Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL), a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, seems to be going the environment friendly 'Green' way, with the launch of a CNG compatible variant of its most popular product - Honda City sedan in the country. The company also introduced a brand new City that features 'Interactive Intelligence' with smart Audio Visual Navigation (AVN) in both manual and automatic transmission variants. Further, the CNG powered Honda City is available only in the V trim level with a price tag of Rs. 9.53 lacs, while the manual and automatic City AVN models carry retail values of Rs. 9.72 lacs and Rs. 10.46 lacs respectively.
The company has claimed that it has modified the suspension of new dual fuel petrol-CNG City saloon, in order to make sure that no compromise is done on the overall driving experience and handling. The dual fuel City will serve the same best-in-class manoeuvring and speed in the city traffic conditions, despite of the additional weight of CNG kit installed in the car. Further, the CNG City variant also comes with the standard Honda two years or 40,000 km warranty.
The new Honda City AVN comes trimmed with a number of best-in-class attributes, such as Bluetooth compatible music system, CD player, DVD player for watching High Definition (HD) movies, Audio Visual Navigation system, touchscreen interface along with connectivity for USB, iPod, AUX. Further, the Honda City AVN flaunts plush interior cabin bolstered with leather upholstery on the seats, which makes one stand up and admire the brilliant interior designing of the car. Apart from seats, the City AVN sedan features leather strapped steering wheel and gear knob (in the manual variant).
Expressing his delight at the launch of AVN and CNG variants of Honda City, Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice President (VP), HCIL, said, "Honda City is one of the most successful car brand in the country and certainly the most desirable sedan in its category due to its unmatched values of performance, mileage and overall reliability. We are extremely happy to bring the City with a CNG option for our customers. Adapting the CNG technology is another step to keep low cost of ownership for our customers and will add to the appeal of the car, as it will not only be cheaper to run and maintain but also eco-friendly. In line with the preferences of our customers, we are delighted to introduce the new variant with Audio Visual Navigation which makes the car even more desirable in its category."
Considering the rising petrol - diesel price differential and ever increasing fuel costs, which have put an immense burden on the natural resources, the CNG City sedan comes as a blessing for those who intend to buy efficient and environment friendly vehicles in the country. The Japanese auto maker seems to be making just about the right moves, as CNG option is currently missing in the City's rivals in the domestic market, such as Hyundai Verna Fluidic, Maruti Suzuki SX4, Volkswagen Vento, Fiat Linea, Renault Scala and Nissan Sunny. The CNG option is expected to lure the Indian sedan admirers, back towards Honda stores.
