Its been 3 months since we brought home the Honda City eHEV and have driven it for 5,000km
BHPian Sids85 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Its been 3 months since we brought home the Honda City eHEV. This version of the City is the Strong Hybrid and comes only in the top end ZX variant. As we almost complete 5000 km mileage, I thought would share our experience about the car.
Buying decision:
We owned a Jeep Compass Petrol AT 80th Anniversary Edition. The car was a beast but was a heavy drinker (for no fault of its own; A heavy body coupled with a 160hp engine and automatic transmission). The mileage hovered around 7-8kmpl thanks to a city under perennial construction, dug up across its length and breadth. For our home to office running of approximately 60kms per day, it was just not viable. I had put out a post on the same. Finally we sold it off, albeit with a lot of heartbreak.
Cars Considered:
- We were basically looking for a Diesel considering our daily running to replace the Jeep and the main contender was the Kia Seltos Diesel X Line. We even had booked the car but having taken more than one test drive, we were just not impressed with its ride quality which was hard and harsh to our liking. We cancelled it.
- The 2nd option was the Volkswagen Virtus (a Stunner but a petrol). The main consideration point for a petrol VW was the Active Cylinder Deactivation which might have aided the overall mileage but in terms of features, it missed out on lot of basics (VW guys – please upgrade the reversing camera quality and its feed on the ICE. Its such a shame on a 21+ lakhs worth car).
The Hunt ending with the Honda eHEV:
During many a discussion, my brother asked me to check out the Honda City Hybrid. We had checked out the Toyota/Maruti strong hybrids but the quality of materials and their overall build was a complete turn off. The Honda was not even in our consideration by a long way. We had very little hopes of liking it but we took a chance. And it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
Test drives and final shortlisting:
We put out our interest on the Honda India Website for the City Hybrid. We got connected to the 3 authorized dealers within Mumbai viz Regent, Hallmark and Arya. Regent and Hallmark didn’t have any Hybrid TD vehicles. Arya did and they provided the TD at our residence.
Likes:
1. Mileage: getting 25-28 kmpl out of the box. A range of 370 km on a Rs. 1500 fill. That’s a killer.
2. A very comfortable and planted ride. The car nervousness even while taking the corners with some speed. The center of gravity is enhanced by the heavy battery pack.
3. Doesn’t feel under powered at all. A healthy combined output of 120 hp and 250 nm of torque. It is very nimble and agile for its size. Can cut into gaps quickly.
4. How quiet is the engine. There is a mild hum when it turns on but hardly any clattering or shaking unlike a regular ICE.
5. The cabin is well put out, ergonomically with No panel gaps. There is a place for everything and everything is in its place.
6. Soft touch materials used at the right touch points. Would have been good if the dash would have come as soft touch too but it is what it is.
7. Crisp and informative driver display with good detailing. No over the top graphics or unwanted info.
8. The effortlessness with which it switches from ICE to EV and back is mind blowing. The moment it gets on a downhill road, its on complete EV mode. The moment its on a straight highway with no undulation, its in complete EV mode even at speeds of 100-120 kmph.
9. No compromises on safety. 6 Airbags, 3 point seatbelts for all occupants. A non-intrusive camera based ADAS.
10. Spacious: 5 healthy adults can be accompanied in complete comfort with acres of knee room.
Dislikes:
1. The rear camera and the lane watch camera quality is literally VGA stuff. Even the door cam in my house is better than this. Its poor for a car that costs above 21+ lakhs.
2. The rear cam also doesn’t come with dynamic guidelines.
3. Misses out on ventilated seats. No adjustable headrests for rear occupants.
4. The sound quality (4 speakers and 4 twitters) is pretty average for this price point.
5. The boot is a little compromised because of the battery but it still comes with good enough space to accommodate 2 big trolleys in it.
6. The car is under tired (185/55 R16) which adds to the complication of low GC.
Final buying decision:
After a satisfying TD, we contacted Arya Honda, Prabhadevi to get the pricing and the availability of the Pearl White Color. It was December 2024 but they started behaving weirdly. They had a Metallic Grey, Silver and a Red in their stockyard, colors we didn’t want to opt for. We asked for the availability of the white color but they were non committal and were not even confirming the waiting period for it. I additionally asked for the VIN of the Silver and the Red City which Arya provided. The Silver manufacturing was May 2024 and the Red was August 2024. We didn’t proceed further because we didn’t want an unsold old stock. In the meantime, Regent Honda, Kalyan contacted us to get a feedback. We gave them the details and they were very prompt in their response. The Sales Manager of Regent gave us a better pricing than Arya Honda, along with throwing some added goodies and confirmed that a White car will be made available in 7 days if we made the booking immediately. We finally went ahead with the booking with Regent Honda, Kalyan.
Delivery:
We booked the car from Regent Honda, Kalyan in December 2024 and took the delivery in January 2025.
Some key photos and highlights:
1. Illuminated buttons and all 4 powered windows:
2. Under hood insulation:
3. Good underbody protection provided:
4. Faux diffuser at the rear, the exhaust pipe is well hidden from plain view:
5. Fuel lid:
6. Rear seat comes with an air ingress vent to keep the battery cool
7. The lane watch camera on the left. Not the best in quality though
8. You can turn on/off the lane watch camera by clicking on this switch:
9. The gear selector and wireless charging with EPB and Auto Hold:
10. Boot space – A little compromised due to the battery:
11. Honda Hybrid Logo (in Blue) and eHEV variant badging:
12. Honda Sensing Camera based ADAS:
13. Engine Bay layout:
Conclusion:
In the sea of SUVs of different shapes and sizes, the sedans are a shrinking tribe without a doubt. However, VW Virtus, Skoda Slavia, Honda City ICE, Hyundai Verna and heck even the outdated Maruti Ciaz is still holding fort against its onslaught. Considering the strong success of the Hybrid SUVs (Hyryder/Grand Vitara) and even MPVs (Toyota Hycross) in India, its baffling that Honda is having this underrated and undermarketed genius of a car lying in its armory with no one to bat for it. It will take more than SUV to Sedan converts like me to bring it out and give its rightful place under the sun. Honda really needs to realize its folly of not marketing this little gem and in turn probably many enthusiasts are not even becoming aware, what a winner of a machine the eHEV really is. I hope and pray that this post spreads some awareness about this beauty.
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