Confirming the City’s graduation

The Honda City has come a long way since its intro to the Asia-Pacific car market 16 years ago. I was among the media invited to Thailand by Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) in 1996 to test-drive it and at that time the City looked exactly like what it was created to be: the entry-level, lowest-priced offering of Honda.

Fast forward to January 2009 when HCPI rolled out a bigger, infinitely more stylish third-generation City with a more powerful 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine to replace the unattractive 2003 model. With the 2009 iteration, the City graduated from subcompact sedan to compact sedan, boosting sales and making the City HCPI’s best-selling model, with some 68,000 units claimed to have been sold in the Philippines.

Apparently, Honda totally revamps the City every six years with cosmetic changes midway in between. Thus, HCPI entered the Year of the Dragon with the 2012 City, a signal that Honda was back in the game after suffering supply and production problems in 2011 due to the earthquake-tsunami twin disasters in Japan in March and the flooding of its plant in Thailand in September-November.

Third iteration

The 2012 model further confirms the graduation of the City from subcompact to the compact segment. The 2012 City is still basically the third iteration since it still has the same two SOHC i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine choices: a 1.5-liter powerplant packing 120 PS/6,600 rpm and 14.8 kg 4,800 rpm max torque or a 1.3-liter motor producing 100 PS/6,000 rpm and 13 kg/4,800 rpm max torque. The transmission in the top-of-the-line 1.5 E variant (P836,000) is still a 5-speed automatic with drive-by-wire throttle and paddle shifters while the 1.3 S variant is offered with the same 5-speed AT (P786,000) without paddle shifters or a 5-speed manual gearbox (P746,000). The suspension system still consists of independent McPherson strut in front and H-shaped torsion beam at the rear with stabilizers fore and aft.

That said, what’s new about the 2012 City? A new chrome grille, with wider spaces between the three slats and a bigger “H” (for Honda) badge at center. The front bumper is wider with bigger, square fog lamp housings. At the rear, the combination taillights are larger and the bumper looks sportier with a new diffuser. The door handles are now fully embellished with chrome and turn signals have been integrated into the side mirrors.

Upscale

Inside, the center console looks brighter and more upscale with more chrome trim while the triple meter cluster has been refreshed with a blue-and-white color ambience replacing the red. Aside from the 2009 model’s fuel consumption meter displaying average and instantaneous fuel consumption and distance to empty, the 2012 City has an Eco Drive Indicator lamp in the 1.5 E variant that informs the driver when he or she is getting maximum mileage out of the car via a light foot on the gas pedal. Also in the 1.5 E variant, audio controls have been added to the tilt-adjustable leather-wrapped steering wheel.

A striking new body color for the 1.5 E variant, Sparkling Brown, has replaced the Polished Metal of the 2009 model. The demo unit delivered to me for a week’s test drive was Sparkling Brown and the first time I saw it from my window, I thought it was a Civic because somehow the unique color makes the City look bigger. On the road, the Sparkling Brown City attracted some admiring glances.

Having the same powertrain and suspension as the 2009 model, the 2012 City performed as expected: smoothly and quietly at low speeds, with acceptable NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) at highway speeds and with light, precise handling due to electronic power steering. It required heavy pedal pressure and a few minutes to rev the 1.5 i-VTEC engine up to 150 kph even with the gear shift in the S (Sport) slot, but once it hit that sweet spot, it performed solidly. The driver’s seat, supportive and height-adjustable, proved comfy even on long trips.

Ride quality

For a change and to test the ride quality for passengers, I sat in the back on a trip to Clark while a professional driver took the wheel. The experience confirmed my expectations that whether you are in the driver’s seat or a back seat passenger during a long haul, the City provides consistent, relaxing riding comfort. The air conditioner ports on the rear seat floor guarantee a cool ride for all occupants.

In terms of safety, dual SRS airbags, ABS with EBD, door beams, 3-point pretensioner seatbelts, keyless entry, security alarm and immobilizer and Honda’s G-CON body structure are standard equipment in all 2012 City variants. The only thing lacking is a speed-sensing automatic door lock system. The driver has to lock the doors manually and sometimes you forget to do so.

Summing up, we congratulate the third-gen 2012 City on its graduation from the subcompact to the compact sedan segment. And we look forward to the day when it will acquire a more powerful engine and a 6-speed tranny to compete more equitably with other compact brands—although it could mean grabbing market share from its sibling, the new 1.8 Civic. But that’s another story.