LIVE – Honda Unveils the City e:HEV Hybrid, Bookings Open Now

Honda has unveiled the City Hybrid in India. The Honda City e:HEV will be available in the fully loaded ZX trim, bookings have also opened today and its price reveal with deliveries will happen in May. This becomes the first proper Hybrid model for the segment. Honda will be producing the City Hybrid locally in India at Honda’s manufacturing facility in Tapukara, Rajasthan. We expect the City e:HEV to be priced around Rs 18 lakh, ex-showroom.

The City Hybrid comes powered by the 1.5L naturally aspirated Atkinsons 4-cylinder Petrol engine (97hp) that is combined to two Electric motors (108hp) fed by an self charging Lithium ion battery. The combined power output for the City Hybrid is 124hp and 253Nm of torque. An e-CVT unit with shift-by-wire technology does the transmission duties here. Honda claims an overall best in class fuel economy of 26.5kmpl for the City Hybrid. The e:HEV electric-hybrid system uses three driving modes – EV Drive, Hybrid Drive and Engine Drive, along with Regeneration mode during deceleration.

In terms of features, the new Honda City e:HEV comes with all the features from the ZX trim, dual-tone interior theme, gloss dark wood garnish on the instrument panel, electric parking brake, auto-hold function, all four disc brakes, and AVAS. Also Honda is offering its signature Sensing Suite on the City Hybrid which is their version of the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) with safety features like blind-spot detection, emergency braking, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control etc.

Apart from ADAS the CIty Hybrid also come with 6 Airbags, ABS with EBD, Tyre pressure monitor, Vehicle stability assist, auto headlamps, Agile handling assist to name some.

Changes to the exterior design on the new Honda City hybrid include a fog light garnish, new mesh-type upper grille, new design 16-inch alloy wheels, a diffuser for the rear bumper, body coloured trunk lip spoiler, new soft blue glow Honda logo on the front and an e:HEV logo on the boot lid.

The Honda City Hybrid also comes with 3-year Unlimited kilometres warranty as standard. The customers can also opt for Extended Warranty up to 5 years and Anytime Warranty upto 10 years from the date of car purchase. The warranty available on lithium-ion battery will be 8-year or 1,60,000 Km (Whichever comes first) from the date of car purchase.

The Honda City e:HEV Hybrid competes with the Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Skoda Slavia, and the soon to be launched Volkswagen Virtus.