Honda City Hatchback Revealed, Unlikely To Make It To India

Modified On Nov 25, 2020 01:19 PM By Akshit for Honda City 2020-2023

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The City hatchback is over 4m long, making it impossible for it to compete in the premium hatchback space

The City hatchback is 200mm shorter and has a wheelbase only 11mm shy of the sedan.
It comes with Magic Seats: flexible seats to alter the layout to make more space.
The layout and features list of the hatch remains unchanged from that of the sedan’s.
It will be powered by a standalone 122PS 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with a 7-step CVT.

Honda has launched the hatchback version of a sedan we never knew we needed. Unfortunately for us, it's in Thailand. The City hatchback is a flat-back version of an otherwise iconic sedan, the City.

In terms of looks, the City hatchback is a beauty. Honda’s experience with the Civic hatch can be counted as a factor for its execution with the City hatchback’s design. The chopped up City is 4,394mm long, 1,748mm wide, and 1,488mm tall. It is 200mm shorter than the City and has a wheelbase of 2,589mm, which is just 11mm shy than that of the sedan’s.

Sure, the size calls for a very roomy interior, but there is more. As a premium hatchback offering, it gets one thing that the India-spec Jazz now misses out on: Magic Seats. Yes, the same flexible seats that allowed you to alter the seating layout, making more space to fit people and/or luggage. The interiors remain unchanged from the sedan’s and so does the list of features.

The black colour scheme with red stitching that you see here comes in the Thai-spec RS variant. It gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected car technology, keyless entry with push-button start/stop, climate control, cruise control, lane assist camera, and a multi-info display. Safety features available onboard include multiple airbags, parking sensors with rear camera, and ABS with EBD.

Under the hood, it gets a sole 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that puts out 122PS of power and 173Nm of torque. Hot hatch much? The engine comes mated to a CVT only.

It does not make sense for Honda to launch the City hatch in India as it would have to replace the Jazz and compete with sub-4m premium hatchbacks like the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Toyota Glanza, Tata Altroz, Hyundai i20, and Volkswagen Polo. Honda would not be able to price it aggressively as the City hatch is as long as the Hyundai Creta at 4.3m (sub-4m cars attract lower taxes). For now, we will have to make do with the Jazz. That, however, is not a bad option either as it was recently updated in terms of its design and features.