Honda City Launch at Mandarin Oriental, KL
One of the most eagerly anticipated car launches of 2008, the Honda City was finally launched for the Malaysian market at Mandarin Oriental, KL on 18 Oct.
With dozens of cameras taking aim, the new City was driven onto the stage by Mr. Atsushi Fujimoto, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia. With him in the car were Mr. Takeshi Nakamura, Chief Engineer & Large Project Leader, Honda R&D Co. Ltd. at the front seat, and Honda Malaysia chiefs at the back seat: En. Azman Bin Idris (President & COO) and Mr. Ikuo Kanazawa (Vice President).
Powered by a 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine, the City is available in two trim levels, both featuring a 5-speed automatic transmission in place of the outgoing model’s CVT.
The entry-level Grade S is priced at RM84,980, while the Grade E version would cost potential buyers an extra RM5k. Customers also have the option of specifying their City with Modulo accessories (read: skirts and spoilers) that adds RM4,750 to their purchase price.
Click here to read YS Khong’s report of the launch in the AW main pages. Scroll down for more pictures from the launch.
An eagerly anticipating crowd signing up to get in.
MC Stephanie Chai
The tension is rising, photographers eagerly await the car’s arrival.
And here it comes…
Honda chiefs stepping out of the car…
While the rest of the media jostles for a good picture, I took the easy way out…
Fujimoto-san and Nakamura-san… for posterity.
1,497cc i-VTEC powerplant produces 120PS @ 6,600rpm and 145Nm @ 4,800rpm sent to front wheels via a conventional 5-speed torque converter type auto transmission. Grade E gets paddle shifts for manual override.
Rear discs standard even on cheaper Grade S
No independent rear suspension though.
Full-sized cutaway of the City.
Compared to outgoing City, new car’s interior is far more stylish, but significantly less practical.
Underseat tray somewhat compensates for omission of Ultra-Seats
Twin airbags are standard for both trim levels. Interior now makes do with one glovebox.
This is a very thoughtful feature. I want to credit the engineer who thought of this.
506 litres of boot space.
60:40 split folding and reclining rear seats for Grade E.
Grade E(r) gets front fogs and 16″ rims, while Grade S(l) makes do with a simpler five-spoke 15-incher.
Grade E(r) has chrome finish on tailpipes. Grade S(l) gets a bare tailpipe, not unlike the Proton Persona B-Line.
One last beauty shot – the car, of course.
think the last 2 pictures on teh features for Grade S and E, you mixed them up. Grade E is the one coming with front fog lights and 16 inch rims, and again grade E is the one with chrome finish tailpipe.
Johnny, thanks for spotting the mistake. It has been corrected.
Quite confusing at times, because in the Vios, the S version is the higher spec than the E.