Honda City: Variants explained

The Honda City occupies and lives in a very important sector of the automotive landscape - that of the B-segment family sedan. The City has always been a solid choice within its space which also consists of cars like the Toyota Vios and Nissan Almera among others. While Honda has already unveiled the all-new City in Thailand, it hasn’t yet made its way to Malaysia.

With the immense popularity and market capitalisation of the brand, Honda has enjoyed much success in our country with the City. Obviously, enough people are buying this compact sedan for it to remain so high up in the new-car buyers' list. So if you are also interested in owning a Honda City, which of the four different variants should you park your money on?

Let’s get the ball rolling by mentioning Honda City specs and prices of all its variants…

Honda City dimensions

In terms of its overall dimensions, the Honda City is not as compact as one might think. For instance, it is 17 mm longer than the Vios, and also boasts a 50 mm longer wheelbase than its Toyota rival. Not just that, the City’s 536-litre boot capacity trumps that of the Vios (506 litres) and the Almera (490 litres) quit easily.

Honda City price in Malaysia

With that out of the way, let’s take a glimpse at what’s under the hood…

Honda City engine and transmission

Now that we have listed out some details on tables, it is now time to move on to the meat of the matter - namely, what are the four variants of the Honda City like? So let’s get on with that…

Honda City 1.5L S

Essentially the entry-level variant of the outgoing Honda City, the 1.5L S is priced at RM 73,836. As the name suggests, the S trim is powered by the brand’s tried & tested 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. This naturally-aspirated four-popper, with the assistance of electronic fuel injection and i-VTEC technology, develops 118 hp and 145 Nm at 6,600 rpm and 4,600 rpm, respectively.

In our market, all petrol-only variants of the Honda City come fitted with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that sends the drive to the front wheels. As for its performance, the Honda City 1.5L S can make it to a top speed of 190 kmph and hit 100 kmph from a standstill in around 11 seconds. The petrol-only City variants get a fuel economy rating of approximately 13 kmpl on a combined cycle.

For buyers, features and equipment are just as important as the price of a car. So how well does the base variant of the Honda City fair in this regard? Here are some of the most noteworthy features of the City 1.5L S:

• 15-inch alloy wheels
• Halogen headlamps with LED daytime-running lights (DRLs)
• Smart Entry with Push-Start Button
• Auto-retractable and power-adjustable wing mirrors
• Manual air-conditioning system
• Multifunction steering wheel with tilt & telescopic adjustment
• Fabric seat upholstery
• Height-adjustable driver’s seat
• ECON button
• 8 cup holders
• Split-folding rear seats
• 4-speaker audio system with AUX, USB and Bluetooth connectivity

Aside from these convenience features, the 1.5L S variant also gets vital safety equipment such as:

• Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA)
• Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA)
• Hill Start Assist (HSA)
• Emergency Stop Signal (ESS)
• Reverse parking sensor
• Rear-seat ISOFIX anchor points
• Dual front airbags

Honda City 1.5L E

One up from the base S variant, there’s the E trim. While the E gets the same engine as the former, you do get more features and of course, a slight bump in price, in this case, of just over RM 6,100. However, this variant does make up for that by offering an extra bit of kit such as:

• Chrome outer door handles
• Wide mirrors with integrated turn indicators
• Automatic climate control with rear vents
• Cruise control
• Steering-mounted shift paddles
• Front armrest
• Rear armrest with integrated cup holder
• 6.8-inch touchscreen infotainment head unit
• HDMI connectivity
• Three accessory ports (instead of just one)
• Speed-sensitive auto-volume adjustment

The E variant also adds a couple more safety features on top of what’s already available in the S trim. These include:

• 4 airbags (dual front & front side)
• Multi-angle reverse parking camera

Honda City 1.5L V

Interestingly enough, the best-equipped variant isn’t the most expensive variant, especially when it comes to the Honda City line-up in Malaysia. The City 1.5L V trim is priced at RM 86,983 or about RM 7,000 more than the E variant.

While the V is mechanically identical to its lower S and E trims, it certainly gains a lot more convenience & comfort features. The most important of these include:

• LED headlamps along with LED front fog lamps & LED tail lamps
• Leather-clad steering wheel and gear knob
• Leather seat upholstery
• Soft padding along with the instrument panel
• 8-speaker sound system

Moreover, the fully-loaded Honda City V also brings with six airbags (dual front, front side & curtain) instead of the two or four found in other variants.

Honda City 1.5L Hybrid

Bearing a price tag of RM 92,172 (approximately RM 5,200 over the V trim), the hybrid variant of the outgoing Honda City is the most expensive offering in the whole line-up. Basically, as far as features are concerned, the City Hybrid is nearly identical in its equipment level as the lower-priced E variant -- save for the inclusion of LED tail lamps and digital shift-by-wire technology for its gearbox.

Motive force comes from a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that’s assisted further by an electric motor. Combined, you get 137 hp and 170 Nm of torque - an increase of 19 hp and 25 Nm on top of what’s already available in the petrol-only variants. The hybrid-electric powertrain comes together with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission that’s equipped with shift-by-wire technology.

One of the primary reasons one would go for the hybrid variant over its internal-combustion siblings has to do with its incredibly low fuel consumption rating of 25 kmpl! However, when compared to its dinosaur juice-drinking stablemates,

the City Hybrid maxes out at a lower 180 kmph (compared to 190 kmph) -- the hybrid variant more than makes up for that lower Vmax with its astonish fuel-economy claim, though in the real world, one may not ever see 25 kmpl.

Also read: 2020 Honda City: All you need to know