Honda Cars India launches New City, New City e:HEV

The new City gets sporty and stylish new looks with a new sporty front grille with diamond chequered flag pattern, newly designed front bumper with carbon wrapped lower molding, sporty fog lamp garnish, new rear bumper with sporty carbon-wrapped diffuser, body coloured sporty trunk lip spoiler and newly designed R16 dual-tone diamond-cut multi-spoke alloy wheels. A brand-new addition to the New City's fascinating and distinctive colour palette is the Obsidian Blue Pearl colour.

In line with Honda’s Global Safety Vision to strive for zero collision fatalities involving Honda vehicles by 2050, the New City (Petrol) now comes with Honda Sensing – an advanced driver assist safety technology that alerts the driver to minimise risk of accidents and in some cases intervene to mitigate a collision or lessen its severity. The City e:HEV which already comes with Honda Sensing, will have additional feature of "Low-Speed Follow" in Adaptive Cruise Control function that helps to maintain safe distance from the preceding vehicle while driving at low speeds/ stop and go traffic. Another new feature ‘Lead Car Departure Notification System’ has been added in Honda Sensing suite of safety features in both City (petrol) and City e:HEV that informs the driver with visual and audible alerts when the preceding vehicle starts moving in situations like traffic lights junctions. 

The Honda Sensing uses a high-performance front camera with a wide-angle, far-reaching detection system to scan the road ahead and alert the driver to minimize risk of accidents and offer a safer driving experience. Honda Sensing signature safety features include

O Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)

O Adaptive Cruise Control with Low Speed Follow (New Introduction in City e:HEV)

O Road Departure Mitigation System

O Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS)

O Lead Car Departure Notification System (New)

O Auto High-Beam

The interior of the New City packs a plush, premium and spacious cabin with two-tone beige & black interiors in petrol variants and luxurious two-tone ivory & black interior colour theme in City e:HEV. Introduction of new advanced connectivity features like Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Improved Infotainment System with new background & colours, remote control operation via smart phone application, improved rear camera, wireless charger, rain sensing auto wiper add to the appeal and convenience for the customers. Feeling of luxury in the cabin at night has been further enhanced with Ambient Lighting introduced in front door Inner handle and front door pockets. The brightness can be adjusted through the meter illumination control switch, or turned off upon users’ requirements. The City e:HEV gets a new Carbon Fibre pattern Instrument panel assistant side garnish finish, piano black surround finish on All AC vents and piano black garnish on steering wheel.

The company has expanded the City e:HEV range with a new ‘V’ grade in addition to the existing top grade ‘ZX’ to provide customers with more choice and experience of this advanced self-charging strong hybrid electric technology. The New City (Petrol) will also have a new entry ‘SV’ grade for wider set of customers looking to upgrade to the City brand.

The New City (Petrol) comes with 1.5L i-VTEC DOHC engine with Variable Timing Control (VTC) to deliver high fuel efficiency, lower emissions, and spirited driving performance. This high-performance engine delivers 89 kw (121PS) @6600 rpm power and 145 Nm@4300 rpm torque, with quicker torque increase at lower engine speed. It has been mated to a 6-speed Manual Transmission and  7- speed CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) offering impressive fuel efficiency of 17.8 kmpl and 18.4 kmpl respectively.

The New City e:HEV features Honda’s unique self-charging and highly efficient two motor e-CVT hybrid system connected to a smooth 1.5-litre Atkinson-Cycle DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine, Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) with advanced Lithium-ion Battery and an Engine linked direct coupling Clutch. The e:HEV electric-hybrid system uses three driving modes - EV Drive, Hybrid Drive and Engine Drive, along with Regeneration mode during deceleration. A clever Power Control Unit ensures harmony between the various system components to provide an energetic response, seamlessly and automatically switching between three modes based on various driving situations.

The City e:HEV harnesses any electrical energy through braking and self-charges the Lithium Ion battery pack with no need to manually charge the battery. The Deceleration Selector lets the driver change the deceleration to 3 levels without stepping on brake pedal while still maintaining good vehicle control and fuel efficiency. This strong hybrid electric system produces System Combined Max Power of 126 PS, Outstanding Fuel Efficiency of27.13 km/l and Maximum motor torque of 253 Nm @ 0 - 3,000 rpm*. With the Electric Servo Brake, Electric Regenerative Braking in New City e:HEV combines with Hydraulic braking to bring the vehicle to a quick stop, while self-charging the Lithium-Ion battery pack.

The New City features host of advanced equipment including 20.3 cm Advanced Touchscreen Display Audio which connects with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Web Link smart connectivity, 8 speakers premium surround sound system, One- Touch Electric Sunroof, Ambient Lighting and LED Interior Lamps, Steering Mounted Paddle Shifters for CVT. A 17.7cm HD full color TFT meter with Multi-functiondriver information interface offer Honda Sensing support, various other alerts/ warnings, G-meter, Digital Speed, Cruise Control display and Power flow meters (in case of e:HEV).An easy to operate Electric Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold that engages parking brake with a single switch, has been adopted for the City e:HEV which eliminates the need for a brake lever and also lets the center console to be utilized more effectively for placing small items pocket tissue, smartphone or a small tablet in the Utility Tray.

The New City Petrol and New City e:HEV comes fully equipped with host of safety technologies, active and passive safety features like Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE)  body structure,  AVAS (Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System) at low speed EV Mode (in City e:HEV), 6 Airbags, Honda Lane-Watch, Multi-angle Rear view Camera, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System with Deflation Warning, Vehicle Stability Assist with Agile Handling Assist, Hill Start Assist, ISOFIX compatible Rear Side Seats with Lower Anchorage & Top Tether, Immobilizer with anti-theft alarm and many more.

The New City comes equipped with 37 Honda Connect features and comes with 5-year free subscription. In order to enhance Connected car experience, Honda Connect works with smart watch devices, Alexa remote capability and OK Google. With smart watch connectivity, the car can be remotely controlled for enhanced convenience and user can always stay up-to-date with important notifications.

The New City will be available with a choice of 6 colour options – Obsidian Blue Pearl (New), Radiant Red Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, Modern Steel Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic, Golden Brown Metallic.

The New City and e:HEV will offer complete peace of mind with 3-year Unlimited kilometers warranty as standard benefit to the customer. The customers can also opt for Extended Warranty up to 5 years and Anytime Warranty up to 10 years from the date of car purchase. The warranty available on Lithium-ion Battery will be 8-year or 160,000 Km (whichever comes first) from the date of car purchase.

Commenting on the launch of the New Honda City, Takuya Tsumura, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd. said “Honda City has been our strongest pillar of business, defining the mid-size sedan segment in India and has achieved immense success during its 25-year glorious legacy.  With India as the lead market for the model, we are excited to introduce the New City with sportier new look and enhanced new features for advanced safety, connectivity and convenience. We are confident that our esteemed customers who are increasingly prioritising Safety and Eco-friendliness in their vehicle choice will appreciate the New City.  The expansion of Honda Sensing application in New City Petrol line-up and new grade introduction for City e:HEV is aligned with Honda’s global vision to promote safety, environment friendly and fuel-efficient vehicles that meet the changing needs and preferences of today's consumers.”