Japanese automaker Honda has just begun testing the all-new, 2020 City sedan on the streets of Thailand, ahead of its official launch in 2020. The fifth generation Honda City will be launched in India next year, and the 2020 Auto Expo could be the big event at which the car is showcased, with a launch to follow later in the year. The current City was launched at the Auto Expo in 2014, and 2020 is about the right time for the new model to come in considering the fact that the sedan will be 6 years old by then. The current Honda City is still going great guns in terms of sales but is no longer the segment leader that it used to be in the past. The likes of the Maruti Ciaz and the Hyundai Verna have stolen a march over the City sedan, and Honda will be hoping that the all-new, 5th generation model brings back the car to the top of the sales charts. For now, here’s a new render that shows what the next-generation Honda City could look like.
Render courtesy IAB
As the render indicates, the all-new City’s design is expected to be an evolution over that of the fourth generation model. The car’s front end could be inspired by the Honda Civic, with a prominent, chrome-lined grille lining a squarish bumper, similar to what is offered on the Amaze compact sedan. The new City is also likely to get slightly larger than the current version, and the interiors are expected to be a lot plusher with high quality bits all around. In terms of features, we expect the new car to go a few notches above the current version, and the same is likely with safety features as well. The all-new Honda City is likely to carry over its current line up of petrol and diesel engines. Honda has stated that it will make the 1.5 liter i-DTEC turbo diesel engine of the City compliant with Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emissions.
This is quite unlike what the market leader Maruti Suzuki will do as it plans to phase out diesel engines and instead go with petrol, petrol hybrid and electric powertrains for all its cars. Honda, for its part, will be bringing in a petrol-mild hybrid powertrain to the 2020 City, which will be the first car from the automaker in India to feature a mild hybrid unit. Eventually, more cars in the Honda line-up in India, including the Jazz will get the mild hybrid powertrain. The 2020 City will get a full petrol hybrid option in markets abroad but to keep costs affordable in India, Honda is going with a petrol mild-hybrid engine. The petrol mild hybrid powertrain is likely to be offered with 5 speed manual and CVT automatic gearbox options while the diesel powered City is expected to carry the 6 speed manual gearbox without any changes.
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