Honda city like before there are four variants of the city to choose from starting with the entry level s which goes for 76 000 ringgit and goes all the way up to 106 000 ringgit for the range topping rs weve already done a walk around video detailing The differences for each trim so be sure to check out that video before making a purchasing decision with the whole new city for this video were taking at the v spec or the great v or the ctv. Whichever you want to call it, which has traditionally been the range topping variant in this city lineup, but thats no longer the case now with the rs being in the picture. But the pricing for this guy is around 87 000 ringgit, which is cheaper than a previous ctv and nearly 20 000 ringgit less than the rs. So lets dive right in Music for this generation, honda has doubled down on premium features such as full led lighting. The low beam, the high beam, the led turn signal indicator, the led drls and the fog lights. They are all leds. There is not a single halogen bulb to be found up front, which gives it a clear advantage over the vrs, as well as the mazda 2.. So this is real great news to me. It kind of makes the headlights of the cts and e look and feel a bit cheap by comparison. To be honest, at the back, i kind of like how this led combination, tail light is designed doesnt matter to me that it looks like the g20 bmw 3 series, because hey it is a good design.
I do wish, though, that the lights for the registration plates are fitted with leds instead of bulbs, because that would have been sweet icing on the cake. But you know it is what it is and since im being honest im, not really a fan of the design. This time around, because i think the previous generation gm6 model had a more proportionate exterior shell, whereas this one looks a bit bloated in the middle and soft towards the back, its a matter of personal preference. But if you ask me, i think i much prefer the design of the nissan almera the best, because to me it looks the most pleasing to my eyes. In this segment at least, it sits on 16 inch wheels that are similar in design to the ones on the rs minus the dual tone finish but notice. The insides of the wheel wells its its got a bit of sound insulation to it, but it just looks cheap because of the way its plastered on. I would prefer if they use like a black mud guard or rubberized undercoating so as to you know, not make the car look so exposed, but then again this is typical of cars in its class. I just wish the execution was slightly better, so its not make it look so cheap but yeah again, typical in its class. Also. I think this is a reoccurring problem for not just the city but a lot of other honda cars which are ckd, so this has to do with the hinge action if you can see its a little bit, not smooth and stiff, if i might add, but the Problem is worse on some cars than this, so you dont want the hinge to develop into this squeaky problem down the line, because a few honda cars have this issue and i think the qc side of the production has to be improved or maybe just change.
The supply altogether, because this is not acceptable – they got a keyless entry system spot on, though this is one of the more premium systems in the industry now so this is nice, so touch the inside to unlock press the button to lock its pretty foolproof, and i, Like it lets check out the interior, oh man, so janky Music for the interior. Let me just start with the things that i love number one, the cockpit. It feels more modern, very nicely designed and i think its among the most well designed ones on the market. Today, this instrument cluster, never mind that it looks basic steel, looks and feel a lot more modern compared to the ancient vios its just something about the way, its designed, the clarity, the legibility, all that sort you know, and if you look towards the corners youll, see Two white lines when youre idling, but when youre driving it turns either green or white, depending on how youre driving that is just the eco indicator, which i think is a is very well done here. The steering wheel is also a banger. I absolutely love it. Its nice and thick very easy to hold just the way i like it, its not too thin and the leather wrapping feels really well done. There is no contrast stitching, but its okay, you know it catches dirt over time, so at least it looks good. Even the buttons feel very high quality like it puts the civic fc to shame this.
It really is very well done, and the plastic pedal shifters actually feel great, so theres, nothing that feels cheap here – and this is this – is good stuff. I also really love the redesigned seats, its a little bit more shapely towards the top because it tapers a bit and they use really thick and dense foam. So it makes for a really comfortable sitting experience and you get support in all the right areas. Actually, the bolsters feel good. They are not flimsy in feel and check this out, the bum area and the back area, which are key pressure points when youre driving for long hours are perforated, so it makes for a little bit more of a cooling seating experience. I would say: yeah now: honda is a master of the man, maximum machine, minimum design philosophy. What that means is they prioritize development on things and features that matter to you and i the most like cabin spaciousness one? The dashboard looks like its designed to suspend in mid air so its creating for a lot of room for your legs to move underneath now. This is not something that is typical in b segment class. So having this really speaks volume as to the amount of effort that honda makes to fit the cabin feel a lot more spacious than you know, a b segment car really is two: the sitting position is unnaturally high, but its a city, car, no pun intended, and This is one of the few things that city owners actually look for.
This makes driving in you know, whatever scenarios a little bit easier because you get better visibility all around and the air pillars actually dont really obstruct your view when youre entering or exiting some corners. I find that to be a bit surprising because you know it looks chunky, but then you know you notice. The wing mirrors its positioned on the door. So your view in almost every driving scenario, is actually pretty decent. Plus you get on the lane watch but wait. It gets better. The infotainment system is a much much better unit. This time around, it looks like you know it belongs here. It measures, eight inches, diagonally, very responsive. I really like it and it has apple carplay and android auto support, although it requires a physical wired connection right here, but it works, and i really like it. If youve got the latest ios 15 running, it looks pretty decent its a bit jittery, but slightly better than the last time. I tried it so thats a nice improvement, but my number one favorite upgrade is something you wont be able to guess its actually. The sound system, i really really like how they sound the v and the rs, they get eight speakers and they sound absolutely incredible for a car in its class and price range you dont even have to get like overwhelmingly good sound by fiddling with the equalizers. You can just raise the treble levels and leave everything else: bone stock and its actually very good.
I really like it now. Honda never really had a strong reputation for shipping cars with good or decent sounding sound systems, but this city is starting to change that game. A little i dont know how the four speaker system sounds, but this eight speaker system sounds really dope. So i really wasnt kidding when i said. Honda is prioritizing things that matter to you and me so big props to honda for that at the back. Believe it or not, is a bit more spacious than before. Thanks to this reshaped seats, you now get a slightly better view out and the floor is deeper. So your legs dont hang anymore. It can finally rest a bit more flush on the bench itself. Whats also nice is that all variants get two events here in the middle as standard as well as two 12 volt sockets here for charging your smart devices, so thats really nice. Other things that i really like is that both the seat backs get this compartmentalized organizer. So you get a big section here, plus a phone holder fancy also the center armrest now sit flush on the bench and it has two cubbies thats, pretty nice. It doesnt hang awkwardly, like you know some other cars, so this is. This is a good step forward. Thats it now for the things that i dont, like the top of the dashboard, is a bit too flat for my liking and the door design continues to look cheap.
The hard plastics used throughout dont help either and theres still no auto up down for all four windows. The cabin lighting is also halogen bulbs instead of leds. This is a little bit of a niggle, but the infotainment screen is facing date straight towards the back. Instead of being angled towards the driver, which i prefer and the center armrest has two exposed nuts wait that didnt sound right, the boot area is also quite barren. You know theres nothing really shouty about it and the material feels like you know, flimsy its just a thin cardboard piece but thats about it. But you know at least the space is class leading you get 519 litres of boot space here, although that is only 17 liters down from before this is still class leading and if i can say or add on one more thing, i think this felt lining makes It look a little bit better than the almera, so at least it has that going for it Music. Now, before we start driving, i just want to point out that, while idling its actually quite refined, you dont hear much in the way of engines and in terms of vibrations, you dont feel it through the pedals or the steering wheel. So its already off to a good start, and i think this is an improvement over the older city and especially when you want to compare it to the vrs. This engine sounds quieter upon startup and while idling thats uh so yeah off to a good start right.
Mechanically, it shares the same platform as the gm6 model from before, so its 2.6 meter wheelbase is identical between the two, although this guy is bigger, of course, the engine is upgraded, though, so it now has a dual overhead cam engine so still same displacement, which is 1.5 liters still, naturally aspirated no turbo charging no hybrid, and it makes 121 ps and 145 newton meters of torque, so thats a scant one 1ps gain over the last single overhead cam engine, but it does feel a little bit more spritely mind you. Those numbers actually put the city close to the top of its segment in terms of share output, and it even has like 20 or 21 ps more power compared to the amera turbo performance wise. It actually feels pretty decent. The engine feels like its a little bit of a harder worker compared to the previous single overhead cam engine, and it does the 0 100 sprint in 10.2 seconds. I for one dont, think that the engine is underpowered because in gear acceleration is pretty respectable. So right now im doing 80 kilometers per hour and you can just gun it and youre right within that peak torque range and before you know it youre going to get to 100 110, 120, even 140 kilometers per hour very easily done. So this is not underpowered at all, but, as you can hear just now at full pelt, you get the full engine noise and the cvt drone in one fat undesirable serving, but just know that its not a realistic driving scenario because not everybody drives or wraps their Car that hard, but for those of you who plan to go on scenic drives or spirited drives up and downhill.
Just take note yeah. Objectively, though, there is nothing wrong with this cvt, but i feel like the vios grs, with its 10 speed. Cvt makes for a slightly better drivers car actually, no, the vios grs is indeed the better car to drive here, because the 10 speed cvt really grants a more granular control over your transmission engine revs, and all that thing plus it has stiffer springs and all that Just wait for our review to come out its its a better drivers car, but the city feels more lightweight and more modern as well. The steering wheel is light as its definitely lighter than the vs and its easy to maneuver, as well as for the almera. It feels a little bit more torquey down low, so getting up to speed will feel a little bit effortless. However, it does take a little bit longer to get to 100 kilometers per hour, taking over 11 seconds to do it. So when you put it side by side in the upper speed range does feel like the more potent engine, but maybe the almera is slightly quieter under full engine load. The suspension feels noticeably firmer this time compared to before it uses the same mcpherson struts up front and torsion beam suspension for the back, but with revised geometric design to account for the extra width the car feels more stable in the corners. I mean youre cruising on the highway, but its not quite as dirty and chunkable as the mazda2, because in terms of a drivers, car, the mazda 2 is still more fun by a mile, and the nissan alamera is like a more comfortable, easier to drive kind of Car compared to the city, that being said, the city is a pretty decent, all rounder and theres, really nothing wrong with that.
It does everything well and nothing too terribly so thats good noise levels can get pretty rough in this car right now, im doing about 80 kilometers per hour, and i can hear uh the tire raw its either from the tire which is toyo, proxys, tire, r57 variant Or the lack of insulating materials in the wheel well or a combination of both you know, thats pretty much. All that i hear besides the loud engine noise, wind noise is pretty well controlled and there is also one weird noise that happens when it rains. So what happens is water for some reason, trickles down into the b pillar, and i can hear it just trickling down this channel and it gets a bit annoying like it makes it past the rubber seals. For some reason – and i think that is a weird issue to have in a car but yeah – that is something to take note of also in terms of safety features. The city gets honda. Lane watch for the first time its a good feature to have, but it doesnt necessarily benefit people like me, because i find the display to be below eye level and its not ideal, because when i drive, i like to keep my eyes around this field of view. Instead of looking down and during the night, its not the highest resolution camera, but during the day, its okay, otherwise you get the usual six airbags, reverse camera, with three viewing angles: seat belt reminders for all five seats, as well as two isofix child seat, anchoring points At the back, as you know, the honda city is now equipped with honda sensing, but thats only for the rs well be reviewing that car very soon.
So you dont want to watch this space and im actually curious to see whether the sporty looks honda sensing as well as the whole hybrid tech, is actually worth 20 000 ringgit more than this car. But as it stands, i still think the ctv is going to be the top choice for a lot of people who are looking to buy the city. I really really think its a good car and the few qc issues. I really just hope: hondas gon na sort that out over time, especially with the door hinge and whatnot, but even those i dont think or i dont find them to be deal breakers. If you like it go for it.
