India’s most loved sedan, the Honda City has been rocking hearts since 1998. It featured a powerful engine, best in class interiors, it looked sexy and gave a sense of class and prestige to the customers. It has been the segment leader for almost 20 years and even the likes of Hyundai Verna and Maruti Ciaz couldn’t bring it down.
But despite all the love received, it was ageing, both engine and styling wise and luckily Honda has looked into it and has revealed a masterpiece.
The Japenese giant has revealed the newest gen of Honda City and it has received some major updates in terms of powertrain. It will get its first hybrid setup with a 1.5 litre NA engine along with two electric motors. Honda calls this the i-MMD hybrid setup. This is the same setup seen on the international spec Jazz and CR-V.
The ICE will churn a total of 98 bhp. The first electric motor, which is integrated into the petrol engine, assists and acts as an integrated starter-generator (ISG), while the second electric motor sends drive to the wheels. 109hp and 253Nm of torque are developed by the second unit and sent to the front wheels via a bespoke gearbox with a single, fixed-gear ratio.
The hybrid setup is also likely to enable three drive modes – one where just the electric motors are used, one where just the internal combustion engine runs (a lock-up clutch sends power to the wheels directly), and a third which allows for a combination of both.
Thanks to this setup, the City will be frugal in urban environs – where it will just run on the electric motors, while out on the highway, the petrol engine will take over, providing much stronger performance.
We wish Honda would give us more power from this setup like the 121 bhp Malaysia spec Honda City but I guess Indian automakers have an allergy to exciting cars.
This hybrid version is most likely to hit the markets in mid-2021 with prices probably starting at 15 lakh considering that the non-hybrid version tops out at 14.74 lakhs. It won’t have any direct competitors but just for stating, the MS Ciaz can be a competitor with its mild-hybrid technology.
