The smallest in its class Honda City proves to be a top seller with looks and plenty of boot room. Photo Gallery
The numbers look good for the Honda City.
More than one million have been sold in just over a decade and it is sold in 39 countries.
It has landed in Australia as the January sales numbers show all sorts of positive stuff for Honda, with the third-best result for the month and a market share which improve from an average of 8.9 per cent through 2008 to 10.4 for the start of 2009.
The numbers also show a record number of Aussies are looking for a new car in the smallest class of all, the lights, where the City is pitched.
Pricing
There is one number that grates. It is the bottom-line price for the car.
The starting sticker for the City is $20,490 and that's a lot of money for a light-class car.
Most or the major makers have some sort of a deal today that puts their Corolla-Focus-Lancer hopefuls under $19,990 and, although that sort of value will end once all the 2008 cars are gone, it still makes it tough for a newcomer like the City.
The City also costs more than a Toyota Yaris sedan and the previous high-price marker for the class, the Volkswagen Polo hatch.
Still, there is a lot of good stuff in the City deal.
It is based on the hatchback Honda Jazz with extra space in the rear seat area and a boot on the back that is claimed as the best in class and better even than a Holden Commodore.
Drivetrains
The City has a 1.5-litre engine, five-speed manual and automatic gearboxes, seats for five in the cabin, and there are four models with VTi and VTi-L equipment and a choice of gearboxes.
The top-line VTi-L automatic comes in at $25,290, which needs to be seen against a 1.5-litre Jazz hatch from $19,890 and the basic Civic at $22,990.
So I wonder if the City is one car too many.
Honda already has the Jazz and Civic, and now it is dropping a newcomer into the mix. It seems a bit like the days when it had the CR- X, Integra and Prelude all competing for sporty car sales in Australia.
But Honda Australia does not agree and believes it is doing the right deal, for itself and its customers, because the City is its smallest sedan for Australia.
“Hatch and sedan buyers are very different. We've also found in our research, with the City and Civic parked alongside each other, that the Civic is too big for some people," says Honda spokesman, Mark Higgins.
"And remember that today's Civic has grown almost as big as the original Accord Euro."
It's a good point. And it is true that a lot of people prefer a sedan over a hatch.
Even so, even Honda admits that the vast majority of light cars are sold in Australia as hatchbacks, because that is the favourite choice of the young singles and downsizers who are driving most of the showroom traffic.
"But our target is different. We believe the City will appeal to slightly older people, recently married or what we call 'empty nesters' who are looking to move out of a larger family car," Higgins says.
And it's hard to argue with the numbers. One million and 39 and all that.
Honda also has history on its side, as it did very nicely with the original City. It was a tiny little box, but in 1980 it was just what a lot of people wanted from their city car.
So the rest of the package comes down to impressive safety with anti- skid brakes and front-side-curtain airbags, standard air-con and electric windows and central locking and CD sound, and the sort of Honda design and quality that people know they can trust.
Driving
The City is ... slightly disappointing.
It is roomy with a very big boot, the ride is very good and it has classy cornering grip, but the engine is not as perky as I expected, the driving position is not good at all, and there is tyre noise every time you turn the wheel.
In short, it could be better and there are better cars in the Honda family. The Jazz, for one.
The City could also struggle against the Toyota Yaris sedan, which is considerably cheaper and has a Honda badge, as well as the dollar- driven Hyundai Getz and Holden Barina hatchbacks.
I am not a fan of the Barina, but the sedan is much, much cheaper and the dowdy old Hyundai Accent sedan is also a sub-$17,000 car.
But I am probably being too harsh because I expect a lot from any new Honda.
The City does have looks which set it apart in the light-car class, the cabin is comfy and roomy, and there is that giant boot.
It is also easy to park, does good economy numbers in the 7-litre range with better on a trip, and even the basic VTi has a punchy sound system with iPod plug-in and power.
The test car was a VTi automatic and it was commendably quiet at cruising speeds, with well-spaced ratios. But the engine seemed a bit flat, at least compared with the last Jazz I drove, and not so eager to push to the redline as most Honda motors.
The two biggest disappointments were the driving position and the road noise.
Even on the lowest setting the driver's seat is way too high. I am only 176 centimetres tall but I had to tilt the backrest to get head clearance.
It seems the car was designed for the shorter drivers who dominate sales, because the seat position is either high or stilts. At it's highest setting, with my head tipped to one side, it felt like I was trying to drive while standing up.
The seat position also put my head too close to the A pillar, and there was a similar complaint from others who drove the City.
The road noise is beyond anything I have found in any other Honda, with a groaning noise with even a slight amount of steering lock. It's easy to say the car has good grip in turns, and it has an absolutely excellent ride which is way better than the Jazz, but there is no way it should make this much noise in corners or just turning through a suburban junction.
In the end, I am surprised and confused by the City. I want to like the car, and there is a lot to like.
But everything has to be measured against the opposition and against the price. The City does well against its competition, even the Yaris which dominates light sedan sales in Australia, but I cannot see anywhere near enough value to justify recommending any baby car with a starting price of $20,490.
Snapshot
Honda City
PRICE: $22,790 as tested (VTi automatic)
ENGINE: 1.5-litre four cylinder with single-overhead camshaft and fuel injection
POWER: 88kW/6600revs
TORQUE: 145Nm/4800revs
TRANSMISSION: five-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
