GALLERY: 2020 Honda City on display at Thailand Motor Expo – 1.0L turbo engine with 122 PS, 173 Nm

The fifth-generation Honda City recently made its world debut in Thailand, and is currently on display at the ongoing Thailand Motor Expo. Thankfully, we’re on hand to capture live photos of the new B-segment sedan, which competes against the Mazda 2 Sedan as well as the Toyota Vios and Nissan Almera. We also posted a brief comparison between the four cars, which you can check out.

As you can see, the City sports a completely redesigned exterior, with a front end that features the company’s signature Solid Wing face. There’s clear influence from the larger Civic here, as evident by the “jewel eye” headlamps (with LED daytime running lights) flanking a black bar on the grille. This look is reserved for the range-topping RS variant, which is one of four offered in Thailand.

Other variants in the line-up – namely the SV, V and base S – feature a chrome bar instead, along with projector-type headlamps. To distinct itself as the sportiest variant, the RS also gets a more aggressive lower apron with prominent corner “inlets,” black side mirrors and larger 16-inch wheels (with 185/55 series tyres), while other variants have 15-inch units (with 185/60 series tyres) instead.

The overall profile of the City hasn’t been altered too heavily from its predecessor, but there are some changes to the bodywork. Where the previous, GM6-generation car had a swooping character line that runs beneath the door handles, the new car sees the line being repositioned above the door handles, and extended to meet the front and rear light clusters.

Moving to the rear, the slimmer, two-piece LED taillights are reminiscent of those on the Insight, and they feature a light signature that appears to be an extended version of those on the current BMW 3 Series. The clusters themselves wraparound the corners of the car’s body, and meet at the number plate holder, similar to before. Meanwhile, the rear bumper mimics the one at the front, as there are decorative “outlets” at the corners, highlights by creases trailing from the rear wheels.

With the redesign comes new dimensions as well, with the new City being 113 mm longer (4,553 mm), 53 mm wider (1,748 mm) than its predecessor, but with a 10 mm decrease in height (1,467 mm) and a wheelbase that is 11 mm shorter (2,589 mm).

For more figures, the front track spans 1,497 mm and 1,483 mm at the rear, while the ground clearance is measured at 135 mm. Depending on the variant, the weight varies from 1,150 kg to 1,154 kg and 1,165 kg. The fuel tank capacity is unchanged from before at 40 litres.

The suspension setup remains the same as before, with MacPherson struts being used at the front, while a torsion beam is found in the rear axle. The same applies to the brake system, with ventilated discs up front, while drums are used for the rear.

With live photos of the City, we also get a much better look at the finer details of the interior, which gets an entirely new dashboard layout. Hints of the new Jazz are obvious here, with an off-centred main display for the car’s infotainment system, vertical-style air vents and switchgear for the automatic air-conditioning system.

The new cabin design is a lot more streamlined and less “busy” compared to the GM6, and it is complemented by a redesigned steering wheel that has a smaller centre boss and conventional-looking on-wheel controls in place of roundels seen in the outgoing model.

On the centre console, the positioning of the cupholders, cubby spaces, gear lever and handbrake are similar as before, although there are now additional buttons beside the gear lever for enabling or disabling the car’s Econ mode and engine idling function.

Despite the shorter wheelbase, Honda says there’s actually more leg room and knee clearance, as the the front seat backs have been reprofiled, are 60 mm narrower, and have 15 mm lower headrests. The front seat rails are also spaced 25 mm further apart than before to provide more space for rear passengers’ feet. For better NVH, polyurethane spray foam insulation and a thicker engine under cover insulator have been applied as well.

Aside from the new styling, the biggest change that comes with the new City is the use of a turbocharged petrol engine, with the P10A2 powerplant having a displacement of 1.0 litre (998 cc). In terms of output, the direct-injected, three-cylinder DOHC mill puts out 122 PS at 5,500 rpm and 173 Nm of torque from 2,000 to 4,500 rpm. Drive is directed to the front wheels via a CVT with seven virtual speeds, and it is the only transmission option available in Thailand.

With a rated fuel consumption of 23.8 km/l, the City meets Thailand’s Phase 2 Eco Car framework, which is stricter in terms of fuel economy and emissions. Among the conditions are Euro 5 compliance, CO2 emissions below 100 g/km, and a fuel consumption not exceeding 4.3 litres per 100 km (23.25 km/l). The City has a rated fuel consumption of 23.8 km/l, so it meets said requirements.

Other aspects of the Phase 2 Eco Car regulation include the fitment of various safety systems such as ABS, EBD, BA and VSA as standard across the range, which are present in all four available variants of the City.

Equipment-wise, the base S variant (priced from 579,500 baht or RM80,035) gets black fabric seats, manual air-conditioning, a multi-info instrument cluster display, an Econ mode, keyless entry and start, a Display Audio head unit, four speakers, four airbags (front and side), the aforementioned safety systems and hill start assist.

Moving up to the V (priced from 609,000 baht or RM84,107), which in these photos, is dressed up with a range of Modulo accessories (we’ll get to that later), adds on automatic air-conditioning, chrome inner door handles, white illumination for the multi-info display, a centre console storage box and the Honda Smart Key (with remote engine start).

Next up in the range is the SV (priced from 665,000 baht or RM91,848), which gets a two-tone interior scheme, leather upholstery, piano black dash trim, an eight-inch Advanced Touch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, two USB ports instead of one, and a multi-angle rearview camera.

The range-topping RS (priced from 739,000 baht or RM102,061). gets the most goodies, with a gloss black trunk spoiler, LED fog lamps and headlamps, suede/fabric/leather upholstery with red stitching, paddle shifters, cruise control, red illumination for the multi-info display, two power sockets for rear passengers, a rear arm rest, eight speakers, Honda Connect telemetry service, plus two more airbags (curtain).

As for the Modulo accessories, they include a body kit that consists of a pair of spoilers on the front and rear bumpers, as well as side skirts. The kit is offered under the Modulo Aero Package and Aero RS Package, with the Aero Sport Package adding on a rear spoiler. Other options are LED fog lights at 5,500 baht, 15-inch turbine-style alloy wheels, alloy pedals, illuminated side sill plates and a dash cam.

It isn’t far-fetched to say that the new City will make its way to Malaysia, given the popularity of the model in our country, but it remains to be seen what specifications we will get. For now, enjoy these photos and let us know what you think of the City in the comments below.

2020 Honda City Turbo RS (Thailand-spec)

2020 Honda City Turbo SV (Thailand-spec)

2020 Honda City Turbo V with Modulo accessories (Thailand-spec)

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