Shock therapy. That’s what Honda seems to have delivered with it’s latest City. The car bears no resemblance to the older version, something Honda had done with the City’s earlier version five years ago. The earlier City came with class-leading interiors, setting the benchmark for materials and styling. The new City promises to take all these attributes a step further and move closer into the Civic/Corolla territory.

The first thing you’ll notice about the cabin is the Civic-style steering wheel, with audio controls on it. On the automatic version it also gets paddle shifts. While there’s more space in the new City than before, the quality of plastics and the switchgear hasn’t improved. There’s a single glovebox, the area for the second one taken up by the passenger airbag. Honda has added more equipment to this model and all Citys will now come with airbags and ABS.

The front and rear seats offer plenty of comfort. The beige upholstery lends a classy air to the well-finished cabin. But Honda seems to have taken the technology stuff too seriously; the City audio system has no CD player. Instead, the stereo that boasts amazing output accepts an iPod or memory stick with MP3 files as its source of digital audio sound. However, you do get a slot in the audio console to fit an aftermarket CD player.

The City comes with a 1.5-litre VTEC engine. Power is up to 116bhp from the iDSI’s 77bhp motor. You can choose from a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic. Also, the City is now the first car in its class to offer paddle shifts, which should give you some idea of changing gears inside a Formula One car.

The highlight of the engine is it’s responsive nature that provides great pulling power even from low revs. Though power delivery is linear, the engine struggles a bit but remains comfortably muted all the way up to it’s redline.

What you’ll really appreciate is the way the City handles. While the steering of the earlier car felt numb, the new one weighs up well as speeds increase, inspiring confidence. Driving around sharp corners reveals slight body roll and the narrow tyres don’t provide enough grip. But the ride quality is quite good and fuel economy is expected to be similar to the earlier car, if not better.

As a package you can’t really find fault with it save for the skinny tyres, lack of alloys and the no-CD player audio system. Sure, the City is the most expensive car in its class. But a strong resale value ensures that the high sticker price will be negated at the time of resale.

spec check

Honda city

• Price: Rs. 7.7-9 lakh

• L/W/H: 4395/1695/1470 mm

• Wheelbase: 2550 mm

• Kerb weight: 1085-1120 kg

• Engine: 4 cyls in line, 1497 cc, petrol

• Installation: Front, transverse, front-wheel drive

• Power: 116 bhp at 6600 rpm

• Torque: 14.8 kgm at 4800 rpm

• Gearbox: 5-speed manual/auto

• Suspension (front): Independent,MacPherson struts; (rear): Non-independent, H-type torsion beam

• Fuel tank: 42 litres

• Brakes: Ventilated discs (fro-nt); Drums(rear)