Honda City 2015 - You just can't be wrong with Honda. Or Can you?

When you think of buying a proper mid size sedan in India, the first name that comes to your mind will obviously be the Honda City. City has been enjoying a commanding market share and was the king of the segment until the competition stepped in the recent past. The reputation this car has earned in the hearts of Indian families is enormous. You just can't be wrong with Honda . Or Can You ? Over the past few years Honda has undergone a management change. Some of the best organisational practices at Honda were under the axe of cost cutting with clear objectives of the management to increase the profitability for its investors. Honda's engineers were forced to design products under a very tight budget. This has obviously effected the quality of the cars and in India the Honda City in particular. This in no way means the Honda City is a bad car. But does it live up to the expectations from a Honda ? Let's find out. The vehicle been reviewed is a 2015 model Honda City VX petrol variant. I have driven it for 48000 kms as off now. Review will be based on the pros and cons of the vehicle I have experienced till date. Pros 1. Road presence by virtue of its size and design. The presence of sunroof adds to that extra premium look so do the sharkfin antenna. 2. Long wheelbase that converts into the best rear bench in the segment. 3. Smart packaging skills and Interiors : One of the most spacious and airy cabins. Large windows and Sun roof. Rear leg room is among the best in segment. Well cushioned seats with reasonable under thigh support. Two cup holders upfront and the door bins can hold a 1 litre bottle each plus some more. Big centre hand rest with storage space. Seat pack pockets . Rear centre arm rest with cup holders. Not to forget the enormous 500 litre boot with boot light. 4. Features : I would like to give a special mention to the reverse cam of Honda City. Its among the best. Its usable at the night too. Cruise Control helps rest your right foot on the highways. Rear A.c. vents keep the rear occupants happy even though a long journey. A.C unit is touch operated. Initially one will find it difficult to use while driving. But soon will get practiced. Its works smooth but the sound of the air blown out is on the higher side. The Infotainment System is a small 5 inch non touch colour display. Its good enough for the reverse cam display . The sound quality is ok but not the best even with 4 speakers and 4 tweeters. There is only Bluetooth connectivity. No android auto or car play. The side mirrors can be folded from inside. Another thing that is spot on is the overall ergonomics of the cabin. The cruise control switches are on the right side and steering mounted. So easy to use even in City traffic. All other controls are right where you expect them to be. 5. Driving and Performance: The iVTec engine is a gem of an engine. You want power it gives power , you want efficiency it delivers that. The 119 PS engine with 145 Nm torque was more than enough for a family car. But in case you want some action the ivtec can deliver that too. The engine accelerates uniformly and there is no sudden rush of power. The gear shifts are short and smooth. However the clutch is on the heavier side. Overtakings are quick when driving alone but needs some planning when you have more occupants and luggage. If you are a very calm driver you can easily get 18 Kmpl to 19 Kmpl on highways and 14 to 15 Kmpl on city roads. The steering is leather wrapped a joy to hold. Its mostly perfect but I felt its no where as smooth as my cousins Volkswagen Vento and Scoda rapid. Still fine for the most part. Suspension is on the harder side and even small gutters on the road are felt badly in the cabin but it works good in highway speeds. I haven't ever scrapped the under belly anywhere so far not even on extremely broken deep road pits . So that explains why the suspension is hard. Also the engine underside is protected with a metal sheet cover further inspiring confidence. The top speeds I have reached is 140 kpmh and seriously it feels nervous to drive this car beyond that speed. That's partially because of the small 175 section tyres which are good fit for a Swift but not a car the size of the City. That said the car has excellent drivability. You can easily accelerate in 3rd gear from as low as 20 kpmh without choking the engine. Cons: Almost every cons this car was born out of Honda's reckless cost cutting excercise. Major Cost cutting and form over function design : The styling of the vehicle is given much importance. You have lots of vacant space in the engine bay which Honda could have better utilised. Also there is no cladding under the bonnet or under the boot lid. All wiring are weirdly exposed. There is only partial cladding under the front wheels. The rubber beading surrounding the doors aren't complete. They don't completely cover the door. Also some rubber beadings have already worn off from the front wind shield. NVH levels aren't that good. It was unbearable in the diesel City which I test drived and rejected immediately. The headlamps reflectors are designed in tune with the arrow shot design. But instead of focussing the beam on to the road, the light focusses on the left side of the vehicle. Honda corrected this flaw in the recent city by splitting the reflectors. The beam also has a very short throw. The fog lamps are nothing but a decoration piece. Absolutely useless. The tyre size is used keeping fuel efficiency only in mind. Honda upgraded this to 185 section on the current city. The hard tuned suspension makes tackling broken roads a difficult. Even small gutters are felt inside the cabin. The vehicle sometimes becomes unstable during extremely poor roads. The plastics used on the lower side of the dashboard are extremely poor quality. Conclusion: Despite the on your face cost cutting the City is a good vehicle overall. It was just that you aren't satisfied because you expected more reliability and quality from Honda. I was stuck on the road 5 times in the last 3 years. ( Three times for tyre puncture , one time when hand brake cable broke off and once when there was a stone hit the underside of the vehicle. ) You just can't expect this from a nearly 12 lakh Honda. But despite all this the vehicle has been mostly reliable and a great asset. If Honda cares address the issues of its products the City could once again be the undisputed king of the segment.