Introducing the much awaited 2017 Honda City facelift in the country earlier today, Honda Cars India also revealed that the C-segment sedan has already garnered over 5000 bookings. The company confirmed that the City facelift received the bookings within 12 days since order books opened with over 70 per cent of the bookings being made for the petrol variant. The car comes in a total of 11 variants and we have already told you which ones should you pick.
Bookings for the Honda City facelift started on 3rd February for a token amount of Rs. 21,000, while prices were announced today starting at Rs. 8.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The 2017 City gets updated with a tweaked front featuring a revised grille and bumper, while the headlamp cluster now incorporates LED lamps on the top trims. The LED DRLs are standard across all variants. At the rear, the tail lights also get LED treatment on the top trims, while the bumper looks sharper with subtle changes. There is also a new modern steel metallic or grey shade added to the palette. Honda also offers several additional accessories and customisation packages.
While the arch rival the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz has been consistently selling over 5000 units every month, the Honda City averaged less than 3500 units during the same period in the past months. However, sales in January 2017 saw a sudden spike for the City with 6355 units being sold. The numbers could be due to dealers clearing existing stock; whereas the Ciaz led the battle with 6530 units sold.
The 2017 Honda City gets new alloy wheels
That said, it will now be important for Honda to sustain those numbers for facelifted model that has see a marginal hike in prices. The Ciaz had the upper hand when compared on pricing and features, but the 2017 Honda City gets more gadgetry on board to justify the high pricing. The City is also the better car when the petrol variants are considered.
Speaking on the launch, Yoichiro Ueno, President and CEO, Honda Cars India said, "The Honda City has been our most successful model in the country. It has brought joy to over 6.5 lakh customers across the country and has been India's most successful sedan since its launch in 1998."
Talking about power options, the 2017 Honda City uses the same 1.5 litre petrol and diesel engines with the petrol mated to a 5-speed manual and CVT transmission, while the diesel comes paired to a 6-speed manual. Interestingly, the petrol and diesel manual are now 0.4 kmpl lesser efficient than its predecessors.
