The seventh-generation Honda City sedan is already available in showrooms throughout the country. It has taken its place, which was vacated by the previous-gen model, bringing forth new features and equipment. In the meantime, Honda has gone ahead and launched the new-gen City hatchback version in Thailand. Thailand is one of Honda’s most valuable and biggest markets in the region, and the City hatchback is there to reaffirm that. The B-segment hatchback shares much of its architecture with other Honda models like the Jazz, though the City is a touch smaller. As some of you might be aware, the last hatchback version of the City went out of production in 1994. So the return of this all-new model is quite a big thing for Honda.
On the design front, the City hatchback is a pretty cool and young car, at least as far as its overall appeal is concerned. Depending on which trim you go for, there are sportier styling elements on offer. For instance, the top RS avatar gets enough sporty trim on the exterior to make it seem worth the extra investment. Compared to other variants in the line-up, the RS gets loads of black bits to further its sporting ambitions. The is a blacked-out front grille gets ‘RS’ embossing, while the lower section of the bumper houses black fog-lamp housings and air dam. The headlamps also feature a glossy black eye-brow that makes them look pretty sharp and exciting.
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The side profile of the City hatchback (RS trim) reveals its sporty and dark black 16-inch alloy wheels. Then there are the blacked-out wing mirrors, which are specific to the RS variant, while sharp creases along the upper and lower part of the doors look cool, too. The rear of the new City hatchback features the same taillights as its sedan sibling, though the RS version adds some darkened bits in there too. It also gets a neatly carved rear bumper that houses a faux air diffuser, finished in shiny gloss-black trim. Oh, there is also a sporty-looking roof spoiler that you get with the City RS.
In terms of its dimensions, the new Honda City hatchback comes in at 4,394mm in length, 1,748mm in width, and measures 1,488mm in height. It has an 11mm shorter wheelbase than the sedan that it is based on, coming to 2,589mm between the front & rear axles. As you can imagine, 11mm isn’t that much of a ‘shortcoming’ when it comes to interior space.
The cabin of the new City hatchback is, therefore, fairly roomy and inviting. Moreover, the large windows and a high roofline mean enough headroom and airiness to go around. And since it is just as wide as the sedan, shoulder room hasn’t been compromised here either.
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To bring out even more versatility, Honda has given the new City hatchback its famous ‘Magic Seats.’ In essence, this means that you can flip/fold/remove/move the seats around without much trouble. On the equipment front, the RS trim of the City hatchback obviously gets the fanciest ones within the whole line-up. It comes with Led headlamps, keyless entry & goes, black part-leather upholstery with red contrast stitching, automatic climate control, red instrument dials, steering-mounted paddle shifters, cruise control, and an 8-inch touch-infotainment system with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay. The RS variant also comes with Honda’s Connect feature, which allows owners to keep track of their car’s various onboard features and functions remotely.
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In Thailand, the new Honda City hatchback has been launched with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. This tiny 988cc unit kicks 120hp along with 173Nm of torque and comes mated to a CVT gearbox. Customers in its launch market can get the new City hatchback in up to 6 exterior colors. These include Ignite Red Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, Platinum White Pearl, and Sonic Grey Pearl, to name a few.
As far as the Indian market is concerned, chances are that the new Honda City hatchback won’t be making it to our shores. Given that we already have the slightly larger and more premium Jazz, a hatchback version of the City won’t make much sense. Then again, it would be nice to have the City hatchback here, won’t it?
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