Old-gen Honda City Re-launched in Two Variants, Almost a Lakh Rupees Cheaper

For the very first time, Honda Cars India Ltd will be seen selling two generations of the Honda City alongside each other. While the fifth-gen City sedan is on sale in a price range of Rs 10.89-14.64 lakh (ex-showroom), the old version has been repostioned to retail from Rs 9.3 lakh-10 lakh (ex-showroom), thereby undercutting the fifth-gen model by almost a lakh rupees. 

Dwindling popularity of diesel models in the sub-Rs 10 lakh price range combined with the requirement to maintain a comfy pricing gap from the new-gen City have made Honda to phase out the diesel variants of the older-gen models. The latest-gen City, however, is available with the BS6-compliant version of the same 1.5-litre oil-burner that earlier powered the previous-gen City. 

Meanwhile, the previous-gen Honda City continues with its BSVI 1.5-litre 4-cylinder single-cam petrol engine that churns out 119 HP of maximum power and 145 Nm of peak torquee. The only transmission choice for the older City is that of a 5-speed manual transmission, while the 7-step CVT automatic unit that was available previously has been discontinued. The previous-gen Honda City is now on sale only in SV and V grades.

In case you are searching for an automatic option with the Honda’s executive sedan, you will have to opt for the fifth-gen model. Currently, the CVT variants of the new-gen City are priced in between Rs 12.2 – 14.45 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), which is, frankly, a sensible price for a well-loaded C2-segment sedan with a powerful engine and the convenience offered by a CVT.

When Honda launched the BS6-compliant fifth-gen City in India earlier this year, the existing fourth-gen car was available in four grades – SV, V, VX and ZX with the prices ranging from Rs 9.91 to Rs 14.31 lakh. With an aim of minimalizing the overlap between the new and old City, Honda has, apart from removing the automatic and diesel versions, even discontinued the higher-spec VX and ZX variants on the older car. All this enables the carmaker to ensure that prices of the older model do not exceed the Rs 10 lakh mark.