All you need to know about the India-bound Honda City diesel
Every five years, Honda replaces its star car, the City. It's three generations old and it's now time for the all-new model to roll out. Honda has been tight-lipped about disclosing any details of the car. There have been no test cars spotted either. So what can one expect from the new City?
It's finally a diesel!Yes that's right, ever since the competition heated up a few years back, the sales of the once best selling C-segment car have fallen. The nemesis being Hyundai's Verna, Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid. Even affordable cars such as the Sunny, Dzire and now even Honda's very own Amaze have dented sales. Honda didn't have a diesel engine that could fit into the City but they finally developed the  i-DTEC engine. We have already seen it in the Amaze and love it for its performance and efficiency, not to mention linear and smooth power delivery. The engine never made it to the current City since Honda didn't want to mount this engine to a car that was originally not designed to accommodate such an engine. However, the same motor with added power and torque (thanks to a VGT) will be available in the all-new City. We expect the power output to be somewhere in the region of 120PS and 220Nm. Fuel efficiency is also expected to be best in segment. The NVH levels of the i-DTEC motor in the Amaze is slightly on the higher side but expect the City to boast better NVH levels since the car will get better damping.
More features and spaceThe current City is not short on cabin or boot space but the newer model is only expected to grow. Thanks to better space management which Honda designers have pioneered in the newer models, expect the car to offer best in class space as well. The Verna offers more features than the current City so expect Honda to try and match the Hyundai.
Modern designThe City has always been a good looker (except the 2nd gen model). The new car will follow the Japanese manufacturer's latest H-Design first seen in the recently unveiled 2015 Honda Fit/Jazz. The City is based on the same hatchback but don't expect it to be just a booted version but a completely new and unique design.
When is it expected and should you wait for it?There are talks about the car being unveiled later this month and the launch happening at the Auto Expo next year. We believe the car will be very promising and will help Honda to get back to the top in the competitive C-segment. If you're looking at buying a diesel or even a petrol car from this segment, our advice is to just wait for a few more months.