With the fifth-gen of Honda’s C-segment offering City revealed in Thailand, how well would it fare against Ciaz? Here you go!
Honda had officially unveiled the seventh-generation model (globally) of the Honda City recently, and it has certainly grown in each and every aspect, including dimensions, features on offer and safety tech, as compared to the outgoing model.
But how does it stack up against the current best-selling C-segment sedan in India, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz? Keep reading to find out.
2020 Honda City vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – Dimensions
The upcoming Honda City is bigger than the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz in terms of length and width, but falls short on height and the length of its wheelbase. The 2020 City is 63 mm longer and 18 mm wider than the Ciaz, whereas the latter is 18 mm taller and has a 61 mm longer wheelbase as compared to the former.
Take a look at both of their dimensions in detail –
| Dimensions | 2020 City | Maruti Suzuki Ciaz |
| Length | 4,553 mm | 4,490 mm |
| Width | 1,748 mm | 1,730 mm |
| Height | 1,467 mm | 1,485 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,589 mm | 2,650 mm |
2020 Honda City vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – Exterior Design
In terms of design, the 2020 Honda City seems to have borrowed some styling cues from the previously revealed new Jazz. The sedan features an aggressive front, with Honda’s signature grille, coupled up with sleek looking headlamps integrated with LED DRLs. At the rear, the City gets a wraparound design for the LED tail lamps. The rear of the City looks minimalistic, yet makes a statement.
Design-wise, Maruti Suzuki has kept the external looks of the Ciaz subtle, yet still manages to make it look premium, thanks to the extensive chrome treatment on the exteriors. The front-end sports a small black grille surrounded by chrome outlining. Both the fog lamp as well as the rear reflector housings get a chrome outlining as well.
The tail lamps of the car get a similar shape to the current-gen Honda City, and feature LED elements. The Ciaz sports multi-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels, which might not be too fancy, but look elegant.
2020 Honda City vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – Tech and safety on offer
The upcoming Honda City gets an automatic sunroof, a push-button start/stop, automatic climate controls, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Honda Connect, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, cruise control, among other features.
The Ciaz comes equipped with all of the features mentioned above, apart from a sunroof, and a different touchscreen infotainment unit with Maruti Suzuki’s SmartPlay system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The 2020 City gets six airbags, ABS with EBD, Vehicle Stability Control, Hill-Start Assist, and a multi-angle rearview camera.
Maruti Suzuki offers the Ciaz with the mandatory safety tech as per the Indian Govt. norms, which includes a high-speed alert system, front seat belt reminders, driver and passenger airbags, ABS with ABD and parking sensors. The high-end variants also get a rear-view camera.
2020 Honda City vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – Engine
Honda will be offering the upcoming City with a new 1.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that makes 122 HP and 173 Nm, apart from the 1.5-litre petrol (with the mild-hybrid system) and diesel engine options.
| Specification | New Honda city (Petrol) | Maruti Suzuki Ciaz (Petrol) |
| Engine | 1.5 Litre Petrol Engine | 1.5 Litre Petrol Engine |
| Power | 118 Ps | 104 Ps |
| Torque | 145 NM | 138 NM |
| Transmission | 6 Speed MT/CVT | 5 Speed MT/4 Speed AT |
The 1.0-litre engine can only be had with a CVT, while the other two can either be paired to a 6-speed manual, or a CVT.On the other hand, the Ciaz comes with 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engine options, that produce 103 HP/138 Nm and 94 HP/225 Nm respectively.
| Specification | New Honda city (Diesel) | Maruti Suzuki Ciaz (Diesel) |
| Engine | 1.5 Litre Diesel Engine | 1.5 Litre Diesel Engine |
| Power | 101 Ps | 95 Ps |
| Torque | 200 NM | 225 NM |
| Transmission | 6 Speed MT/CVT | 5 Speed MT/4 Speed AT |
The diesel can be had with only a 5-speed manual gearbox, while the petrol unit also gets an optional automatic transmission.
2020 Honda City vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – Verdict
Honda will likely be launching the new fifth-gen City in India in the second half of 2020, at a time when Maruti Suzuki would have discontinued the diesel variants of the Ciaz.
Maruti Suzuki’s executive sedan is priced between Rs. 8.20 lakh and Rs. 11.38 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom) as of now and the City could have an upper hand if introduced at the right price with tons of equipment.
The current-gen City has a starting price of Rs 9.81 lakh, and goes up to Rs 14.16 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom), but expect a price hike with the new-gen model.