2023 Honda City Facelift : A Close Look

The City comes with a 3-year / unlimited km standard warranty, which is extendable up to 5 years and Anytime Warranty up to 10 years from the date of car purchase. The warranty available on Lithium-ion battery of the Hybrid is 8 years / 1,60,000 km.

The 2023 Honda City Facelift has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. 11.49 – 20.39 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

Introduction

Honda launched the 5th-gen City back in July 2020. The City sedan, as everyone knows, has been Honda’s bread-and-butter model in India. It is essentially the car that has kept Honda’s cash register ticking for more than 20 years. Over the years, the car grew in size to such an extent that it made even the Civic redundant.

In 2022, Honda introduced a proper hybrid powertrain in the City, making it the first hybrid car in the lower segments of the market. The strong hybrid powertrains were always reserved for more premium offerings like the Accord and Camry before Honda introduced the system in the City. The hybrid got a lukewarm response thanks to only one variant being available and that too in the top-spec trim level. The hybrid pushed up the cost, but Honda figured that to differentiate the hybrid from the regular car, it needed another USP and as a result, included ADAS in the list of features. With that, the price was close to Rs. 20 lakhs (ex-showroom) making it a tough car to sell. On top of that, the diesel offered excellent fuel efficiency, which meant the running costs of the Hybrid were almost the same as the diesel, negating any savings over the long run.

For 2023, Honda has given some updates to the City. With the looming RDE norms, the company has axed the 1.5L i-DTec motor. This was imminent as it had already stopped using the diesel engine in the Amaze and Jazz. Honda has also rejigged the variants. The Hybrid is now offered in 2 variants – V with some features missing and the top-spec ZX. The other powertrain on offer is the ubiquitous 1.5L naturally aspirated petrol i-VTec unit which comes with a 6-speed MT and 7-step CVT. There are 4 variants for the non-hybrid MT – SV, V, VX and ZX whereas the CVT has just the top 3 variants. Both versions of the City are BS6 RDE compliant. They can run on E5 fuel (95% unleaded petrol & 5% ethanol) and are E20 material compatible.

The City is available in a choice of 6 colours – Obsidian Blue Pearl (new), Radiant Red Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, Modern Steel Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic. The overall length of the car has been increased by 34 mm to 4,583 mm. This makes the latest City the longest sedan in its segment.

On the inside, Honda introduced ambient lighting in the front door handles and front door pockets. The City also gets an upgraded infotainment system that features wireless Android Auto and Apple Car Play. There is a wireless smartphone charger as well. What’s more interesting is that now, the non-hybrid version, including the MT variants, gets ADAS while the Hybrid gets some additional ADAS features. Some of the noteworthy features include Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Adaptive Cruise Control with Low Speed Follow (a new Introduction in City e:HEV), Road Departure Mitigation System, Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Lead Car Departure Notification System (new) and Auto High-Beam.

The City comes with a 3-year / unlimited km standard warranty, which is extendable up to 5 years and Anytime Warranty up to 10 years from the date of car purchase. The warranty available on Lithium-ion battery of the Hybrid is 8 years / 1,60,000 km.

2023 Honda City Facelift Exterior Review

At the front, there is a new radiator grille and a redesigned bumper:

At the rear there is a new bumper with a larger faux diffuser which houses the reflectors:

The sides don’t see any change other than the redesigned alloy wheels:

From the rear 3/4th angle, the City looks a lot sportier with the new diffuser. It’s very RS:

Gone is the massive chrome strip that ran the length of the radiator grille. The car now gets a slimmer chrome strip with a larger honeycomb mesh section below. Hybrid variants get a blue hue around the “H” logo:

Bumper features a larger air dam with a honeycomb mesh grille and reworked foglamp housing. Front lip gets faux carbon-fibre detailing and has two sharp protruding fangs that are easy to knick on kerbs – reminds us of the old Jetta: 

16-inch, dual-tone alloy wheels have been redesigned. The City still remains under-tyred with 185/55 section rubber:

New diffuser gets carbon-fibre detailing and extends the protrudes outwards, extending the car’s length. Reflectors are now horizontally oriented:

Regular City’s front end looks identical to the Hybrid except for the missing blue hue around the logo:

Petrol version also gets a spoiler on the boot lid:

Continue reading the discussion on the 2023 Honda City Facelift on our forum.

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