2014 Honda City First Impressions

The new Honda City was recently revealed in India. Both the exterior and interior of the car have been revised, offering a more refined small sedan. Right away I'm noticing several things, so let's get right into my first impressions.

Front

The front of the car looks like the 9th generation Honda Civic, which is a good thing. The previous generation had disproportional headlights that always annoyed me. There is a large, single-piece chrome grille that almost looks like an Acura beak, but it's not. It adds a tasteful look to the front (much better than the oversized grille of the previous generation), though I'm wondering how it would look body-colored or glossy black. The headlights have separate bulbs for the high and low beams, which is a sign of quality.

Rear

While noticeably different at first, the stretched out taillights add a premium look to an otherwise small car. They are not LEDs, but I wouldn't expect that, at least for the Indian market version. Another gripe, the third brake light isn't LED. Even my old Honda Fit has an LED third brake light. Like the front, there is a chrome piece running above the number plate area, connecting both taillights. I also think this looks nice. From a three-quarters view, the car appears to have proportions similar to the Fiesta sedan.

Interior 

Looks just like the current third generation Fit, although there appears to be more hard-touch plastics on the version that I'm looking at. Features include steering wheel audio, cruise, and phone controls, leather-wrapped steering wheel, audio system with touch screen display (? maybe - I haven't seen this unit before, but it has physical buttons unlike the 2014 Civic, Fit, and Accord.), fog lights, push-button start, touch-sensitive climate controls, and rear air vents with two power outlets (really, $40,000 Acura RDX?).

It's loaded, and I would imagine that US models will have even more features and premium touches like a stitched dashboard. The gauges are well-lit and easy to read, with a tachometer, speedometer, and digital display for fuel, temp, odometer, etc.

Rear seat space appears to be excellent, although pictures can be deceiving.

Engines

For the Indian market are a 1.5L gasoline and 1.5L diesel. Expect the 1.5L gasoline to be in the US model. Not surprised about these powertrain choices as I'm sure the Earth Dreams versions are even better than the 1.5L in my 2013 Fit.

Overall

There has been negative reception about the car, but somehow I always like what other people dislike. If the drive is refined, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a Honda City in a few years.