2017 Honda City Facelift Variants Explained

The City will always be remembered as ‘the one that clicked’ for Honda in India. The sedan almost single-handedly built the Japanese brand’s repute in the country. Earlier iterations of the car provided most of the reasons why the masses equate the Honda badge with quality. Needless to say, there’s always a lot of hoopla when there’s a new one on the block – even if it’s a midlife refresh.

Honda usually unveils an ‘all-new’ City every five years. Weirdly enough, this time round it’s a facelift only, that too within four years of launch. What’s new with the car? Well, you can take a look at the whole list of changes here. To make things a tad more interesting (and also move the City one notch higher in terms of premium appeal), Honda will also be rejigging the variant list of the sedan. What’s in? What’s out? Which one should you pick?

What’s standard?

To begin with, Honda will get rid of the base-spec ‘E’ variant from the City’s line-up. The VX (O) variant which was introduced in early 2016 has been given the boot as well. The base variant is now the ‘S’, which will be available with a petrol motor only. Thankfully, safety tech continues to remain standard. The facelifted Honda City will also feature dual-airbags, ABS with EBD, and ISOFIX mounts for child seats as standard across the range. Here’s a look at the highlights of the base-spec ‘S’ variant:

Price: 2017 Honda City S - Rs 8.50 lakh (Petrol)

It doesn’t take much to figure out that the base-spec version is a tad too bare bones. It skips out on basics such as body-coloured mirrors, lining for the inside of the boot, and a central armrest. Moreover, this variant will be offered in the petrol-manual guise only, to keep the entry price low. Other than the standard safety tech, there’s nothing else that excites.

What about the diesel base variant?

The diesel’s base variant is the SV. It’s worth noting that, unlike the Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid that offer a diesel-automatic combo, Honda has stuck to a six-speed manual only. The SV adds in a bit of style and utility to the mix.

Price: 2017 Honda City SV - Rs 9.54 lakh (Petrol) | Rs 10.76 lakh (Diesel)

The SV is definitely the one to pick if you need a City on an absolute budget. Not only does it give you the choice of both petrol and diesel engines, it also adds a lot of thoughtful convenience features to the mix, which we reckon is bare minimum for a C-segment sedan in today’s day and age.

Is the mid-spec variant any good?

Here on, it’s just a case of Honda peppering feel-good features to make the City a more rounded offering at the price point. Let’s go through what the V variant has to offer:

Price: 2017 Honda City V - Rs 10.00 lakh (Petrol) | Rs 11.54 lakh (Petrol-CVT) | Rs 11.56 lakh (Diesel)

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I only buy top-spec. What’s in it for me?

Good news! There’s a new top-spec variant for you to pick. Honda has reintroduced the ‘ZX’ moniker, that tops off the City range. The earlier range-topper – the VX – is no less equipped. Compared to the ‘V’ variant, here’s what you get extra in the VX:

Price: 2017 Honda City VX -Rs 11.65 lakh (Petrol) | Rs 12.85 lakh (Petrol-CVT) | Rs 12.87 lakh (Diesel)

The new top-spec ZX variant finishes things off by adding the following to the equation:

Price: 2017 Honda City ZX - Rs 13.53 lakh (Petrol-CVT) | Rs 13.57 lakh (Diesel)

The VX variant offers practically everything one asks for from a mid-size sedan. That said, we do wish Honda offered the six airbags with the VX trim as well. Other than the extra airbags, the added features on the City ZX aren’t all that necessary or particularly useful. Also, we’re puzzled as to why Honda would offer adjustable rear headrests only on the top-spec ZX. It is pivotal in preventing whiplash for rear occupants and should’ve been standard across the range. For comparison's sake, the Toyota Etios gets it as standard. Notably, the petrol ZX version will be available with the 7-speed CVT only. 

Is it worth the cash? We’ll find out when we put it through the paces in a couple of days. Stay tuned to Zigwheels for our first impressions of the 2017 Honda City.

Comparison

• Honda City vs Maruti Ciaz
• Honda City vs Hyundai Verna
• Honda City vs Skoda Rapid
• Honda City vs Volkswagen Vento

Also Read

• 2017 Honda City Facelift Launched At Rs 8.50 Lakh
• 2017 Honda City Facelift - Old Vs New
• Honda City Facelift Flaunts Major Updates