2020 Honda City is expected to make domestic debut at the Auto Expo the coming February before entering the market
Honda will host the world premiere of the new generation City on November 25 in Thailand. Having already been spied testing in Indian as well as international roads, the fifth generation City is stepping into the sedan’s key phase of its lifespan. The nameplate has been available globally since 1981.
The latest City was unveiled in India back in 2013 before it entered the market early next year. It quickly rose to fame by becoming the fastest sedan to reach one lakh sales milestone within 15 months of its launch back then and its popularity was only on the up until the segment’s overall sales volumes plummeted in recent times.
The fifth-gen Honda City will go on sale in Thailand before any other country and its footprint will be expanded to markets like India since the beginning of 2020. Thus, expect it to debut at the 2020 Auto Expo in February before reaching the showrooms.
It will be powered by an all-new 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine in Thailand. The Borg Warner turbo system will enable it to pump out as much as 120 horsepower and it will likely be mated to either a six-speed manual or a CVT automatic transmission.
The recently unveiled new-gen Jazz features e:HEV mild hybrid system and it will also be sold with the City, coupled with a 1.5-litre petrol engine. This particular petrol-hybrid unit is expected to be introduced in India in 2021 as the regular 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel mills will be updated to meet BSVI emission standards.
The i-DTEC diesel engine will see mechanical improvements and it could be offered with a CVT transmission as an option in India. The exterior takes design inspiration from the latest Honda models sold globally. Some of the highlighting features include sharper headlamps, restyled tail lamps, use of chrome detailing, new set of wheels and so on.
In a similar fashion, the interior will adorn updated dashboard and centre console along with digital instrumentation, bigger touchscreen, use of upscale materials, etc.
Images are representational