2022 Honda City RS e:HEV review in Malaysia, RM106k

In all honesty, the fifth-generation Honda City would have done just fine with the standard petrol-only S, E and V variants. But Honda Malaysia went out on a limb to introduce the City e:HEV RS, a range-topping model that is completely decked out with the latest and greatest.

At RM106k, the RS costs around RM16,000 more than the City V Sensing, or nearly RM20k more than the regular City V. Some will find the difference hardly justifiable, and the Road Sailing treatment just doesn’t quite cut it. This is evidenced by the fact that its total volume accounts for less than 5% of all City models sold to date, but then again, that’s completely in line with the company’s expectations.

It’s not really a flop, but a mere strategy to get ahead of the curve, so to speak. The i-MMD hybrid system is vastly superior compared to the outgoing i-DCD on the efficiency metric. The powertrain is a complex one, but executed in a manner that still feels familiar to most motorists, even though the car behaves more like an electric car than the typical hybrid.

Based on our testing, we managed to achieve 24 km per litre over a period of 10 days (with a third of fuel left in the tank!), so a full tank (40 litres) could technically get you close to 1,000 km. The City RS is more efficient at lower speeds, so if the bulk of your commute takes place in congested urban areas, the i-MMD system will help you save on fuel costs.

But is it for everyone, and how does it compare to the regular City with the updated 1.5 litre DOHC engine? Do you really get 253 Nm of torque with the City RS? We answer all of that in the video above. Alternatively, you can also read our in-depth written coverage, here.

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