Unveiled: Honda City 2014

Honda City, one of the most revolutionary and successful cars to be launched in the Indian market. The first generation was launched way back in 1998. With Japanese reliability, a fuel efficient engine and a competitive price tag made the City undoubtedly the segment leader. Few years down the line Honda launched the Honda City VTEC which is still quite a popular choice amongst performance car enthusiasts. Following that two other generations came out. And they were also equally successful. It has always been the petrol segment leader but then the recent market conditions have favoured Diesel vehicles and as a result the City lost out to it's rivals.

So finally the Fourth generation Honda City has been officially unveiled in India, where it makes it's global debut and yes,with a much awaited diesel engine. Will this be a segment leader just like the petrol city? For that we will have to wait till January next year when they officially launch it.

Honda have not revealed much information of the new City as this was merely just an unveiling event but some of the important points have been discussed below.

Some important points of the new 2014 City:

• Powered by 2 engines. The petrol will be a re-tuned version of the 1.5L i-VTEC from the earlier car. The diesel motor is the 1.5L i-DTEC already seen on the Amaze.( Unfortunately no specs have been officially revealed)
• Both engines will come mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and the petrol will also come with an automatic transmission(with paddle shifts). Honda could surprise us though by also launching a much needed diesel automatic down the line. But that could push the price tag dangerously higher.
• Dimensions (in mm) : 4440 x 1695 x 1495. Wheelbase has increased by 50mm, Height by 10mm. Rear seat much more spacious than the outgoing car.
• All-new body shell and chassis. We could expect it to be a little more performance-oriented and fun to drive!
• Biggest improvement has to be the interiors. All new instrument cluster and dials, feather touch AC controls, new LCD head-unit with  reversing display.
• Features include push button start, four 12V charging points, Sunroof, Cruise Control, Automatic climate control, Airbags, ABS&EBD and rear seat AC vents.
• Honda has also increased the production capacity by adding a third shift. A special mention for Honda in this area as they anticipate their demand and waiting periods well. No fiascos like  what Ford had with the Ecosports.

So on paper it looks like a winner already. Lets hope Honda get the pricing right. Hyundai have a lot to worry about. Can't wait to get my hands on it in January next year when we will be bringing you the Official review!

Looking forward to your comments.

Keep revving!
Speed pujari