The much-awaited Honda City Hybrid recently debuted in the country with a price tag of Rs 19.50 lakh. This new model is based on the ZX variant of the 5-gen Honda City and is the first mainstream segment model to come with strong hybrid-electric technology. We can anticipate the deliveries to begin immediately since manufacturing at Honda’s Tapukara factory in Rajasthan is already in full gear.
The Honda City e:HEV is equipped with Honda’s innovative self-charging and efficient two-motor electric hybrid system, which is linked to a 1.5-litre Atkinson-Cycle DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine, which has a fuel economy of 26.5 kmpl and emits ultra-low emissions. With the new City, Honda has also launched its Advanced Intelligent Safety Technology “Honda SENSING” for the first time in India.
The “Honda SENSING” ADAS system employs a high-performance front camera with a wide-angle, far-reaching detecting system to scan the road ahead and inform the driver to limit the danger of accidents and, in certain situations, act to avert or diminish the severity of a collision. The Honda Sensing feature comprises functions like Collision Mitigation Braking, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Auto High Beam and all.
As far as design is concerned, the sedan gets no major differences from the existing model. There are only a few updates that include blue inserts on the Honda logo, claw-type fog light embellishment, black diamond-cut alloys, e:HEV insignia at the rear end, and a rear bumper diffuser with carbon finish and trunk lip spoiler. There are fully LED headlights with a 9 array inline shell, integrated LED DRL, L-shaped LED turn indicators, and Z-shaped 3D wrap around LED tail lamps to add to the overall appearance.
The interior features a dual-tone Ivory and Black colour scheme. Interesting thing is that drivers no longer need to wrestle with a large stalk to engage the parking brake, as the new city’s electric parking brake can be actuated with the push of a button. Premium leather upholstery, a 1-touch electric sunroof, LED interior room lights, and ambient lighting rounds out the cabin.
The Honda City Hybrid e:HEV is powered by a 1.5-litre Atkinson petrol unit that generates 98 bhp of maximum power along with 127 Nm of peak torque. It gets two electric motors fitted with an internal combustion engine (IC). With the electric motors, the sedan is able to generate a power of 109 bhp and a torque of 253 Nm. The electric motors have been into the front wheels of the car, which are further connected to a single fixed-ratio gearbox.