The Honda City is a subcompact car manufactured by the Japanese manufacturer Honda since 1981. Originally made for the Japanese, European and Australasian markets, the City was retired without replacement in 1994. The nameplate was then revived for use on a series of compact four door sedans particularly aimed at developing markets, mainly sold in Asia outside of Japan but lately also in Latin America and Australia.
1ST GENERATION OF HONDA CITY
The first generation City was launched as a three-door hatchback back in 1981. It was also available as a convertible and in Australia, was sold as a two-seater van. In some export markets, this Honda City was sold as the Honda Jazz.
In September 1982 a turbocharged version of the 1231 cc Honda ER engine was introduced. A Pininfarina designed drop-top Cabriolet utilized the wider fenders and bigger bumpers of the Turbo II “Bulldog”, but was only normally available with the naturally aspirated 67 PS (49 kW) engine. There was also a Pro-series of van versions with either two or four seats. A high-roof “R Manhattan Roof” version with a 10 cm taller roof also appeared.
Exports of the City were only of naturally aspirated hatchback and van versions. In Europe it was renamed Honda Jazz, due to Opel having the rights to the City name after having used it on a hatchback version of the Kadett C. It was marketed in Europe from 1982 to 1986, but was generally priced too high to compete. The European Jazz was only classified as a four-seater, and offered either 45 or 56 hp depending on fuel grade. The City was also sold in Australia (in two seater ‘van’ form, to circumvent Australian import restrictions on passenger vehicles at the time) and New Zealand (where it was locally assembled).
2ND GENERATION OF HONDA CITY
Honda replaced the original City in 1986 (designated GA1), with an update in 1989 (GA2). This model was produced until 1994. The Fit name also first appeared as a trim variant of the City. There was no convertible model. In most European and Australasian markets, the City‘s market position was filled by the Honda Logo in 1999.
3RD GENERATION OF HONDA CITY
The third generation Honda City, codenamed SX8 but with chassis codes 3A2 (1.3) and 3A3 (1.5), was based on the EK Civic platform. It was designed for and sold in the South East Asian market only , launch with slogan “Smart for the new generation” in 1.3-liter version launch , 1.5-liter version are launch with “Top-in-class smart” slogan .
This was the first Honda City sold officially in Malaysia, although it was the third model to bear the name. The third generation city had fuel injected SOHC 16-valve D-series engines, namely variations of the D13B and D15B. The original 1.3 L (1,343 cc) D13B produced 95 PS (70 kW) at 6,400 rpm for a claimed top speed of 171 km/h (106 mph) and 0–100 km/h in 11.3 seconds.This was later complemented by the 1.5 litre D15B, which was reduced in power for the Asian markets where the car was sold, but had a power to weight ratio superior to the competition nonetheless. The D15B engine also arrived in a version featuring VTEC, with an output of 115 PS (85 kW). The VTEC-engined City has a 0–100 km/h time of around 10 seconds
4TH GENERATION OF HONDA CITY
The fourth generation City made its world debut at Thailand International Motor Expo 2002 in November 2002. It was a major revolution over the previous model. It garnered as much praise for it’s excellent practically and economy as it did with criticisms to its awkward looks. Its curious proportions was due in no small part to it being a sedan derived from the hatchback Jazz. Honda did an excellent job packaging a fantastic interior (in terms of space and design) into a small footprint, but neglected to give the overall look some cohesive proportions.
Honda City in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore and Malaysia uses the CVT gearbox for both i-DSI and VTEC variants. The CVT gearbox simulates a 7-Speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic style override using paddle shift buttons. This is very rare for a subcompact of its class.
5TH GENERATION OF HONDA CITY
The new Honda City was unveiled in Bangkok, Thailand at Siam Paragon on 10 September 2008 followed by New Delhi, India on 25 September 2008 and January 2009 in Pakistan and Indonesia. Honda also announced that the City will be offered in selected European countries with a 1.4 liter i-VTEC engine mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed i-SHIFT automated manual transmission. Poland is among the first European countries to receive the new City.
The Thai market Honda City comes in three variants which is S model, V Model and SV model. The Indonesian market was offered with two trims, the lower-spec S and the higher-spec E with reclining seats. Both are powered by a 1.5 engine putting out 120 PS (88 kW), and both are available in manual and automatic transmissions. It was launched in Malaysia on 18 December 2008. Comes with E and S version. Presently, Honda Malaysia launched the new Honda City Special Edition.
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