The first generation of the Honda City was introduced back in 1981 and back then, the subcompact car was actually a hatchback. The City gained traction in many of the developing markets, and around this time, it also traded its hatchback avatar for that of a sedan. In its nearly four decades of existence, the Honda City has gone through several redesigns and facelifts, and soon became one of Honda’s most popular models in its respective markets.
In 2014, the new sixth generation Honda City had its maiden curtain drop in India. Since then, the City was launched in many other markets, including the UAE and the gulf countries. Its most recent facelift came in 2017, so it’s unsurprising that Honda hasn’t tinkered with the design for its 2019MY. The chief rivals for the 2019 Honda City are the Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio sedan.
Exterior
The sharp-looking front end of the 2019 Honda City highlights the car’s bold “H design” honeycomb grille with a thick chrome bar, lean headlamps, and a sporty bumper with integrated lower air intakes, faux air vents, and the halogen fog lamps.
Coming to the side, the City flaunts some smooth contours, subtle curves, and a striking character line that extends from the front door through to the wrap-around taillights under the C-pillar. The raising beltline and 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels look nice too. At the back, the large, tapered taillights look fashionable, while a touch of chrome adds a sense of flair and class. The bumper gets fake, honeycomb-design vents and a pair of static reflectors.
The overall exterior of the 2019 City is urbane, proportioned, and does justice to its name. The sedan bears dimensions of 4.455 meters in length, 1.695 meters in width, 1.475 meters in height, and wheelbase stands at 2.600 meters. The City’s boot capacity is an impressive 510 liters, enough for a weekend getaway or airport transfers.
Interior
The interior design of the 2019 Honda City is befitting of a vehicle in its segment – practical, spacious, and user-friendly. Also, thanks to the use of multiple cabin trim colors and textures, the cabin feels airy as well. With enough room for five occupants and their luggage, comfy and supportive seats, the City scores well on long drives as well.
The mix of silver, piano black, and dark grey plastic inserts add some excitement, but their quality isn’t great. However, the Honda City’s cabin is well made as build quality and reliability are point scorers. On the features front, it gets automatic climate control, keyless-entry with push-button ignition, cruise control, a leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel with paddle shifters, rear air-con vents, a 7-inch touch-infotainment display with an 8-speaker audio system. The City is equipped with safety gear such as dual airbags, ABS, EBD, brake assist, parking sensors, and ISOFIX points.
Engine and performance
Powering the 2019 Honda City is a 1.5-liter naturally-aspirated four-banger petrol engine. This unit develops a modest 118 HP with 145 Nm of torque, and comes paired to a CVT gearbox. This transmission has been specifically tuned to extract maximum mileage, not performance.
When pushed hard enough, the front-wheel drive Honda City can make its sprint to 100 km/h in 11.5 seconds. However, the City’s 190 km/h top speed isn’t as bad as its 0-100 acceleration might suggest. Something that is praiseworthy though is the 2019 Honda City’s fuel economy figure of 7.5L/100 km.
Verdict
Depending on the variant, prices for the 2019 Honda City range between AED 52,900 for the base trim to AED 63,900 for the full-option one. Meanwhile, insurance costs for the City start at AED 2,170 for the base DX variant.
