Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) is in full force with its Honda City. The nameplate is now in its 5th generation, and it’s in the best shape it’s ever been in the Philippines. Now with a hatchback joining the nameplate, there is more variety if you’re in love with the mature design of the sedan or hatch.
It’s not hard to deny that Honda has loaded the City to the brim with features and amenities that will make your driving and ownership experience something noteworthy. While listing all of the best features will take an afternoon and a half, here are 7 features and traits that make it easy to love the Honda City in either of its body styles.
Alluring exterior
Even in photos, it’s hard to resist the Honda City’s allure. It’s mature, and it feels like Honda has taken from the Accord’s styling and feel. The attraction extends to the hatchback as well with its design being reminiscent of some European hatchbacks.
Especially in its RS trim, the City does well to captivate you even before you get in the driver’s seat. Gloss black elements, attractive 16-inch alloys, spoilers, and other bits and bobs that just add a lot of flavor to the design. To us, it’s the perfect mix of sporty and mature at the same time. Honda also doesn’t leave you with just the RS model, the brand also gives you the option to get a classier model in the form of the V trim level. With a light-colored interior and chrome accents on the exterior, the City truly is versatile and can put on some board-room-appropriate chops to blend in the business district.
Inviting interior
Stirring is the word when you step into the interior of the City. You get a nicely molded dashboard with accent lighting all around, an easy-to-use gauge cluster, a large infotainment screen in the middle, comfortable seats, and space that will make you think that you’re in something larger than you bought.
Even as a subcompact sedan, the rear legroom at the back of the City is astounding. If the 5th generation City was launched way back when it would be able to rival some compact and even midsize sedans in terms of rear legroom. Heck, it even beats some models for rear-seat amenities alone. Rear climate control vents, rear charging ports, and a center armrest with cupholders make riding in the back of the City just as enjoyable as driving it.
Cargo space
Speaking of interior space, cargo volume is also a big plus for the City. The trunk capacity of the sedan stands at 519 L, which means that you can load it with enough junk in the trunk to rival compact and even some midsize sedans in terms of rear trunk volume. The opening is also wide enough for most things.
Capable infotainment
We’ve said in the past that Honda was one of the first brands to market with what we consider to be a fully-featured infotainment system. The Honda Civic and the Honda CR-V were the first in the Philippines, and that advancement has extended into the Honda City lineup. Similar to the Accord, Honda isn’t sticking to a 7-inch display for its touchscreen system, instead, it is going with a slightly larger 8-inch unit, still with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. An inch over the last generation may not seem like much, but because the market is trending towards larger and larger screens, a bump in size won’t hurt, to say the least.
LED lights
When the Honda Civic first launched in 2016, we were thoroughly impressed by the headlight array that Honda gave its compact sedan. Fast forward, and the capable headlights find their way onto the Hond City. Multi-reflector LEDs help the sedan illuminate even the darkest of roads at night. We always say that a capable lighting system is a very undervalued asset to have on your car, but Honda not only nailed the functional aspect of these lights but also the aesthetic boost that only a multi-reflector LED light array can provide.
Combination seats
If you can’t decide whether the leather is better, the City comes equipped with a combination set of seats. While it is not fully leather in its execution, Honda has done well to create depth and added comfort by upholstering the seats with suede, cloth, and leather panels that make add to the sporting character of the City. It comes in a black and red color scheme which matches the RS design aesthetic, and ties in nicely with the rest of the accents found in the cabin. Meanwhile, other variants get cloth upholstery which is good in some areas, but because it is not full leather, you won’t have to worry about it getting sticky or too hot on a sunny day for any variant in the lineup.
There’s a hatchback
Finally, if you like everything that you’ve read about the City, but want something different, Honda gives you the option to go for a hatchback instead of a sedan. The choice is yours if you want something more conventional or out of the box. There is no doubt that any of the body styles will still feature the attractive exterior design, the capable infotainment, and the large interior space, however, there are certain aspects that make the hatch an enticing buy.
For starters, you get more flexible cargo space, and the City Hatchback also gets Honda’s Magic Seats that can either fold up or fold flat depending on what you want to load in the car. You also get a wider cargo opening because of the 5th door, and to add some flavor into the mix, you also get a different set of seats that further sets the hatch apart from the sedan. Its 289 L of cargo space is maximized thanks to the wide opening of the 5th door. Fold up the seats, and you get enhanced vertical loading capacity, fold it flat and you get up to 841 L of usable space, which is even more than the trunk of the sedan.
If you do want the Honda City, be sure to get a quote or even reserve a unit with our 'Buy Online' feature.
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