Honda City received noticeable upgrades with its international model for 2017, which led us to believe that the car manufacturer might bring the new model to Pakistan in the face of increasing competition. With Honda City 2017, Honda dashed our hopes and any chances that the current three car manufacturers will change their strategies and ever care about customer satisfaction.
Over the years, City has become the go-to compact sedan in Pakistan. It seems Honda plans on riding the car’s popularity until the company is forced to introduce proper features in the base models.
Last night, Honda Atlas Pakistan unveiled the new City without any prior notice or announcement. The car was introduced at an event at Faletti’s Hotel Lahore which was attended by the company’s employees and Honda’s distributors.
The company was very proud of its achievements over the past year. While unveiling the car, President Honda Atlas, Tochi Ishiyama, said:
“We extend extreme gratitude to our customers, as they have stayed loyal to Honda and more specifically appreciated Honda City for the past twenty years. This ceremony does not only highlight the 20-year milestone of Honda City in Pakistan, but it also serves as a testimonial to the success of Honda in Pakistan.”
Exterior
Compared to last year’s City, there have only been minor changes in the car’s design. The most noticeable change is the new front grill which comes with a black and chrome color combination.
The rear lights and reflectors have also received a minor design change.
Honda has introduced new door protection moldings which add more character to the car and save it against minor dents.
Compared to last year, extra color options have been offered by the company. The new colors will be available at launch.
Interior
City’s interior has largely remained the same except for a few minor changes. The older entertainment system has been replaced with a new capacitive touch-based multimedia infotainment system (not a touchscreen display).
The rest is the same as before. You get the same AC knobs and an analog speedometer with blue accents.
Seats now use a new fabric though it’s a minor change that will go unnoticed.
Engines & Performance
Honda City 2017 will come in 3 variants with both manual and automatic transmission options:
3L Base
3L Aspire
5L Aspire
Just like last year, the 1,339CC car comes with 5 speed manual or automatic transmission. The 16 valve 4-cylinder engine is capable of 73kW of horsepower at 6,000RPM and 128Nm at 4,800RPM.
When using the default 15-inch tires, a turning radius of 5.3 meters can be achieved.
Safety & Security
Honda has introduced an immobilizer option with the City 2017, though it doesn’t came as standard and buyers have to opt for it by paying extra. An immobilizer prevents the car from starting the engine unless the RF immobilizer key is present in the car. The feature was enforced under the Auto Policy 2016-2021.
ABS brakes and crash compatible design come as standard features.
City 2017 comes with a warranty period of 3 years or 70,000km (whichever ends first).
Options & Features
Additional features can be availed through option packs. Pricing and details for such features are listed below:
Price & Availability
Fortunately, Honda hasn’t increased the price of the new model by much. A small hike of Rs. 10,000 brings about the following final prices:
City 1.3L Manual Transmission – PKR 1,533,000
City 1.3L Automatic Transmission – PKR 1,674,000
Aspire 1.3L Manual Transmission – PKR 1,663,000
Aspire 1.3L Automatic Transmission – PKR 1,805,000
Aspire 1.5L Manual Transmission – PKR 1,683,000
Aspire 1.5L Automatic Transmission – PKR 1,825,000
Honda customers who have already booked the City 2016 can pay Rs. 10,000 extra and upgrade to the new model.
