Honda City

well, i recently bought the 2012 Honda City S and had no problems or regrets with it. for a guy who grew tired of japanese imports and street racing, this car's not bad. i use it as a family transportation because my old 1996 civic already had too many problems and the tuned engine and loud full catback exhaust was just too loud. the city has great features, nice audio setting, real-time gauges and safety features, sprtier look. but i guess in every situation there is a downside. the cornering is not that responsive and i have difficulties in steering on zigzag roads because of ride height, its a bit bumpy. but i guess there are no perfect cars, just personal preferences.

likes: style, comfort, boot and accessibility

dislikes: poor handling, a bit fuel-hungry

Honda, a branding that my dad has been praising for years did not proof it to me. My first car was a Toyota neither was it problem free or though nothing major like a runaway car in recent Toyota scandal. Bought a Honda City due to my dad's recommendation, drove it for 3yrs and it did give me quite a few problems. After my 20K km service, my Auto gear starts to jerk when i accelerate from 0-70km/h. Had that fixed but the same problem surfaced again after 30K km… i decided enough was enough when i experienced loss of power occasionally. Anyway its highway handling is not good, in my opinion. i drove up North-South Highway almost every weekend with my 3yr old onboard, so my wife suggest i better find a car with better standards.

My baby girl don't seems to like my Honda City, it cries whenever we're on the NS highway, but probably it did not come with good sound-proofing. Well most 1.6 and below category cars do not, Honda City is one of them. When my wife drives a Honda Jazz, same thing happens whenever we were on North-South highway, my baby girl just cries out of no reason.

Anyway, Honda City didn't come with great features, it is pretty basic stuff u'll find in any other car. It's only best feature would be a large boot, but this car lacks power if it's given a full load with luggages. It is hard to understand when the car just weigh at around 1,100kg. My current ride a Chevy Cruze LS weighs 1,400kg and its able to give me the power i need on highways. It's exterior design is really up to individual, it didn't appeal to me at first sight but dealer gave me a good offer so there's kinda a trade-off since $$ is concern.

No iPod music is a let down, because i really don't like CD changers. Experience tells me CD changers will malfunction easily besides they are so old-sch now, i doubt anybody would even bother with it. Thankfully it came with USB connectivity, so not that bad.

Safety wise, i found out Honda City wasn't crash-tested by EuroNCAP. Anyway, most japanese cars in sg are not really 5 star rated and are only tested by JNCAP, which may not be of a higher standard as EuroNCAP.

Big boot

USB music input

Sports rim

Affordable

Make my baby girl cries

Steering wheel looks ugly

Not reliable gearbox

Suspension needs improvement

Loss of power on highway

So so Audio system

Was on the lookout for a mid size sedan car (jap / korean made). A few was on my shortlist, latio, vios, city, cruze, cerato forte, impreza. but only managed to test drive the latio, vios, city and cruze only. After that i narrowed down to cruze and city. And in the end, i chose engine performance! :D

Ivtec Engine

1000km to syn oil (means you get the "real" car faster)

Exterior + Rims

Paddle Shift (reminds me of the good old days of a manual car)

Massive Boot Space (506L) - can dump my tennis bag in and still have loads of space

@ High Speeds - bumpy, high wind noise,

no controls on steering

compartment space in the cabin is very limited

non-retractable side mirrors

small fuel capacity (needa refuel often)

dashboard

Recently just went Kxx Motor Service for 40K service, after inspection found rear wheel bearing abnormal sound and louder when exceed 40km. Thought is still under 3 years warranty so asking warranty replacement instead but rejected and replied it was caused by impact( not cover in warranty). I felt that is unreasonable because my car never involved any accident and always follow schedule sending my car to their workshop for service and inspection. The 3 years warranty is meaningless some more currently still promoting 5 yrs warranty. No make sense at all. Just sharing my experience.

Nice Interior design, low fuel consumption.

- Non retractable side mirrors

- Original Wheel Tyre size have less option in the market

- Wheel bearing having higher failure rate than others.(feedback from workshop)

Very excellent thai-made honda; good stability when cruising 130km on malaysia highway. VTEC opens like 250cc race bike

powerful pick up with manual gearbox.

Very good F/C

Powerful vtec

Handsome looks

Powerful aircon

pricey! But worthy car to buy.

It was Love at 1st sight! it has sleek looks and mean vtec engine.The best is, I bought it at low price $50.5k in February 2009. Worth It!

Powerful engine, sleek looks, cruise 140-150kmh at NS highway with ease. Very good manual gearbox.

Old-school aircon knobs

Seems like honda is focusing on Jazz & Civic.

The interior does not come with steering audio controls and digital aircon.

It's a far fetch from Jazz & Civic but with premium pricing.

Buy from Leng Kee @ $56500 during COE 1k (Actual $4890)

Got the LX model. Choose over the ALTIS and IMPREZA, finally decided on CITY. Collected my white City yesterday, nice looking car and not many on the road now.

Hope more accessory for city 09 will be available soon

Good acceleration

Mean look

Good handling (Still within 1000km so never stress the engine yet)

High OMV $21k

Spacious for 1.5L car

Best engine spec of same engine class

Freebies:

Rikecool Premium solar film

Car Mat

Umbrella

No mud flap

No door autolock during car movement

Above 2 are options found out later .... New car buyer can try squeeze out from agent

High insurance 2.5k :(

High labour charge

Road sound a bit loud, may need sound proofing

Oil tank door locking function is linked to central locking .... funny concept

LX model tires 185/55/R16 heard to be a very rare spec, may have issue later on

No folding side mirror

Bought this car when its at its lowest pricing of $54.2k (with confirmed COE 3 bids) for a 1.5M LX. Bought the OPC so further rebate of 17k! I got the Tafetta White which is very elegant. The SE was very pro and got me a very good deal.

- Mean Looking Exterior

- Cool 16" Sports Rims

- 500+ L of Boot Space and Pretty Spacious Interior

- Good 1.5 I-VTEC Engine

- Good Power Output (Best in its class)

- Good Fuel Consumption (Avg 16km/L)

- High OMV (Mine is $18.4k)

- Solid Sound System

- Rear Air-con for Rear Passengers

- Excellent customer service (Kah Motor)

- Reclining back seat

- Umbrella Compartment below Rear Seat

- Freebies!

1) V-Kool Eurospec 83

2) Embroidered 'City' Car Mat

- Original Body-Kit is Ex

- No Retractable Side Mirrors

- No Remote Boot Release

- High 1st year Insurance Premium

- Audio system very basic (i'll defintely be upgrading that)

- No free aftersales servicing. :(

Bought this car when KAH Motor giving out free COE ($56K for 1.5A LX) compared to $66k a few mths back. Had done my research & considered Vios, Corolla Altis, Avante, Cerato Forte, misc, but at the end of the day, comfortability & reliability is my major concern. With positive reviews by City owners from several countries, I'm convinced this new City is what I'm looking for.

- Mean Looking Exterior

- Cool 16" Sports Rims

- 500+ L of Boot Space and Pretty Spacious Interior

- Good 1.5 I-VTEC Engine (5-speed auto transmission with paddle shifters)

- Good Power Output (Best in its class)

- Good Fuel Consumption (Avg 16km/L)

- High OMV (Ard $20K)

- Solid Sound System

- Rear Air-con for Rear Passengers

- Good customer service

- Reclining back seat

- Umbrella Compartment below Rear Seat

- Freebies!

1) V-Kool

2) Embroidered 'City' Car Mat

3) GPS

- Original Body-Kit is Ex

- No Retractable Side Mirrors

- No Remote Boot Release

- High Insurance Premium

I have decided to buy a car when the COE is down. I have selected the new Honda City 2009 after reviewing your site and various other sources on the car. It won the 'Indian Car of the Year' in India last year and numerous awards.

http://www.hondacarindia.com/city/expertReviews.aspx

http://www.hondacarindia.com/city/CityAwards.aspx

All the good points mentioned above revealed my reason for buying the car. Thumps up!

1. New 1.5L i-VTEC engine delivers 121PS, while being extremely fuel efficient. So far, mine log in 16.9kmpl with air-con on and 19.6kmpl with no aircon on (Driving at 85kmph from JB to KL)

2. The 5-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift keeps the control in your hands for a smooth and exciting drive.

3. The all new Honda City is E10 ready. That means you can use 92 octane fuel thus save more money.

4. Stress-free acceleration and swift response to throttle inputs assure comfortable starts and passing ability on the highway.

5. Stunning good look especially if you choose red and white colour.

1. No autofold side mirror.

2. No wheel muggard to protect against road sand blast.

3. High price comparable to Toyota Atlis, Mazda 3 and Honda Airwave (but high OMV $19K).

Great Design.

Good for City Driving.

Have considered a few models, Toyota Altis, Nissan Selphy, Nissan Latio. Finally decided on Honda City. The exterior design won me over, together with the 1.5 I-Vtec engine. I prefer sedan compared to hatchback. Better Boot Space.

Pros

- Nice exterior Design (Sleek and Fierce Looking) (Loving it since Day 1)

- Nice 16" Sports Rims (LX Model)

- Very Spacious Boot and Well Spaced Interior

- Good 1.5 I-VTEC Engine

- Good Power Output (Best in its class)

- Good Fuel Consumption

- High OMV

- Newly Designed and Developed From Scratch (as Compared to previous generations)

Cons

- Thai Made (Perception of Lower Quality) (But this is not the case, Quality is pretty decent and well made)

- Overpriced compared to Vios

- No AutoFold Side Mirror

- No Remote Boot Release

- Stock Tyre Profile (185/55/R16) Difficult to find replacement tyres

Just gotten the 09 Honda City (Basic Model).

Upgraded to 17" Rims.

Engine noice is extremely minimal.

Noise insulation is very good as there is a vivid difference when the windows are closed when driving.

Car maintains low RPM at controlled pedal impression. (1.5-2krpm usually)

Fits 5 averaged sized ppl conmfortably.

Although car isnt that big, great design maximized space to create sufficient legroom and height.

Front headlamps are not only "fierce" but has its elegance. Fits beautifully into the car's style. The rear of the car is somehow similar to the BMW 3 series.

-Good design, elegant and aerodynamic

-Powerful I-vtec engine

-Spacious legroom

-Light steering with returns

-Good sound insulation

-Low fuel consumption ( 15-16km/L on Shell95)

-Sport interior

-Well designed sports seats

-Space maximized

-Good turning radius (5.5m for 17" rims)

-Shows data ( fuel conmsumption )

-No retractable side mirrors

-Choppy gear transmission ( unlike CVT )

-No digital speedometer like Civic

Just got my new Honda City 2009 model last week. This new model comes with just one engine, the 1.5 litre i-VTEC. The 1497cc SOHC (single-over-head-cam), 4 cylinder, 16 valve engine uses Honda's i-VTEC technology to improve efficiency and power. The unit can now deliver 120 hp at 6600 rpm. The engine is E20 capable and it can also accept 92 octane fuel which means I can save more on fuel. I preferred the manual after testing the auto for its faster pick-up speed and control. The new odometer revealed the fuel consumption per litre as well as driving patterns to help save petrol. The consumption is very good for this new model at 17.5km/litre for my driving so far. It is worth paying slightly higher for such a refined car if you intend to drive for a longer period of 7 - 10 years.

- Low fuel consumption

- Fast pick-up (manual model)

- Paddle-shift controls operated manual mode

- Fantastic looking new car design

- Generous interior space and neat design

- Huge car boot

- Air-con blower for passenger seat

- High OMV and resale value

- Limited leather seat choices

- Bodykit slightly expensive

- High insurance premium

I have been driving 15 different brand of used cars for the past 28 years. As this is the first time I am going to buy a new car so I was quite choosy and careful to make sure that I choose a car that serve me well for the next 7 - 10 years. After test-driving a few cars of different brands and with the loew $2 COE rebates, I finally decided to buy the new 2009 'Honda City' with the improved i-VTEC DOHC 1.5 litre engine.

- Powerful engine with fast pick-up

- Sporty and trendy exterior look

- Spacious interior

- Good customer service

- Limited features and accessories compared to other cars of similar price

- Car seat too high

- Price slightly higher than other makes