India’s roads are all set to play host to the newest version of Honda’s highly popular Honda City sedan come 2020, with the company officially unveiling the fifth generation of the model in Thailand on Monday. The new version, sources say, will be rolled out in India sometime next year and will likely offer both petrol and diesel options.
Honda Cars' fortunes in India have largely revolved around the success of its two highly popular models: the Civic and the City, with the latter having already sold seven lakh in India by 2017.
The new version has been revamped in several aspects, the company’s executives note. For instance, the car is substantially larger than the outgoing fourth generation model, with an additional 100 mm of length and 53 mm of width. But, the car will sport a sleeker profile with its height pared down by around 28 mm.
The car has also undergone major styling changes, but still looks recognisable as a City model. The 2020 City also gets an all-new dashboard layout and black interiors, though the India version may sport different colour options.
The new dashboard abandons City’s traditional asymmetric design however, opting to stick to a more conventional looking console. The company has also dumped the earlier touch based climate control system for a more user friendly model with three dials. The leather wrapped steering wheel now gets dedicated buttons for volume control, cruise control and Bluetooth telephony.
Under the hood, the new model unveiled in Thailand is as powerful as its predecessor. The model unveiled on Monday comes with a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine delivering a maximum power of 122hp and 173Nm of torque. Transmission options are limited to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) gearbox with paddleshifters but the model is touted as delivering around 23.8 kilometer per litre in terms of fuel efficiency.
More important, though, is the addition of a fresh 1.5-litre petrol engine coupled with Honda’s compact i-MMD mild-hybrid tech. The company, however, has not revealed any more details on the hybrid model.
According to sources, the range of City models for the Indian market will include a 1.5-litre diesel engine, which will be Bharat Stage (BS) BS-VI compliant.
Once it hits the Indian market next year, the City will go up against other revamped models like the Hyundai Verna, Skoda Rapid and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. While the prices of the model have not yet been revealed, experts expect a price increase once the fifth generation model hits the market.