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The name 'City' has been in existence since 1981 when Honda City used to be a three-door hatchback. However India never saw that car. The first generation of City that came to India was a four-door sedan. The manufacturing unit in Greater Noida started producing the City in 1997 and it was officially launched in 1998 along with the brand. The car was well appreciated in the country and competed against Opel Astra and Ford Escort. It soon became the best-selling car in the segment. (Image: TeamBHP)
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The first car was based on the sixth generation Honda Civic. The City was also the first in its segment to come with an optional automatic. And after a facelift, it was given variable valve timing tech – Honda’s VTEC. It was quite a fast car in its time. The engine produced 100 PS and the car weighed under 1000kg. It could do 0-100 kmph in about 10 seconds. (Image: autoworld and cartoq)
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The first car was very well liked. Even today you could find people who admit to being a fan of the first City. However, the pre-facelift of the second generation wasn't exactly an exciting car. It carried the same 1.5-litre VTEC, and was not as much of a driving machine as the previous one. But the facelift, called City ZX, recieved a heavy cosmetic surgery and was a major improvement from the pre-facelift. (Image: Facebook)
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And now, must talk about the most popular of all Citys so far, the third generation. It was the most powerful of all its generations with an advanced i-VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) engine. The 'i' stood for intelligent. The new engine which was also a 1.5-litre unit now churned out 118 PS and 145 Nm of peak torque. It also had premium features like sunroof, CVT with paddle shifters, cruise control and others. It may also be safe to say that the City i-VTEC was the nicest looking car of all four generations. (Image: Cardekho)
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Honda never made diesel engines, but in line with the demand in India, the Japanese carmaker introduced a diesel variant in the fourth generation, a 1.5-litre i-DTEC. Sales for Honda had been declining because a diesel variant had been missing from the line-up. The introduction of the i-DTEC indeed proved a profitable deal for the brand.
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2017 Honda City was launched in India at Rs 8.50 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi this week. The new car is powered by the existing 1.5 litre petrol engine that develops 117 hp of power and 145 Nm of torque and is paired to a 5-speed manual and a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) automatic gearbox. The 1.5 litre i-DTEC diesel engine produces 99 hp and 200 Nm and is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.
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