The Honda City E: HEV is based on the 5th generation City but comes with a bag full of technical tricks and safety features apart from a hybrid powertrain.
see photosThe car will be launched in India later this year
2020 was a tumultuous year for Honda in India. Thanks to the indifferent response to the pandemic and the Civic and CRV, it announced that it would stop producing cars in India. The last two years have left many skeptical of Honda’s conviction towards the Indian market, where it has been a trailblazer in the executive sedan sector since the late 90s. While all this has happened, the Honda City has remained in the segment in the sedan space despite the shrinking size of the segment. Honda’s issues are compounded by the fact that as a global organization it had no concrete plans to go all-electric by 2022 and as such Toyota was betting mostly on fuel cell-based powertrains. That changed in 2022 when it announced its intention to have a fully sustainable fuel-based product portfolio using a combination of electric and fuel cell-based powertrains by 2030. This U-turn is less shocking than Toyota’s, but inevitable nonetheless. The launch of Honda City e:HEV in India comes within weeks of the global announcement of the product which bodes well for its commitment to the Indian market. It is also a product that is ideally suited for India, as the country is in the early stages of the transition towards an EV – the infrastructure is nowhere close to being ready and fuel prices are skyrocketing every day, a hybrid car. India is going to need more than a complete EV unless the range issue can be resolved for less than Rs 20 lakh, dramatically. The City E: HEV is loaded with gadgetry that makes it arguably the most tech-savvy car launched by Honda in India.
The total output of the sedan is 126 bhp. is
hybrid power
The e:HEV builds on Honda’s expertise with hybrid powertrains, something it has done in the past while launching the Honda Civic in India. It gets a 1.5-litre iVTEC engine paired with a 2-motor hybrid setup that also gets a lithium-ion battery. The total output of this system is 126 Bhp which is not much different from what City is already offering in India. What’s impressive is that Honda claims that if you’re driving under 40km/h, you can only be on electric power. When you say 80km/h above 40km/h, you’ll still be mostly on electric power because the hybrid setup starts automatically. On highways only, the system will dynamically decide which gasoline engine to use for maximum performance and efficiency. Honda is promising fuel savings of up to 40 percent. And this electric system charges automatically – so it’s not a plug-in system, but gets charged due to battery regeneration and the engine regenerating the battery even when the car is not being used to drive. For peace of mind, there is also an 8-year warranty on the lithium battery.
honda sensing
This is the first car that Honda brought to India which gets Honda Sense.
Perhaps surprisingly, the segment is already taking a leap with the introduction of Honda’s ADAS stack-sensing. Honda Sensing fuses, cameras, sensors and silicon to deliver a comprehensive ADAS suite. It gets Collision Mitigation Braking System, Road Departure Mitigation System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, traffic signal recognition, blind spot information, cross-traffic monitor, auto high beam headlights, automatic parking brake and 360-degree view parking camera. This is by far the highest ADAS capability in a sedan in the under 20 lakh segment, but SUVs like the MG Astor and Mahindra XUV 700 probably have a bit more advanced functionality. It’s interesting that while the capabilities are pretty much the same, Honda isn’t referencing all of this technology to ADAS or autonomous capabilities, but rather boxing them under a pure safety angle. This also helps the car to come with 6 airbags and a 5-star rating in the ASEAN NCAP rating which points decently to its overall Global NCAP rating which is another segment of the likes of Hyundai, Kia, Maruti Suzuki Is. It also gets VSC, ESC, Traction Control, ABS and Agile Handling Assist. The seats also have ISOFIX mounts.
in car creature comfort
Honda is going heavy on technology and what it means to be what you get inside the car. The already existing city allows Alexa connectivity and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Honda has now added Google Assistant support as well, in addition to support for select smartwatches, which strangely miss out on the Apple Watch. In the demo, he showed off an Android Wear-based smartwatch but he emphasized that this is also for select smartwatches as it enhances the connected car capability allowed by the Honda Connect app on the wearable. As for the screen, the virtual instrument cluster gets a 7-inch panel, while the main infotainment screen gets an 8-inch panel. The car also gets a premium 8-speaker sound system and an electric sunroof with soothing ambient lighting. There is also a pollen filter which is installed in the car and a rear shade apart from the keyless system used by Honda.
0 notes
The Honda City e: HEV, as its name suggests, is a practical car for the Indian urban city. Especially now that it gets hybrid power, technology-driven safety features and a litany of creature comforts that are often in a segment above that in cars, it is practical, environmentally conscious and economically viable for smart city dwellers. The car is there for, but not well enough for, the motorhead who would love to beam in a koda Slavia or Volkswagen Vertus with their 1.5-litre petrol engine.
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