we now know which car handles best when they dare not put this car for handling test…lol
burning question….how is the ‘fit & finish’ quality? heard alot of complaints in forum :D
semua poyo. semua kereta tak bagus. semua perasan bagus. takda kerja lain ka?
May I know the price for air compressor for new city hybrid
Still sohc? My saga flx wt dohc