Being one of the biggest and most important car debuts of this year, the all-new Honda City launch in Malaysia happened back in October. And, just like other markets, the sedan’s new version impressed the auto-enthusiasts with its design and performance here in Malaysia as well.

Making bigger footprints, the new City is 111 mm longer and 54 mm wider, with a 10 mm lower height, and an unchanged wheelbase. Although boot space is now 17 litres less than the previous version, it is still class-leading with a capacity of 519 litres.

Talking about its variants, Honda is offering the new City in four versions as completely knocked down units, including the top-spec RS e:HEV. This is also the global debut of the hybrid guise, and the Malay market is the first one to receive it because the country is leading Honda’s hybrids in the Asia-Oceania region with a contribution of 40% sales in the past five years. 

Here we bring all the details on the Honda City variants for the ones who are interested in owning a new one. So let’s get started with the price.

2020 Honda City price in Malaysia

Variant	Price (with sales tax exemption)	Price (without sales tax exemption)
Honda City S	RM 74,191	RM 76,800
Honda City E	RM 81,664	RM 84,800
Honda City V	RM 86,561	RM 89,800
Honda City RS e:HEV	To be announced in January 2021

Note: Prices will be revised after December 31, 2020, with the resumption of SST.

Honda City S

As the most affordable City in the lineup, this is the entry-level model on the road which attracts and pleases many buyers with just its styling. It boasts a completely overhauled exterior featuring a Solid Wing face with new jewel eye headlamps and bold chrome grille, teamed up with large jet-fighter-like air intakes and door-mounted mirrors.

The bunch of standard features on the exterior includes projector headlamps with LED DRLs, LED tail lights, side mirrors with turn signals, 15-inch wheels, and shark fin antenna. While the cabin gets the following features as standard:

• Analogue & digital metre
• Four-speaker audio system with AUX, USB, and Bluetooth connectivity
• Multifunction steering wheel with tilt and telescopic adjustment
• Smart entry with push start button
• Manual air-conditioning with rear vents
• Fabric seat upholstery and Urethane steering wheel and gear knob
• ECON button
• Power adjustable door mirror
• Power retractable door mirror
• Split-folding rear seats

Safety- Aside from these creature comforts, the City S also gets a bunch of vital safety equipment, comprising

• Four airbags
• Anti-lock braking system with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist
• Vehicle stability assist
• Hill start assist
• Emergency stop signal
• Reverse parking sensor
• Rear-seat ISOFIX anchor points

Also read: 2020 Honda City - Safety explained

Engine - Powering the 2020 Honda City is a new naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine, which now has dual overhead camshafts (DOHC) in place of SOHC. The engine churns out a maximum power of 121 PS at 6,600 rpm and a peak torque of 145 Nm at 4,300 rpm. The power goes to the front wheels through a CVT gearbox. Although the new engine is not much ahead of the predecessor in terms of output, it is more efficient as it propels the sedan from naught to 100 kmph in 10.4 seconds. The top speed is rated at 196 kmph, while the claimed average fuel consumption is 18.5 kmpl.

Honda City E

Moving on, the E variant sits at number two in the City's lineup and gets some add-on features along with the above-mentioned ones. And thus, it is a bit more expensive than the base S. The added features are chrome door handles, remote engine start, paddle shifters, cruise control, single-zone auto air conditioning, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. 

Safety: On this front, the E variant gets a multi‑angle reverse camera as an added bit over the S trim. 

Engine- The Honda City E is also powered by the same 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine as the base variant.

Honda City V

The next on the list is the Honda City V, which is around RM 5000 pricer than the lower one, well it is quite justifiable on the grounds of added specs. These include automatic LED headlights, LED front fog lights, 16-inch wheels, leather seats, four additional speakers, and leather-wrapped steering wheels and gear knob.

Safety: Two additional airbags and Honda LaneWatch Camera are the added safety features.

Engine - Under the bonnet, the Honda City V houses the same mechanical setup as the lower trims, however in terms of performance, it takes 10.4 seconds to hit the 100 kmph mark and peaks at a top speed of 195 kmph.

Honda City RS e:HEV

At the top of the range sits the City RS e:HEV, the hybrid variant that starred in all the teaser campaigns and the media preview. It is the costliest variant in the lineup, however, its price is yet to be announced next month when the Japanese automaker would start its deliveries. Added features include trunk spoiler, 7-inch semi-digital instrument cluster, an electric parking brake (with brake hold), deceleration selector paddle while paddle shifters are missing on this trim.

Safety: The key difference noted on the RS trim is the addition of the complete suite of Honda Sensing advanced driver assistance features as standard. These include

• Adaptive cruise control 
• Collision mitigation braking system 
• Forward collision warning 
• Lane-keeping assist system 
• Road departure mitigation
• Lane departure warning 
• Auto high-beam 

Engine: Talking about its mechanical configuration, the Honda City RS comes equipped with a hybrid Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (I-MMD) powertrain, which Honda also offers on the latest Jazz. The new system has a 1.5-litre Atkinson Cycle naturally-aspirated engine rated at 98 PS and 127 Nm that does not power the wheels directly, instead, it functions as a generator. The larger second motor churns out 108 PS and 253 Nm (more than the Toyota Camry), and a single-speed transmission (e-CVT) sends power to the ground.

MMD stands for Multi-Mode Drive, including three drive modes. The vehicle always kicks off in EV Drive mode, silently. During full acceleration, it enters Hybrid Drive mode, and at the time of high-speed cruising, the Engine Drive mode comes into action. The range-topping RS can complete the century sprint in 9.9 seconds, and achieve the top speed of 173 kmph.

Summing up

With so much fresh on the palette, all the variants of the new City reiterate its bold character. We hope this guide helps you in choosing the right variant suiting your choices and budget. 

Also read: 2020 Honda CR-V facelift: What’s new?