Next-Gen Honda City In India By January 2017?

There were strong suggestions from Honda that it would bring the next-gen City sedan to India by 2017 and various reports doing rounds in the media are now indicating that the car could arrive on our shores by as early as January. Our sources have preferred to stay tight-lipped on the matter, indicating that after all the car could well be on its way.

First introduced in the country in 1998, the Honda City has been the most popular offering from the Japanese carmaker in India. Currently on sale in its fourth iteration in the country, the car has been around for two years and warrants a mid-cycle facelift. Especially since the competition will heat up from the next-gen Hyundai Verna that is supposed to enter India in the coming months as well. If it’s any indication of things to come, the manufacturer had also added Brio and Amaze facelift versions to its portfolio this year. 

Speaking of the car, it could borrow design cues from its Chinese counterpart, the Honda Griez. Aesthetically, the car is set to receive re-designed bumpers, new LED headlamps and a fresh set of tail lamps. The interiors are also set to be imparted a dose of bloom, with features such as voice command, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and safety enhancements like six airbags.

At the heart of things though, expect the tried-and-tested 1.5-litre iVTEC petrol that is good for 119PS and 145Nm and the 1.5-litre iDTEC diesel that churns out 100PS of power and 200Nm of torque. The transmission duties will continue to be handled by the 5-speed manual gearbox for both the petrol and diesel variant with the CVT unit as an option for the petrol variant.

Talking of finances, the competition has made it tough for manufacturers to go overboard with their pricing. But for all the features and styling that the new City will have on offer, expect the next-gen sedan to cost slightly higher than its current version.