The Japanese multinational automaker Honda Motor Company’s Indian subsidiary Honda Cars India launched the fifth generation of its mid-size sedan the City back in July of 2020. Following it, the company also launched the Hybrid iteration of the City two years later in May of 2022. Since then the car has essentially remained the same and has not gone under any change. So to shuffle things up Honda is planning to introduce a mid-life update for the City and reports have suggested that it will be coming up soon in the March of this year.
According to sources, most likely Honda will only be tweaking the aesthetics of the car rather than giving it any mechanical changes. Honda had also done this exact thing with the fourth generation of the city as well. Reportedly Honda could be changing the front and rear bumpers of the fifth-gen car and it could also offer a new design for the alloy wheels. It is believed that the interior will most likely be the same with no changes to the layout. However, it could get a wireless charger along with ventilated seats to make it more attractive.
Apart from these what could be new in the Honda City lineup is the addition of a new variant. According to reports this variant slot in between the standard ICE City and the range topping City e:HEV. Honda currently offers the hybrid power train in the top spec ZX variant which takes its retail price to Rs 19.89 lakh (ex-showroom) which is considerably higher than the top end variant of the standard ICE City which is priced at Rs 15.62 lakh (ex-showroom). So with the addition of new lower trim hybrid City the company is looking to lure in more buyers for the hybrid powertrain vehicle.
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Regarding the drivetrain, the upcoming City facelift will only be available as a petrol-powered sedan. The City will no longer feature the Honda’s well-liked 100hp, 1.5-liter diesel engine owing to the impending RDE requirements, which take effect in April 2023. As a result, the 121hp, 1.5-liter petrol engine will be available in the City facelift, paired with either a 6-speed manual or CVT automatic transmission. Another option is the 1.5-liter Atkinson Cycle petrol-hybrid engine with 126 horsepower and an e-CVT gearbox.
In other Honda news the Japanese automaker recently shared a sketch teaser of its forthcoming Creta rivalling mid-size SUV. Just a few weeks ago the official Twitter handle of the company Honda Cars India shared a picture stating,”Kicking off 2023 with a sneak peek of the upcoming All-New Honda SUV. Premiering this summer. #HondaCarsIndia #HondaSUV”. According to the company, “The All-New Honda SUV has been designed at the Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. following extensive market surveys in India for people’s changing lifestyle requirements and expectations from Honda for their new SUV in terms of design & performance.”
As of yet, it has not been revealed in exactly which SUV segment this forthcoming SUV will fall, however, it is believed that it will be rivaling the likes of the SUVs that currently compete in the compact SUV segment. Most probably it will be direct competitor to the segment champion Hyundai Creta. Furthermore it will also give a stiff competition to the Kia Seltos, Tata Harrier and a ton of others that currently sit in the same segment. According to sources the company has given this SUV a codename of PF2S.
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