Balanced choice

I bought this car over 2 years back. I did a great deal of research at that time, and I had shortlisted Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Finally I bought this car. The two things that made me tilt towards Honda City were its styling and its brand name.

After driving this car for two years, I believe I undestand this car well and sufficiently well informed write its review.

Exterior The styling of this car is great. I think Honda City still has the best styling in its class. It has a certain sporty look. The styling has only improved in the 2012 version. The only two cars that come close to it in styling are the Hyundai Verna Fluidic and Fiat Linea. Linea's styling is of a different type, though. However, the Honda City has a certain "light" & "sporty" look and may not be suitable for people looking for certain "sombreness" in cars.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) The interior is beige and looks good. Thigh support is good on all seats with adequate leg room. My only complaint is that they could have added some more storage spaces for storing small stuff especially around the front seat. Even though it is not so obvious from outside, the boot is cavernous.

It has steering mounted controls, a good sound system with USB drive (at the time I bought this car, USB drive was not so common in other cars).

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox The engine power is good especially at medium-high speed. At low speeds the acceleration is somewhat sluggish. Fuel economy is the best in its class. I get 12.7-13.0 kmph in heavy Bangalore city traffic with the a/c permanently on. Gear shift is exceptionally good.

Ride Quality & Handling The car handles itself with dexterity and is a pleasure to steer. Ride quality is excellent with good suspension, and is comfortable even at high speeds. The car does not give a feeling of sturdiness. This is especially evident when one brakes at high speeds.

Final Words True to its name, this is an excellent car for driving around in cities with good roads. It is an extremely well designed and engineered car. This is, however, definitely not a car that you will want to drive on bad roads. It is also low on sturdiness scale.

Areas of improvement   Once Honda improves the ground clearance and the quality of its build (which I doubt if Honda will), this will the best compact sedan on Indian roads.

Styling, fuel economy, gear shift, driving comfortLow ground clearance, flimsy feeling