There are not many car models in recent times, which are as hyped as next generation Honda City. And after around two to three months of tremendous buzz and excitement, the new City is set to enter the Indian car market. In just a few hours from now, the Japanese car maker, going through a superb time in terms of sales, popularity and critics response, will launch its much awaited sedan.
If one looks at things closely, Honda, clearly, has a detailed strategy in place for its City model. Quite visibly, the company is going all out to ensure that everything is in place. There are several key elements attached to the launch of new City, which might have a big say in determining its sales. The biggest factor, which, by all means, has been the centre of attraction is the addition of a diesel variant. This factor, much ahead of all others, will attract a high number of buyers. Other than this, regular changes, in terms of interiors, exteriors and technological features, have been made to develop a better product. Let's take a look at what Honda has done to this sedan in order to enhance things like appearance, technological sophistication and performance.
There is a completely new designing language in the upcoming Honda City, which has a longer wheelbase than its predecessor. As Honda likes to call it, this new sedan features an 'Advanced Sporty Design', characterised by the Exciting H concept, which comprises a solid wing face, well-toned athlete body and fine honing on exteriors. In addition, the sleek cross-motion form of this sedan combines the one motion and elegant coupe styling factors. Considering all these inclusions, experts feel that the appearance of this car is good enough to attract a high number of buyers. The interior design of this car not only enhances appearance of this car, it ensures optimum comfort as well.
Honda has adopted a new concept, called 'man maximum machine minimum', something that will surely be loved by buyers. There is no question about the technological sophistication that Honda brings into its cars and the new City, certainly, embodies that fact. Next generation Honda City is going to be loaded with a number of comfort, convenience and safety features. According to sources, a lot of research has gone into the development of this car and the firm has pretty high hopes from it.
The real USP of this upcoming sedan lies in its diesel variant, which will be introduced for the first time ever. Honda City diesel is going to be powered by the 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine, that is fitted in the Amaze. Critics have appreciated the performance of this powertrain, which will produce an output of around 98 bhp. As per company claims, Honda City diesel is expected to deliver a fuel economy of around 26 kmpl. On the other hand, petrol version of City, powered by the 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine, is going to churn out around 117 bhp of peak output and a mileage of 18 kmpl.
Despite all good points that the fourth-generation City has, Honda's pricing strategy will play a huge role in determining its market presence. Pricing, in a lot of ways, has been Honda's nemesis as far as the Indian car market. The Japanese car maker changed this when it launched the Amaze compact sedan and the results are there for everyone to see. Experts feel that if Honda can control the pricing of this new sedan, it could really take the market by storm. A point to note here is that market conditions are not so conducive for car makers in the country as consumer sentiment is low. Also, the competition in the mid-sized sedan segment is really tough with cars like Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento and Maruti Suzuki SX4 fighting for the top spot. In a lot of ways, Verna is going to be the toughest competitor of Honda City.
Also, in coming times, it is being said that Maruti Suzuki is going to replace its SX4 sedan with a new model, tentatively called the YL1. This new car is set to make its debut at Auto Expo 2014, which is scheduled to be held in Greater Noida. From what it looks like, the competition is going to be really stiff for Honda City. However, experts feel that sedan has enough credentials to fight all obstacles and be the segment leader.
