Honda SIEL introduced its new version of City ZX. City ZX comes with four variants i.e. ZX VTEC, ZX EXi, ZX GXi and ZX CVT. The design liberates more space on the inside. The City has a cab-forward posture with a sharply raked front windscreen that ends over the front wheels. The ZX’s slightly longer wedge-like nose features sharply-etched headlamps, Honda’s updated corporate grille and sportier bumpers. Honda has tried to lessen the visual bulk from the rear three-quarters appreciated to the wider tail-lamps and the different bumpers.

The interior is large and airy, with plenty of glass area and light colours everywhere. This one is classy and sporty, and uses quality materials. The three hooded dials look great and the controls look great. The seats are comfortable, with good support and plenty of legroom. There are plenty of storage areas and good standard equipment, including steering and seat height adjustment and an Alpine stereo. Visibility is good. However, the huge windscreen means the car heats up very quickly in the sun. There are some areas that could be improved upon: the ‘wood’ in the cabin is unconvincing, there’s only a temperature warning light instead of a proper dial, a folding armrest instead of a split/folding rear seat, and a lack of safety equipment. The VTEC version comes with slightly spruced up interiors with aluminium inserts that look smart.

Honda is driven by iDSI, VTEC Engine and CVT technology. iDSI results in Maximum Fuel Economy Meets Reasonably Good Power. Honda’s intelligent Dual and Sequential Ignition (i-DSI) engine is the second i-Series engine, next to i-VTEC, that employs compact combustion chambers and two spark plugs per cylinder with individually controlled ignition timing for more rapid and complete combustion. Narrower valve angles and other refinements have been employed to make the combustion chambers as compact as possible.

Honda CITY ZX also comes with the latest version of original Honda Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) engine that employs compact combustion chambers and new design intake port with Narrow Valve angles for Rapid Combustion and reduced friction leading to compatibility of fuel economy and powerful dynamic run.

The operation of a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) differs from that of conventional auto transmission, as there are no individual gear ratios, thus eliminating shift shock and lapses as ratios change. It’s like having a single ratio, which operates throughout the rev range. The CVT computer continually monitors throttle opening and duration, and automatically changes driving mode for optimum control. It has an optimized belt speed ratio range and direct control of pulley side pressure to enhance transmission efficiency and fuel economy.

The City ZX is primarily an urban cruiser, and everything, from its engine to its gearbox and chassis, has been geared up for that. The car uses a very sophisticated 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol, which is very different from the earlier City’s. The i-DSI motor fires two sparks per cylinder for efficient combustion and has been mapped for good low-end torque, rather than top-end performance. As a result, this 77bhp motor is extremely useable at city speeds, helped along by the short gear ratios. It is also very quiet and smooth and the manual gearbox extremely slick and pleasant to use. The City will also cruise quite happily on the highway, but ask it to overtake in a hurry and it will neither respond as quickly as you’d like nor give you the sort of top-end whack you really want. The City works particularly well with the optional CVT transmission. It also has a Sport and a Low mode, the first giving harder acceleration, the second keeping the transmission in a low ratio, which makes it easier to climb slopes. There is a performance drop as compared to the manual.

The new VTEC with its 100bhp engine is a good highway car, and gratitude to it being pretty tractable (it pulls from as low as 1500rpm), city driving is effortless. As with all Honda engines, it is smooth and refined and the extra power doesn’t have a huge impact on fuel economy. The VTEC returns 10.5kpl in the city and an impressive 16.3kpl on the highway. The i-DSi engine returned a superb 10.9 and 16.6kpl in manual guise, and the CVT returned a very respectable 8.9kpl (city) and 14.5kpl (highway).

The City also has a well laid out chassis and comes with all four disc brakes, ventilated up front and solid at the rear, which is great help during crunch situations, but Honda have not provided ABS(anti-lock brakes) even as an option. This Honda has excellent dynamics, the chassis although a bit flexi when fully loaded is able to transfer weight quite well, but the steering is too light at low speeds and as the speeds rise, you feel bit detached from the action due to this lightness of the steering. The extremely disappointing thing about this car the tires, 175/65 R14. These tires wreck the car’s overall dynamics, they lock up too easily under pressure from the ventilated discs and during cornering, they are unable to cope with the kind of cornering and the amount of power that this car is able to transfer to the tarmac.

In case of an accident, the impact absorbing wiper pivots soften the force of the collision. The bonnet too, is impact absorbing. There is an empty space between the bonnet and the engine, which tries to ensure that no one is very seriously injured. The collapsible bonnet hinge is easily deformed in the event of a collision to help reduce injury to pedestrians. The impact absorbing fender is structured to reduce the force of impact.

Underneath the skin, the City is a very modern car, with a well-designed, stiff frame, MacPherson struts up front and an H-type torsion beam at the rear. The ZX rides much better now thanks to revised spring and damper rates. The VTEC comes with disc brakes all around, but ABS is not even on the options list.

Filed under: Honda Cars in India