The Honda City holds a special place in liberalised India’s automotive history. Having turned 25, the car has come to represent many things to many people.
It has endured over the decades because it continued to evolve – from a facilitator of speed and thrills in a market starved of both to a frugal, reliable yet luxurious symbol of upward mobility.
The Honda City brought just the right levels of power, economy and prestige, arriving from the higher echelons of the Japanese car industry and delivering a well-calibrated product to a carefully studied market.
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Starting as a rev-happy VTEC and then adapting to the needs of the market, the Honda City went on to incorporate the convenience of a CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox, the economy of diesel powertrains, and, in a recent act of self-preservation, a hybrid powertrain.
Now besieged by crossovers and compact SUVs, the City may not command the sort of dominance over market shares that it once did. But even though the mid-size sedan segment may have shrunk, the City continues to be its most persevering champion.
According to a statement put out by the company, the City accounted for 28 percent of sales in Honda’s Asia-Oceania region for January-August 2022. Now in its fifth generation, the City has racked-up sales of over 900,000 units, with a few misses and several hits.
1998-2003 First-generation
1st Gen Honda City
It takes a special kind of car to find new life in a span of over two decades and counting in the used-car market. The original City continues to be the go-to vehicle for India’s young car tuners.
Launched when the word sedan was defined by the likes of the frugal Maruti Suzuki Esteem, the Opel Astra, and the oddly proportioned Daewoo Cielo, the first-gen Honda City was a razor blade among kitchen knives.
Available first with a 1.3-litre petrol and later, the 1.5-litre VTEC, the City was based on the sixth-gen Honda Civic and brought a level of performance and thrill sorely lacking in the market. The VTEC motor making 106 bhp kicked off the youth’s longstanding love affair with Honda’s proprietary high-revving petrol tech. Future generations of the City may come and go, but the Gen 1 will continue to tread hallowed ground as India’s first true performance sedan.
2003-2008 Second generation
Second Gen Honda City
One wouldn’t go so far as to call this City a dog’s breakfast, but it was a rather unwelcome punctuation in the otherwise glorious prose penned by Honda. The second-gen City was based on the fantastic Honda Jazz (or Fit in certain markets), except that Honda decided to slap on an ungainly boot for the Indian market and offered a more economy-focussed City.
Having dropped the beloved VTEC from the line-up, Honda instead chose to introduce a slightly agricultural diesel motor, along with an NA 1.3-litre petrol. With immense boot space, a short turning radius and a spacious cabin, this one was completely practicality focussed. Unloved and forlorn, it was replaced in 2008.
2008-2014 Third generation
3rd Gen Honda City
With the VTEC making a long-awaited comeback, it was with the Gen 3 City that Honda perfected the mid-size sedan cocktail. The Gen 3 was a zestful but not profligate performer, with the right mix of luxury, economy and driving pleasure.
When launched, it was the first in the segment to offer dual airbags, ABS, and EBD as standard, 11 years before they became mandatory. With a sharp, conventionally Japanese design, it was arguably the best-looking version. Ditching diesel, it offered a 1.5-litre VTEC motor which made a good 116 bhp.
2014-present Fourth generation
4th Gen Honda City
With diesel sedans gaining popularity, Honda brought back its gruff, slightly noisy diesel motor with the fourth-gen. Comfort-oriented, this model featured a bit more cabin room and a CVT for greater efficiency.
With the pendulum swinging back on the utility-end, the fourth-gen, which continues to be on sale, marked a shift in priority for Honda – having entered the market with the promise of thrill and performance, it was now busy pandering to the utility-focussed consumer base.
With favourites like the Brio now a speck in its rear-view mirror, the fourth-gen continues to sell in strong numbers alongside the more tech-heavy and expensive fifth-gen, but is unlikely to be remembered as the best of the lot.
With a four-star Global NCAP safety rating, it remains the most wholesome, if not the most exciting mid-size sedan in the market. Having sold 250,000 units, the fourth-gen model did nonetheless mark the City’s peak. It is, however, headed for the guillotine as Honda makes way for a mid-size SUV.
2020-present Fifth generation
5th Gen Honda City
Out with the diesel and in with the hybrid powertrain (alongside the petrol powertrain, of course), the fifth-gen City is a significant benchmark for Honda India’s story as it continues to adapt and paves its way to an electric future.
With prices exceeding Rs 19 lakh, the City Hybrid is the costliest it has ever been, but with connected car tech, Alexa functions and a host of other tech, it’s also the most sophisticated.
With the first batch already booked out, the City e:HEV marks Honda’s pivot towards electric mobility. However, there’s no word on whether the sixth-gen City will be a pure EV as Honda focuses on entering the mid-size SUV segment.
Will the upcoming Honda SUV replace the City as the flagship? Will the City continue to fly the sedan flag? Only time will tell.
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