Honda City Grade S+ Test Drive Review
The new Honda City launched this year has been both a critical and commercial success. Reviews have been positive and sales are accordingly brisk. There is not the slightest doubt that Honda has rolled out an absolute winner here.
This generation of the City is also notable for having the most number of variants offered to the Malaysian market in memory. Although a solitary engine and transmission combo spans the entire range, consumers now have no less than four trim levels to choose from, as opposed to just two in the last two model generations.
Previously, Honda’s approach was to position the City exclusively at the B-segment’s upper end. Now with a mission to chase down Toyota, the City accordingly lines up with a model mix that sees it match its mortal enemy, the Vios, blow-for-blow. There are two variants that hit the road for less than RM80k, and in this review, we see if the City is as convincing a prospect with all its frills taken away.
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Prices & Variants
The version of the City featured in this review is the second-cheapest Grade S+ model. Compared to the range-topping Grade V model we reviewed two months back, the S+ is more than RM10k cheaper at RM78,800 with insurance. The entry level Grade S version is a further RM3k south. As you would expect, both these models have plenty of dashes marked on their equipment lists.
That small premium separating the S and S+ models pays for 15″ alloy wheels (as opposed to 15″ steel rims) and dash-integrated audio (as opposed to a single-DIN head unit) with hands-free telephone operation. Differences are starker against the upper models however – the RM83,800 Grade E model, for example, adds side-mirror indicators, 60:40 split-folding rear seats with central arm rest, rear air-con vents, keyless entry, steering-mounted audio controls, rear 12V power sockets, and perhaps most crucially, electronic stability control.
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| Rear power sockets are gone, but the front ones remain. |
Within the context of this price-sensitive segment, most of the above omissions are not unreasonable, except electronic stability control – if Proton can make ESC standard in the Iriz, Honda can do so for the City.
That aside, our only real gripe with the lower spec model is with the audio head unit, which has no numbered memory buttons. Scrolling through pre-set channels requires pressing the frequency tuner knob, rotating through the menu, and then pressing again to indicate channel selection. It makes channel browsing unnecessarily troublesome, a problem compounded by the absence of steering-mounted audio controls at this spec level; from a company which we regularly praise for its faultless interior ergonomics, we expect better.
Our test car for this review also comes fitted with a full range of optional dealer-fitted accessories that cost a combined sum of RM4,900. In addition to the spoiler and all-round body kit as clearly seen in our pictures, said accessories also include a waterproof boot tray, door visor, illuminated side step, footwell lighting, and sports pedals. We’d put that extra money for an upgrade to the Grade E variant instead.
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| Simple radio leaves too much empty space on dashboard. No memory buttons is a bummer. |
Driving Experience
Having already published two reviews of the car to date, we have become reasonably familiar with the City’s driving characteristics. Revisiting it in a more barebones state did not reveal any severe deterioration of its performance or dynamics, although we must note that outright grip from its 175/65 R15 Goodyear GT3 tyres is less convincing than the 185/55 R16 Goodyear Excellence rubber fitted to the Grade V.
There is otherwise little to complain on the overall driving experience – giving allowances for the reduced grip of our test car’s tyres, the finely-honed balance of the chassis remains evident in the confident poise and composure it demonstrates around corners. Up front, the carryover engine from its predecessor gets a new lease of life from its partnership with Honda’s new Earth Dreams CVT. Even if the stepless sensations inherent of CVTs are not to everyone’s taste, the transmission is always on the ball in keeping the engine in its powerband, and the result is that rapid acceleration is rarely ever found wanting.
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| Smoked headlamp finish actually looks classier than the higher grade models. |
Verdict
With any given model that offers multiple variants, we often wonder if the car maker starts from the entry version and spec its way up, or start from the top and cost down toward lower models. The City gives us the distinct impression of having adopted the latter approach. One only needs to look at the groove on our test car’s side mirror that would otherwise have accommodated integrated indicators or the acres of blank space around its minimalist audio controls.
Whilst we can understand and justify the existence of the S and S+ models as affordable options to buyers upgrading into the non-national B-segment, the sweet spot of the City range most certainly lies at the upper models and our recommendation is to at least go for the Grade E version, where a more palatable array of equipment awaits.
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