The new Honda City is finally here. After months of waiting and watching as it was being launched at neighbouring countries, the new City is now available to the Malaysian market in what was a grandeur launch event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel here in Kuala Lumpur.
Since its debut in 1996, the City brand has been setting the benchmark in the small to medium sized sedan market. A million owners in 39 countries stand testament to the performance, practicality and value-for-money the City so generously offers.
In terms of stretching its practicality offerings, the All-New City comes with a long list of sensible and useful features, including enhanced fuel efficiency and power output, both made possible by Honda’s i-VTEC technology. The new City is larger in dimension than its predecessor and this translates to class-leading interior spaciousness while maintaining an easy-to-maneuver size.The New City also offers utility beyond the expectations of a small to medium size sedan.
Powering the new City is a newly developed i-VTEC engine that adopts a more advanced technology as compared to the first two generations. As a result of this, both fuel efficiency and performance see a vast improvement. Honda’s engineers pursued fuel efficiency from various angles, from improving oil retention, friction reduction, reducing fuel consumption in the high-speed and high-load ranges to reducing the overall weight of the car, thereby contributing to even greater efficiency. Producing 120hp at 6,000rpm and 145Nm of torque at 4,800rpm, the new City is also currently one of the most powerful in the its segment.
Keeping occupants entertained is a new and multi-format compatible entertainment feature. The new and revolutionary ‘Advanced Audio’ digital media system was developed to be compatible with iPod, MP3 players and other sources of digital audio. To keep things familiar and manageable, all major operations such as song selection and volume adjustment are controlled using four push buttons and a rotary selector similar to the Jog Dial function on an iPod. And to help rear passengers know what song they’re rocking to, the display panel features a large liquid crystal display (LCD) that provides improves visibility.
The improvement on the interior spaciousness and comfort are a result of an extended wheelbase, good styling, and efficient space usage. To increase seating comfort, special attention was paid to the shape of the side bolsters and the hardness of the seat cushion padding. The springs and cushion padding were also “tuned” so that the passenger’s lower back sinks into the seat cushion and held in place.
Other than greater seating comfort, the All-New City also has a more adjustable and variable driving position and as such, provides better driving comfort, especially during long-distance driving. It also comes equipped with a tilt and telescopic steering column and driver seat height adjuster. And in typical Honda fashion of thinking out of the box, a footrest has thoughtfully been added by shifting the accelerator and brake pedals 15 mm to the right.
The All-New City is absolutely pleasing in terms of utility features. Developed for the best balance between maximum capacity and practical usage, the vehicle’s trunk capacity is at an astonishing 506-liter, providing a lofty carriage space in cars of its segment. Such a spacious trunk is most useful for carrying luggage and bigger household items.
Globally, the practical All-New City has been launched in three countries; namely Thailand, India and Singapore. Over 8,000 units of the All-New City have been booked in Thailand within the first month of its launch in early September. The sales figure for the All-New City broke Honda’s all-time record held by the Civic which received more than 6,000 bookings within one month of its debut in the Thai market in 2005.
The All-New City is now available in the 1.5-liter i-VTEC Grade E that is priced at RM84,980 and a full spec Grade S variant priced at RM89,980 at all Honda authorised dealers nationwide. While the Grade S offers essential features of the All-New City, the Grade E variant offers additional features such as paddle shift, rear reclining seat, rear underseat tray and 16-inch alloy wheels.
These two variants come in a selection of five colours: Alabaster Silver Metallic, Bold Beige Metallic, Polished Metal Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl and Deep Lapis Blue Metallic, of which the last two are new colours.
The Launch Of The All New City:
All-New City Brochure Shots:
