Honda City Diesel: Long Term Review, fleet introduction

The Honda City is a highly acclaimed car and in its segment there are a few cars that offer a package as complete as it. Obviously then, we at ZigWheels were more than happy when one joined our long-term test fleet. The fact that it was a diesel only made the package sweeter. So how is the 2014 Honda City diesel like to live with on a day-to-day basis?

The Honda City does look quite understated in a unique shade officially called Urban Titanium. That said, the darker color does accentuate the chrome on the grille and bootlid quite well. The best part about the new Honda City though, is the interior. With the large slab of gloss black plastic taking centre stage combined with the touchscreen air conditioning controls, everyone who has been in the car so far has been appreciative. The audio control with the color display screen too feels intuitive and easy to use. In fact if there is one way to describe the new City, ease of use would be it. We in particular also love the blue light surrounding the instrument cluster and the aluminum mesh arrangement in the steering wheel. Although Honda did add a rear view camera to the top of the line City, we would have preferred a set of parking sensors too. We also do not like the way one has to manually press the button that closes the outside rear view mirror every time one has to park the car.

The 1.5 Litre turbocharged i-Dtec engine, found in the Honda City makes 100PS of peak power at 3600Rpm and 200Nm of peak torque at 1750Rpm. Not only does the City’s engine feel powerful in normal urban driving conditions, the way it gains speed with ease on the open road is quite a treat too. The 6-speed gearbox mated to the diesel engine feels slick and extremely well balanced and so does the comparatively light clutch pedal. All in all, the City is a great everyday car. Us automotive journalists are known to have a heavy right foot, but even after some spirited driving, the City still manages to return a consistent 15-16 kmpl in extremely heavy start-stop Mumbai traffic. 

Although the wheel design on our Honda City diesel has slowly started to grow on us, we would still prefer a better set of wheels, preferably from the likes of the older Jazz or City. That said, the Honda City diesel is pretty much one of the best affordable executive sedans you can buy today for under the Rs 12 lakh bracket.