Updated Honda City will be sold with pure petrol and petrol hybrid powertrain options.
Honda is readying a midlife-cycle update for the 5th-gen City in India that’s slated to debut by March 2023. This will be first update for the City since it was launched in mid-2020, although sources tell us that will only be limited to minor cosmetic changes like most Honda facelifts. However, there will also be a variant rejig for the new City in India. In order to increase appeal of the petrol-hybrid powertrain, the City hybrid facelift is likely to come with more than one variant.
- City facelift will get cosmetic tweaks, variant rejig
- Will not come with diesel engine
- City hybrid to get multiple variants
Honda City facelift: what to expect?
Like most Honda midlife-cycle updates, changes on the City facelift will likely be limited to just the plastic parts. It’s expected to get revised front and rear bumpers along with a new design for the alloy wheels. Honda will also reshuffle the variant line-up for the City, and while no major changes are expected on the inside, it could see the addition of new features such as ventilated seats and wireless charger that are currently on rivals.
Honda City e:HEV to come with more variants
Honda currently offers the high tech e:HEV 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain only on the top-spec, fully loaded City ZX. Priced at Rs 19.89 lakh (ex-showroom), it’s also considerably more expensive than the standard City pure petrol y that currently tops out at Rs 15.62 lakh (ex-showroom).
To improve City hybrid’s appeal, we are told that Honda will therefore introduce affordable variants of the City e:HEV and will thus decrease the gap between the standard City pure petrol and City hybrid.
Honda City facelift: petrol, petrol hybrid powertrains
The City facelift will be offered as a petrol-only sedan. As we have reported before, Honda will be discontinuing the 100hp, 1.5-litre diesel engine on the City due to the upcoming RDE norms that take effect from April 2023.
The City facelift will therefore come with the 121hp, 1.5-litre petrol engine, mated to either a 6-speed manual or CVT automatic gearboxes. There will also be the 126hp, Atkinson Cycle 1.5-litre petrol-hybrid powertrain that comes mated to an e-CVT transmission.
Expect the City facelift to be priced at a slight premium over the current model. As before, the City will continue to rival the likes of the Skoda Slavia, Volkswagen Virtus, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the Hyundai Verna. The Verna is also due a generation change that’s set to debut in the coming months.
New Honda SUV to follow
Honda is also readying a brand-new midsize SUV for India that will make its global debut by mid-2023. Earlier this month, the carmaker released a teaser of the upcoming SUV, giving us a sneak peak of what the SUV could look like. It will be based on an updated version of the platform used by the Amaze in India, and will likely share its powertrain options with the City. A price announcement will take place closer to the festive season this year.
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