Once the most sought after type of vehicles in India, the C-segment sedans have been feeling the pressure from compact crossover SUVs in the recent years. Though the sedan segment is being eroded steadily, it still is relevant for automakers, especially for Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda who pretty much split the spoils of this territory among themselves.
So, Honda Car India has no plans whatsoever to take it slow with its City, the longest running nameplate in this segment. The Japanese automaker has updated its popular sedan with safety features mandated by the government.
Honda didn’t have to do much since the City has already been offering primary safety features like dual airbags, ABS and rear parking sensors as standard across its variant lineup. So the new features include the speed alert system and front passenger seat belt warning.
Aimed at discouraging over speeding, the speed alert system voices out a single beep every time you exceed 80 kmph and starts beeping continuously when the speed exceeds 120 kmph. All units of Honda City that are manufactured from this month onwards, are equipped with this feature.
No other changes have been made to the sedan as of now. Although the Honda City is no longer the segment leader, it has been managing to stay close to the Hyundai Verna and Maruti Ciaz in terms of monthly sales figures. The car also competes with relatively slow selling products like the Skoda Rapid, VW Vento, Toyota Yaris and Nissan Sunny.
Honda Car India is working on next generation version of the City which is expected to be underpinned by a new platform and sport an evolutionary styling. Fresh interior, improved connectivity and new powertrain options are expected.
Speaking of the powertrain, the new Honda City may offer a mild-hybrid petrol engine with Integrated Starter Generator, just like the Maruti Ciaz. The hybrid system is most likely to employ the current 1.5-liter i-VTEC petrol engine, albeit in BS-VI avatar. Honda has also confirmed earlier that it will continue to offer the 1.5-liter i-DTEC diesel motor though its rivals are planning to pull the plug on diesel motors owing to high costs due to emission upgrades.
