New-gen Honda City will likely go on sale this month in India and the Thai-spec version scored five stars in ASEAN NCAP crash tests
The new generation Honda City is expected to be launched sometime during the course of this month in the domestic market and it recently underwent crash tests conducted by ASEAN NCAP organisation. The prototype used was in its Thai specification and following 2012 and 2014, the City had received five stars for the third time this time around.
The new sedan recorded 86.54 out of 100 in full frontal offset impact and side impact crash tests. As for adult occupant protection, the five-seater scored 44.83 and the presence of safety assistant technologies had resulted in 18.89 marks. The all-important child occupant protection crash tests yielded 22.82 for the new-gen Honda City.
It must be noted that the crash test standards devised by ASEAN NCAP is as strict as that of Global NCAP and thus we can expect the new City to score similar marks in that too if tested. Moreover, the India-spec model will largely mimic in terms of its Thailand counterpart in safety technologies and equipment list.
The new generation Honda City will have slightly bigger dimensions in comparison and higher ground clearance. The tested prototype boasted safety features such as six airbags, Anti-lock Braking System, Electronic Brake-force Distribution, Vehicle Stability Assist, Hill Start Assist, emergency stop signal, reversing camera and so on.
The C-segment for sedans has seen big drop in sales fortunes in recent years and the arrival of a heavily updated City could bring back more customers. It gets exterior changes such as a full LED headlamp, redesigned front fascia, revamped tail section and so on. It will continue to rival Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, recently launched Hyundai Verna facelift, Skoda Rapid, Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen Vento.
The 2020 Honda City will be powered by a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine kicking out 119 horsepower and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine producing 100 horsepower. The former will be paired with a five-speed manual or CVT automatic transmission. A hybrid variant will likely be added to the mix sometime next year.