Honda City Hatchback unveiled

KUALA LUMPUR: The highly anticipated, all-new Honda City Hatchback is finally here after more than a month of teasers.

More than 2,000 bookings for the five-door hatchback had been secured even before the launch, said Honda Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Madoka Chujo.

“This new model will be the trendsetter with its first-in-segment advanced technology, premium features, versatility with Ultra Seats configurations and most importantly, it will be absolutely fun to drive,” she said yesterday.

The City Hatchback is based on the fifth-generation City sedan, which was introduced in October last year.

Chujo said over 380,000 units of the City had been sold in Malaysia since the introduction of the second-generation City in 2002.

“Today, Honda Malaysia is set to create another key milestone, offering the popular City model in a hatchback body type.

“Over the years and generations, the City has evolved into one of Malaysia’s most favourite B-segment sedans,” she said, adding that the company was targeting to sell 1,000 units of the hatchback every month.

Featuring a sporty design, the new compact model comes with an array of convenience and safety equipment and is aimed at younger users.

The car also comes with sound- absorbing materials to reduce interior noise and has a luggage space of 289 litres.

The City Hatchback is offered in four variants: S, E, V and RS e:HEV hybrid.

The S, E and V variants are equipped with a 1.5-litre dual camshaft i-VTEC engine which has a continuous variable transmission.

The RS e:HEV hybrid comes with a 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle dual camshaft i-VTEC engine coupled to an e-CVT transmission and an electric motor.

The hybrid powertrain delivers a new level of driving experience with seamless and smooth acceleration as well as excellent fuel efficiency, the company said.

A main draw of the City Hatchback is the 4-Modes versatile Ultra Seats that can be configured into Utility, Long, Tall or Refresh modes.

The Ultra Seats, which were popularised by the Honda Jazz model, allows owners to use various modes to maximise luggage carrying capacity.

The flagship RS e:HEV comes with a gloss black front grille, solid wing and door mirrors for a two-toned body colour expression.

Both the RS e:HEV and V variants also feature LED Headlights with LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), LED front fog lights, tailgate spoiler, LED rear combination lights and 16-inch alloy wheels.

The RS e:HEV is fitted with red-stitched Ultrasuede seats, the V variant gets leather seats while the S and E come with fabric seats.

The RS e:HEV, V and E variants are also equipped with an eight-inch Display Audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Connectivity, automatic air-conditioning, two USB ports and a remote engine start feature that allows owners to remotely turn on the engine and air-conditioning before entering the car.

In addition, the RS e:HEV and V variants also have Honda Lane Watch, a first in its segment for safety, which uses camera-based safety technology to monitor the rear left side of the vehicle for oncoming vehicles.

Aside from rear air-conditioner ventilation and electric parking brake, the RS e:HEV comes with the Honda Sensing suite of driver assistance safety system that includes Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Auto High Beam (AHB).

The RS e:HEV is also the second model in Honda Malaysia’s line-up, after the City sedan RS e:HEV, to feature the Honda Connect which allows owners to access vehicle diagnostics, remote applications, security applications, vehicle tracking and support services through a smartphone application.

Other standard safety features for all variants are Vehicle Stability Assist, Anti-lock Braking System, Electronic Brake Distribution, Brake Assist, Emergency Stop Signal, Hill Start Assist, rear seat Isofix i-size type and rear seatbelt reminder.

Available colours for the RS e:HEV are Platinum White Pearl and the new Ignite Red Metallic and new Meteoroid Gray Metallic.

Buyers of the S,E and V can choose from the three colours as well as Lunar Silver Metallic and Crystal Black Pearl.

While bookings for the City Hatchback can be made at all Honda outlets, the model will only be available in showrooms next year.The S, E and V variants are available immediately and priced at RM75,670, RM83,080 and RM87,860 respectively. Prices are on-the-road without insurance but includes sales tax exemption.

The RS e:HEV is only available early next year with the price to be announced closer to the delivery period.