Check out our on-paper comparison between the newly-unveiled Volkswagen Virtus and its biggest rival in our market, Honda City
Volkswagen Virtus was recently unveiled for the Indian market, and it is slated to go on sale here very soon. This upcoming VW sedan shares its architecture with Skoda Slavia, along with the powertrain options. With Virtus, Volkswagen is planning to capture a big chunk of the sedan market in our country, taking the fight to the likes of Hyundai Verna, Maruti Ciaz, and of course, Honda City.
Here, we take a look at the spec sheets of the soon-to-launch Volkswagen Virtus and the fifth-gen Honda City, to see which of the two is the better deal on paper.
Volkswagen Virtus vs Honda City (fifth-gen) – Exterior design and dimensions
Virtus carrier the signature Volkswagen look, which is quite classy and premium. It gets sleek LED headlamps, a sleek grille, and a bold front bumper at the front. The LED taillights and rear bumper have a sporty design, as do the 16-inch alloy wheels (available in all-black and dual-tone colour schemes).
Honda City also has a fairly sleek and sporty exterior design. At the front, we see dagger-style LED headlamps, with the brand’s signature eyebrow grille (with a healthy splashing of chrome). At the rear, we see wraparound 3D LED taillights. The vehicle gets premium-looking 16-inch dual-one alloy wheels as well.
| Dimensions | VW Virtus | Honda City |
| Length | 4,561mm | 4,549mm |
| Width | 1,752mm | 1,748mm |
| Height | 1,507mm | 1,489mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,651mm | 2,600mm |
VW Virtus is longer, wider and taller than Honda City, and it has a longer wheelbase as well. We can’t comment on the road presence till we’ve seen both cars on the road together, which likely won’t take too long!
Volkswagen Virtus vs Honda City (fifth-gen) – Interior styling and features
The interior of Volkswagen Virtus draws styling inspiration from VW Taigun. It gets a similar expansive dashboard, with coloured inserts spread all over. The dual-tone black and beige cabin colour scheme looks quite premium. The 10-inch infotainment touchscreen is neatly integrated into the dash, and the car also gets a 3-spoke steering wheel (multifunctional).
The VW sedan has a lot of premium features on offer, like an electric sunroof, ventilated front seats, automatic climate control, cooled glovebox, ambient lighting, tyre pressure monitor, keyless entry and go, a fully-digital instrument console, Volkswagen Connect (connected car tech), up to six airbags, etc.
Honda City has a rather simplistic interior design, with a black and beige colour theme. Compared to its Volkswagen rival, the cabin doesn’t feel as upmarket. It also gets an in-dash infotainment system (with an 8-inch touchscreen), a three-spoke steering wheel (multifunctional), and a semi-digital instrument console (with a 7-inch MID).
Honda offers plenty of features on City, including an electric sunroof, automatic climate control, keyless entry and go, Honda Connect (connected car tech), up to six airbags, etc. However, in terms of premium-ness and equipment, the VW sedan takes the victory here.
Volkswagen Virtus vs Honda City (fifth-gen) – Engine and transmission
VW Virtus has two engine options on offer – a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol unit and a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol unit. A 6-speed manual transmission comes as standard. Automatic transmission options consist of a 6-speed torque-converter on the 1.0L motor and a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox on the 1.5L mill.
| Volkswagen Virtus technical specifications | ||
| Engine size | 1.0-litre | 1.5-litre |
| Engine type | Turbocharged, inline-3, petrol | Turbocharged, inline-4, petrol |
| Max. power | 115 PS | 150 PS |
| Max. torque | 178 Nm | 250 Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed MT/6-speed AT | 6-speed MT/7-speed DSG |
Honda City is available with two engine choices as well. The first one is a 1.5-litre NA petrol motor, which can be had with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a CVT. The second one is a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel mill, which can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission only.
| Honda City (fifth generation) technical specifications | ||
| Engine size | 1.5-litre | 1.5-litre |
| Engine type | Naturally aspirated, inline-4, petrol | Turbocharged, inline-4, diesel |
| Max. power | 121 PS | 100 PS |
| Max. torque | 145 Nm | 200 Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed MT/CVT | 6-speed MT |
Volkswagen Virtus vs Honda City (fifth-gen) – Price
Volkswagen will reveal the prices of Virtus when it launches, expectedly very soon. As for Honda City, it is priced from Rs. 11.23 lakh to Rs. 14.98 lakh for the petrol variants, and from Rs. 12.83 lakh to Rs. 15.18 lakh (ex-showroom prices, New Delhi).
We expect the VW to be more expensive in comparison, but it will also be better equipped, offer a more premium feel, and offer more power as well. However, the Honda sedan has a diesel engine option available, which is not the case with Virtus.