4th Gen 2014 Honda City
The fourth-gen 2014 Honda City was officially unveiled in India this afternoon. A live gallery from the Delhi debut have been added to our report.
The all-new 2014 Honda City has made its world debut in India. The fourth-generation B-segment sedan brings to the class fresh styling, a bigger body, longer wheelbase and for India’s case, a 1.5L i-DTEC turbodiesel option alongside an improved 1.5L i-VTEC petrol unit.
Carrying new styling first seen on the third-gen Honda Jazz hatchback that was launched this year, including “Exciting H Design” and “Solid Wing Face” cues (launch story here, live Tokyo 2013 gallery here), the new Honda City has grown in size.
Measuring 4,440 mm long, it is just 25 mm longer than the current third-gen City, but the new wheelbase length of 2,600 mm is a significant 50 mm more, which means that overhangs have been minimised.
| New City | Old City | New Vios | Polo Sedan | Almera | |
| Length | 4,440mm | 4,415mm | 4,410mm | 4,384mm | 4,425mm |
| Width | 1,695mm | 1,695mm | 1,700mm | 1,699mm | 1,695mm |
| Height | 1,495mm | 1,470mm | 1,475mm | 1,466mm | 1,510mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,600mm | 2,550mm | 2,550mm | 2,552mm | 2,600mm |
| Luggage | 510L | 506L | 506L | 454L | 490L |
To put that in perspective, 2.6 metres between the wheels puts the new City at the top of the class along with the Nissan Almera, and similar to the current Toyota Corolla Altis, which is of course from a segment above. The current ninth-gen Honda Civic‘s wheelbase is 70 mm ahead at 2,670 mm.
This elongated wheelbase means a longer cabin, and coupled with Honda’s trademark Man Maximum, Machine Minimum philosophy, should translate to more cabin space for all. Total boot volume is 510 litres with a full-sized spare wheel, including under floor storage. Four golf bags shouldn’t be a problem.
Indian customers can choose from two 1.5 litre engines, an i-DTEC turbodiesel or an improved version of the i-VTEC SOHC petrol engine we’re familiar with in the current car. The new 100 PS/200 Nm i-DTEC engine, part of Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology family, is a variant of the 1.6 i-DTEC used the the Honda Civic Euro, with a shorter stroke.
The diesel, which also powers the smaller Indian-market Honda Brio Amaze with 25.8 km/l economy, will be greeted warmly in the subcontinent, where diesel cars are getting very popular. However, it’s unlikely to reach our shores due to our sub-par diesel quality.
The petrol, which is more relevent to us, has been improved in the areas of VTEC performance, friction reduction (low tension oil seal, zigzag piston pattern coating), fuel consumption (exhaust gas recirculation EGR, valve timing, double needle plug) and weight. The latter is via an integrated resin intake manifold. No figures were given though. The current City engine does 120 PS and 145 Nm.
The suspension system consists of front MacPherson struts and a rear torsion beam, while the EPS steering is of a new column-controlled design. Safety wise, the new City comes with dual airbags, ABS/EBD in India. In Malaysia, the current City facelift has all that and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) on the higher grades.
Speaking of kit, the new City is now available with things like a sunroof, smart key with push start and a touch-panel digital air con system for the highest spec cars. As you can see above, the multi-info meter panel is also a lot more premium looking with new functions, and there’s a five-inch screen for the audio system, which has phone functions. Rear AC vents are now included.
India will be the first market to get the new City, which will be launched there in January 2014. The Indian-market City will roll out from Honda’s factory in Greater Noida, and we expect production to start in Thailand and Malaysia in the near future. Another coming soon car is the Honda Vezel a.k.a. Jazz SUV, which made its debut at the ongoing 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.
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