Numbers
4cyl, 1, 497cc, petrol, 117bhp, 145Nm, CVT, FWD, 1, 085kg, 17.9kpl(claimed), boot space: 510 litres, fuel tank: 40 litres, Rs 9.49 - 10.98 lakh(ex-Delhi)
*Review*
A few years ago, if you were in the market for an efficient family sedan, an automatic variant would most likely not make it to your wish list. Because ATs back then were considered too expensive to buy and maintain and were known to drain the fuel tank faster than a manual car. Plus, they weren’t too involving to drive, and were lethargic when it came to outright performance.
But increasingly wretched traffic and the urge to opt for an easy-to-drive sedan have been bringing buyers back into showrooms looking for a comfortable automatic sedan. And it’s not just the premium segments – the C-segment too has started offering a variety of options – one of them being the new Honda City i-VTEC automatic.
Torchbearer of automatic sedans in India, and now in its fourth generation, the City is available with a newly developed CVT that is part of Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology. Honda claims its new CVT is more responsive and fuel efficient than the previous-gen CVT or the 5-speed AT. In fact, the official word is that it’s more efficient than even the manual variant, which returns 17.8kpl, compared to the CVT’s 17.9kpl.
Honda’s new City CVT now gets a torque converter along with the usual pulleys-and-belts business. It replaces the old dual-clutch ’box, which was marred by sluggish acceleration, and felt too strained up the rev band. And via various other advancements, Honda has made the new CVT lighter by 10 percent.
So, does this change the way the new City drives? It sure does. Powered by an updated 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol motor churning out 117bhp and 145Nm, the City AT takes off in a rather surprising manner. The initial hesitation and jerkiness of a typical dual-clutch CVT has been sorted with the use of a torque converter, which results in prompt acceleration from the word go. Ultimately it"s good to buy.