How comfortable is 2020 Honda City

NEW DELHI: Over the course of 22 years, Honda City emerged as a front-runner in the segment, reaching over 8 lakh houses. Come 2020, City is bigger and bolder. We drove and reviewed it last week but it's time to measure how comfortable interiors of the new City are.


The fifth-generation Honda City launching on July 15 is based on the concept of “Ambitious sedan,” the new City is now bigger and better than ever.

Playing largely on the interiors of the new sedan, Honda has introduced a suite of new features.

For the new ‘ambitious’ City, the interior has been completely reworked. As you step inside the new City, the first thing you will notice is the ample space it offers. All thanks to the improved length of the car.

Metallic embellishment in the AC outlet knobs and speaker area make in the interiors even more attractive. Maintaining its signature theme, the City comes with an updated dashboard in three layers with a faux-wooden strip running across the front panel. Plenty of soft-touch points shadow the usage of plastic in the dash. Overall it does offer a sense of durability.

Honda has proactively updated the seven-inch LCD TFT screen. Touch and feel are much improved and slick to operate. Apart from that, Honda has added 32 connected features as part of the latest Honda Connect App which includes Geo-fencing, live car location, service scheduler, tire deflation alert.

With the increased connectivity, Honda City is now the first Alexa-enabled car in the country. However, Hyundai Verna has the upper hand in the segment, when it comes to overall features.

Back in late-90s, when Maruti and Hyundai were busy making entry-level hatchbacks, Honda Cars introduced City. The sedan, since then, has become as synonymous as the brand in the country.

Practicality inside the car has also been improved by providing storage spaces all around the car. A smartphone tray has been installed to the central console along with the usage of a compact thin electric type heater control unit. Also, the front floor center console is equipped with 2 cup holders. Each of the doors and rear armrest has a bottle or a cup holder. New sub-pockets have been installed inside the seatback pocket to be able to store the smartphones more conveniently.

In the centre, you get a leather stitched armrest which opens up to store a considerable amount of stuff. Unlike its prime rival Hyundai Verna, the new City does not sport a vent in its glovebox to keep the beverages cool.

When it comes to comfort, Honda has never let down. In the new City, you get cushioned seats, great side support and a larger headrest. The rear seat’s comfort has been improved drastically which now optimizes the torso angle. The front seats have been made rounder and shaped at the shoulder area to secure a better sitting comfort and increase the ability to hold the passenger in place. The driver seat has also been improved to have a better driving visibility and pedal position to reduce driver’s stress.

While the reworked instrument panel provides greater knee room for the driver, the rear-seat legroom has been improved with an increase of 27mm easily affording three people in the second row.

That said, the front seats in the 5th generation Honda City lack a ventilation facility, which is available in Hyundai Verna.

For the first time in its segment, Honda City has adopted a two dials meter with a large 7-inch color TFT LCD panel.

The new City comes with an updated air conditioning switch called “MAX COOL” which can be set to the lowest temperature by just a single switch. Honda has worked massively on improving rear-seat comfort by increasing the airflow of more than 12% compared to the current model.

Launching into the market on July 15, City in its 5th generation is a charm. Honda Cars India would wish to turn the tide with the new City in a Covid-plagued market.