The city car
Looks- Car looks ugly to some and beautiful to others.. but to me it looked quite good.. the car looks odd from rear angle and the front looks a bit too small.. but when seen from the side the car looks longer then the OHC.. but from the front OHC is longer..
Interiors- The best in class. The interior is very roomy and gives you a thought that the car is more expensive then it actually is.. but err the driving seat is a pain to adjust once you slide it down..
Boot - Amzing boot space of 490Liters.. but the boot lid is small so putting big bags is difficult.. supprisingly it took so much in the boot that even an Amby could not and the Ambys boot did not close with the 3/4ths of the items in the NHC..
Brakes - Extremely poor due to poor tyres and the car skids even on slight hint of braking.. I would highly recommend NHC owners to upgrade to 195s ASAP..
Build quality is fantastic and you come to know the fit and finish is superb..
Features - are ok for the car but as of today ABS is expected as even hyundai is offering it in the Santro.. even CDE player would not have hurt considering there is mere 600Rs difference in the market price of the Alpine cassette and Single in dash CD player..
Tyres should have been wider and alloys would not have hurt any one..
Handling is ok for the car and nothing to talk about and the tall height kills the handling.. the OHC was way better at it..
Ride is decent but tends to get a bit bumpy at low speeds..
FE - Honda said that NHC is 40% more Fuel efficient then OHC but its only mere 15% and at that a compromise of so much power is sad.. Also you tend to pull the car more then you would have to in the OHC..
Performance. - The car performances ok and never felt that it will fly and having just 77 horses on board with a weight of 1040 kgs has a poor power to weight of 74.0x and even a zen has more PTW..
Low end torque pretty good and 4th gear and 5th gear are also very good.. thought gearing is short I was reminded by the ECU to change when oce I hit above 120 in 3rd..
Car is very silent and no hint of NVH visible but thats maybe due to lack of horses groaning in the hood
Car is very easy to drive and with that short hood is easy to cut across..
However comparing the car with the Optra 1.6 base which is around 50K costlier I feel that the Optra wins handsdown. Optra is better in brakes better in handling more co, fy same features as the NHC and everything better then the NHC.. maybe the optras boot is a bit smaller then the NHC but still big enough with 4xx L.. and is way more powerful with 103horses on board..
Only place where you find a fault is in the FE.. but its almost same 1KM/L here and there max and thats my assurance to you..
One reason to let go off the Honda was that doesnot have the power and still consumes alot of petrol giving 10km/L..(my cousin’s)
I feel the HC is a bit overpriced and thats due to Honda name.. common we deserve ABS and 100bhp atleast..
City
Likes - Interiors, Honda name, Easy to drive.. resale value, so called FE
Dislikes - Mirror angle causes mirage on front screen, large glass area heats car excessively, low ground clearance assures you that you are going to lose you front spoiler and also scrub breakers, feels breathless sometimes and you need to downshift alot to 1st to move on climbing.. and taking pickup in traffic and floor her to 6000RPM..
Verdict..
NHC - 3.5 star out of 5
Optra 1.6 - 4.5 star out of 5
Pick the Optra 1.6 at 50k more is my verdict..
Now you will ask why I didnot that time cause I felt the Optra was not that Fuel efficent and the HC gave 16-17kpl to a liter according to many people but thats crap..
If you want to ask any questions about the car be free to do so..