Honda City Hybrid

The mile-muncher  

Way back in 1998, Honda entered the Indian market with the City. It was initially launched with two petrol engine options — a 1.3-litre and a 1.5-litre — and Honda followed it up in a couple of years with the introduction of a VTEC engine. By then, the Honda City had attracted the attention of almost every car buyer in the country, enthusiasts and families alike. It was spacious and comfortable, and the VTEC was also one of the first few mass market sedans in India to cross the 100 bhp mark. Tuners made sure they went beyond that, making it one of the most sought after generations of the City even today. In many ways, the Honda City was one of the pioneer cars that started car culture in India. 

In the following generations, Honda introduced many segment firsts, and even market firsts with the City. The CVT gearbox introduced in the second gen Honda City ZX was the first ever in the country. The third generation model was the first in the segment to get a sunroof. Fast forward to 2022, and the latest innovation Honda has introduced with the City is a strong hybrid drivetrain. Yes, there have been other cars with strong hybrid drivetrains in India before. In fact, Honda’s very own Accord, and its Japanese rival - the Toyota Camry - both had it. But the Honda City has become the first mass market car to offer a strong hybrid drivetrain. This introduction has kicked off the strong hybrid trend in mass market cars, with a few compact SUVs and midsize MPVs now also offering strong hybrid options. Having said that, is the Honda City hybrid — namely the Honda City e:HEV — any good? Let’s take a look.

Honda City Hybrid Pros and Cons 

Honda City Hybrid Exterior Design 

If its modern and aggressive looks that interest you, then you will perhaps be let down by the Honda City e:HEV. With the competition resorting to more radical designs, the Honda City e:HEV sticks to its roots and keeps the design simple. The front is elegant and in some shades the rear looks sporty. For many buyers, this approach will be desirable. After all, not everyone wants to draw attention. Exclusive to the e:HEV are Honda logos with blue highlights signifying the hybrid tech, but apart from the badges, the whole look remains the same.

The facelift is an evolution from the last couple of iterations of the City, and the design — while refreshed — appears dated now. It gets all-LED headlights and other details that bring it up to modern spec, but the design outline that it all sits in has definitely started to show its age. The wheels look a tad too small as well, and the tyres are also amongst the narrowest in the segment, which is something Honda should’ve changed with the latest generation. With the City also having the shortest wheelbase in its segment, the long rear overhang extending behind the small wheels just makes the car appear a bit disproportionate.

Honda City Hybrid Interiors

Honda City e:HEV’s interiors follow a similar pattern of what’s on the outside. Premium, elegant, but lacks the flare. The dashboard is neatly laid out and gets a very traditional looking design. Nothing that’s disappointing, but when compared to German and South Korean rivals it's just a generation behind. AC vents flanking the 8-inch touchscreen infotainment, traditional 3-spoke steering wheel — it's all just too normal. In fact, the Honda Civic from 2006 had a more radical design than this.

The interior has a very premium finish to it. The quality of materials used in most places are right up there with others in the segment. The cabin also has plenty of storage spaces and pockets, adding to the practicality. All seats are well bolstered and cushioned, and are very comfortable over longer journeys. The rear seat has ample legroom and headroom as well. The floor is also relatively flat, so the middle passenger will have sufficient legroom. However, the rear seats are contoured for two, so the middle passenger won’t be very comfortable over longer journeys. The feeling of space in the car is further accentuated by a low shoulderline and beige interiors, which give the car a very airy feel. The Honda City e:HEV’s boot space is significantly smaller than the naturally aspirated variant though. Rated at 306 litres, the boot is a full 200 litres smaller than the non-hybrid Honda City, thanks to the battery pack that’s placed under the boot floor. 

Honda City Hybrid Comfort 

We really wish the Honda City e:HEV had ventilated seats. Because if it did, the car would have a perfect score on the comfort front! Yes, the not-so-sleek AC vents will surely chill the cabin even on a hot day, but the level of comfort a ventilated seat offers can never be matched by AC alone. Leaving that aside, there are no balls dropped by Honda in the comfort department. One of the key contributing factors to the comfort levels are the car’s seats. Not only do they have a premium finish, but they also have a very comfortable shape. They are well contoured, bolstered, and the cushioning also hits the sweet spot. The suspension is also soft and rounds off bumps and potholes really well. Even when compared to the Hyundai Verna, the suspension is quieter when going through rough stuff. Interestingly, despite the softness the suspension doesn’t let the Honda City e:HEV feel floaty at high speeds, and keeps the sense of security intact. 

Honda City Hybrid Performance and handling:

Honda uses a very clever combination of an electric motor and a 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine for the hybrid drive in the City e:HEV. The engine runs on an Atkinson cycle, which in simple terms is a small change in the valve timing, resulting in a loss of peak power but better fuel efficiency. The lower peak power can be done away with in this car, because most of the driving duties are handled by the electric motor. In fact, until the City e:HEV reaches triple digit speeds, the engine does nothing but act as an electricity generator for the battery pack. This battery pack drives the electric motor, which has an output of 108 bhp & 253 Nm of torque, and takes care of pushing the car up to triple digit speeds. The engine has an eCVT transmission system, but all it does is mimic a DCT style staggered transmission in terms of the engine rpm, making the engine note sound better than a traditional CVT. At cruising speeds above triple digits, the engine can simply disengage a clutch and drive the front wheels with a single speed direct drive gearbox, where the engine puts out about 97 bhp and 127 Nm torque. Ask a little more from the City e:HEV at these speeds, and the car uses energy already stored in the battery pack to push out an electric boost to the wheels, taking the combined output up to 124 bhp and 253 Nm torque. 

Are you still with us? If not, you don’t need to worry, because the City e:HEV does all of this seamlessly, behind the scenes. 

Behind the wheel, it drives like a peppy sedan with a decent amount of power and torque on offer. The hybrid drivetrain also makes it the fastest Honda City ever, with a 0-100 kmph acceleration time of around 10 seconds, but somehow it doesn’t feel as spirited as the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated i-VTEC. However, even if it’s not as exhilarating to drive, it is way more fuel efficient. Honda claims the hybrid drivetrain can return a fuel efficiency of 27.13 km/l, and in real world usage, it wouldn’t be impossible to return a fuel consumption of around 23-25 km/l. That’s great economy, especially for a compact sedan with almost 125 bhp on tap. At start-stop traffic speeds, the engine switches itself off, keeping the cabin silent, as well as aiding the fuel efficiency. 

As is the case with the naturally aspirated (N/A) City, the City e:HEV is also an agile handler, but gets thin tyres with a 185 mm width - that’s considerably narrower than rivals from other brands. This does take away from the car’s braking and cornering performance too, apart from the aesthetics. The sacrifice is done in order to help the fuel economy figures and the cost, but we wish Honda had included wider wheels with the facelift, at least in the e:HEV.

Honda City Hybrid Key specifications 

Honda City Hybrid Safety Features

While the City e:HEV is lacking a few creature comfort features, where Honda hasn’t shied away is in terms of safety features. The City e:HEV gets four airbags as standard, and the top end variant gets six. There’s 3-point seatbelts for all five passengers too. Other features include ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, ISOFIX child seat mounts, TPMS, Traction control, and much more. The most important safety addition though is the inclusion of ADAS. This includes collision mitigation braking system, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist system, lead car departure notification system, road departure mitigation system, and auto high beam. The pre-facelift version of the Honda City also scored a 4-star crash test rating at the Global NCAP, and the facelift should score similarly, if not better.

Honda City Hybrid Technology and Infotainment

While almost all rivals have upgraded to a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system by now, Honda has stuck with an 8-inch unit, even in the top variants. The screen gets a good resolution and is paired with a high resolution reverse camera too, but it is angled in such a way that it does reflect a lot of sunlight, making it hard to see on bright days. The system does get Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the music system it's paired with is not up to the standards set by rivals. The instrument cluster is part digital, and gets a 7-inch TFT display paired with an analog speedometer. The digital bit of the instrument cluster displays all the drivetrain related information, and shows you when the car is running in electric only mode, when it is in hybrid mode, or when the engine has fully taken over. It also has a gauge which shows you how economically you are driving. There’s also multi-mode regen, and the display will show you exactly when the regen braking is charging the battery pack. 

There are a few other bits that feel very last gen. For example, charging ports in the front are USB type-A, not type-C, and in the rear you don’t get any charging ports at all, you just get a pair of 12 V power sockets. Unlike the N/A version, the City e:HEV gets an electric parking brake, which frees up space for a proper wireless phone charger. The N/A version also gets a wireless phone charger, but it is a detachable unit that sits in the cupholders, and looks like an aftermarket accessory. 

Is the Honda City Hybrid for you?

Buying a Honda City e:HEV is a pricey affair. Even when compared to the top end turbocharged variants of rivals, the City e:HEV is still considerably costlier. However, the price is a fair trade off in return of the extraordinary fuel efficiency, especially if you have high day-to-day running. On top of that, the comfort levels offered by the suspension and the premium seats is extraordinary, and it is not a dull driving car either! It does miss out on a few features that are offered with rivals and have become the norm of the segment, and also gets a lacklustre design. But with what it has to offer in terms of comfort and fuel economy still makes it a very attractive option.