With all the hoo-haa surrounding the City’s launch on 18 Dec, the Honda showrooms all over the country braced themselves for what was going to be an extremely packed weekend, as car buffs and buyers flock to check the new car out. Traveling in disguise, I headed to the premises of Tenaga Setia Resources Sdn Bhd, better known as the ‘Honda Jalan 222 showroom’.

It is one of the more famous navigational landmarks around Petaling Jaya, and being prominently located right alongside one of the busiest roads of the city. As such, it’s one of the first Honda showrooms to cross people’s minds. This, together with the limited amount of space in and around its premises leads to cars of visitors parked by the road side becoming traffic hazards.

“You turn at Jalan 222, and then you see the Honda showroom there, bla bla bla…”

I arrived at the showroom at 3:30pm on Sunday, and it still had a very healthy crowd. There were two display cars in the showroom, both being the Grade S variant. It was not the smartest setup, as this deprived visitors of the opportunity to compare both spec variants live. As a result, the salespeople were seen escorting people outside to view the Grade E test car between test drives. The test car was also decked in the Modulo bodykit and sport rims, that would add over RM7k to the retail price – think properly before ticking these options!

Plenty of visitors even at 3:30pm. Had to wait for over an hour for my test drive.

Only Grade S City on display.

A customer gets ready to take the City for a spin.

Due to the sheer number of customers present, it was over an hour before I got a chance to take the car out for a quick spin. This gave me plenty of time to examine the car in much closer detail, observe the actions of other visitors and also put some of the salespeople to test with their product knowledge.

Having pored through the entire press and technical release kit I picked up from the launch, I also have a reasonable degree of familiarity with the City’s features and technical bits. However, most people (me included) still have no idea of what the gear ratios are, as this piece of information was not available anywhere in the sales catalogs or press kits.

I am not looking for accuracy of each ratio to four decimal places, but I was curious whether the fourth gear was a 1.000 or an overdrive ratio. When quizzed about this, the salesperson I asked told me that there was ‘no overdrive, only got paddle shift.’ Well, I saw no point proceeding further, and I was none the wiser.

While the salespeople were not expecting to face someone secretly armed with info from Honda’s press release, they seemed more than ready to face the rest of the masses, as I saw all of them talking customers into nods. How many of those nods translated into bookings, only they would know, but we could see the Malaysian car inspection culture at its meticulous best – anything that can move was tested to its full range of motion. Every panel was felt to its entire length. The doors, and the boot were opened and closed more times in that one day than what most cars get in a year.

“Engine powerful or not? Save petrol or not?”

With the brighter lighting in the showroom compared to during the launch at Mandarin Oriental, I was able to get a better look at some of the smaller things in the car. The gadget-happy folks will be glad to know that their iPODs will dock with the audio units of both variants. And, as highlighted in the brochures, there were plenty of storage spaces for small objects, though the centre console box is shockingly tiny, being definitely smaller than even those found in a Wira.

iPOD dock available even in Grade S trim.

I had a bigger centre console box in my Wira.

In what was definitely the most shocking omission from a car’s spec sheet of all time, good old UMW Toyota actually specified the Vios J without intermittent wipers. Thankfully, Honda did not go down that route in the cost-cutting stakes, and kindly included intermittent wipers as standard. However, with the Grade S, you don’t get variable speed adjustment, and you have a stalk that so obviously blanked out that feature.

You at least get intermittent wipers, but no variable speed though.

Fortunately, for the rest of the car, there didn’t appear to be many obvious cost-cutting measures that can be deemed unreasonable at this part of the market. However, the rear shelf panel does appear to be rather cheap being made of a rough grade of hard plastic, and for the Grade S, there was just empty space which made me wonder how much would the underseat tray specified for the Grade E variant have cost.

Honda claimed that they have shifted the pedals of the new City 15mm to the right from the outgoing one, though I am not sure why they even bothered. The reason for this shift was to accomodate a footrest for the left foot, but having did all the hardwork redesigning the geometry of the linkages, all Honda did was slap a rubber piece which almost blends into the floor. It really didn’t feel like it was even there.

You call that a footrest?

For the rest of the interior, I have few complaints, though it seems that the rear headroom has been reduced, with my head now just touching the roof when sitting upright. Reduced practicality aside, this is still a well-designed and well-built interior – definitely superior in quality and equipment compared to the Toyota Vios even in the RM89k 1.5S trim.

In case you didn’t know, the new City’s bootspace increased from the outgoing model by a total of six litres, bringing it to 506 litres of bootspace. Access to those 506 litres is facilitated by opening a bootlid that has an inverted Y-shape shutline, and a C-shaped type hinge. In order to avert interference between the bootlid and taillights when opening, the geometry of the bootlid’s opening motion was engineered to come slightly outwards before going up. The C-shaped hinges also do not intrude too much into the bootspace, which is a problem I trust Proton Waja owners will definitely be familiar with.

“Upside-down Y” shutline consumed many engineering hours.

Finally, time to hit the road. As I reversed the car out of the parking spot, and maneuvered to exit the showroom premises, I immediately noticed that the steering is weightier and had more feel than the previous City. Thumbs up to Honda for addressing that one. I remember when testing the old City, I almost ‘over-steered’ the car onto the kerb, being not used to the degree of assist from the electric power steering (EPS).

The new 1.5 i-VTEC engine packs sufficient punch when pressed. The engine does roar a bit past 4,000rpm, which might not be to everyone’s taste, though it’s not as gruff as, say, the Waja/Lancer 4G18. The response of the paddle shifts were quick enough under hard acceleration, with only a very minor delay in shifting time. There wasn’t sufficient time to draw a proper conclusion, but the powertrain’s performance is adequate for most city and even PLUS highway driving conditions.

Whether this City is an improvement to the old is a matter of debate. Some argue it is, some argue it isn’t, both for, amazingly, very same reasons. Some like the sportier edge of the new model, others moan the sacrifice of the old model’s renowned practicality. Some think dropping the CVT for a 5A/T is a great idea, while others think the opposite. The outgoing City was more practical, and had a lot of clever and thoughtful ideas. The new one drops a few of these ideas and embraces a more outgoing image – more conventional, yet more aggressive. It’s hardly a better car, though in the eyes of many, it’s probably more likeable.

For the final two months of 2008, UMW Toyota is giving away massive promotions for its entire lineup of Toyota vehicles. Dubbed the Festive Moments Celebration, the promotions were given an extra push as Toyota showrooms nationwide organised festive open houses on 15-16 Nov.

Customers are tempted by goodies such as vouchers to fully cover for three years of maintenance, low downpayment rebates, low interest rates, bodykits, and/or a Sony Video MP3 player. Different models are offered with different combinations of the above, though the free maintenance vouchers and low interest rates seem the most useful. According to the promotional materials, all offers are valid from 1 Nov till 31 Dec, with the MP3 players attached with the usual ‘while stocks last’ label.

I was at the Subang Jaya branch on Saturday afternoon, where despite the gloomy skies above, my companion and I test drove the manual versions of the Vios 1.5J and the Avanza 1.3E.

Festive Moment at the Subang Jaya branch.

Bad weather failed to stop us getting a test drive.

I have actually tested the Vios a couple of months back. While accompanying another friend car shopping, we tested back-to-back, both variants of the Honda City and compared them against the Vios 1.5S, which retails at over RM88.3k against the City’s RM79.8k (i-DSI) and RM85.8k (VTEC).

The 1,497cc 1NZ-FE VVT-i, paired with a four-speed auto, does not produce terribly exciting figures on paper, but gave the Vios adequate shove on the straights. On the bends, the car handled surprisingly well, despite not having an independently sprung rear axle.

Going inside, for the interior, the Vios lost a quite a bit of ground against the City. Despite being the newer model against the outgoing City, the Vios’ cabin was neither as well designed nor as well built. The cabin ambience felt a class lower, and the materials felt a grade lower. All in all, at close to RM89k, I think it is a bit pricy.

Toyota Vios 1.5S - overpriced at RM89k.

However, going down the hierarchy, Toyota has the base-spec 1.5J model for your consideration - yours for RM73.5k, if you’re willing to forego the skirtings, airbags, alloy rims, rear discs, electric door mirrors and even the intermittent function for the wipers (a shocking omission, this one). You also have the option of a manual transmission, which would slash RM3.7k off the pricetag.

Indeed, at RM69.8k, the manual 1.5J is well within striking distance of even the Proton Waja CPS, and making it now a far more attractive preposition. The only omissions of consequence are the rear discs and airbags, which are still fine to most people, though the lack of intermittent wipers (standard in the Perodua Kancil) is kind of like a shocking-omission to me.

Paired with a five-speed manual, the 1.5-litre engine gives the Vios more than adequate shove, with the engine revving smoothly up to the 4000-5000rpm range. However, I was a little dissatisfied with the quality of the gearchange, which despite being sufficiently precise, had a rather long throw, while the clutch pedal was light to the point of being tricky to balance. 

I rarely recommend the entry level variant of any model as my preferred choice, but in the case of the Vios, the maths say it all, the 1.5J, at over RM16k cheaper than the 1.5S, represents the superior value.

The 1.5J – at RM69k the Vios makes more sense

Dash is plain looking, but no complaints. Five-speed gear change sufficiently precise, but clutch a little tricky to balance.

The other model catching our attention was the facelifted Toyota Avanza. To be frank, while I’ve never quite fancied an Avanza, I do respect it for being a practical and sensible family carrier. It doesn’t tickle one’s fancy, but it gets the job done - ferrying your family and things around – with minimum fuss, and I respect that.

However, the folks at UMW’s product planning division had bigger ideas and decided to tack on a set of skirts,  fake taillights on top of the D-pillar, and carbon fibre inserts on the dash. I have no idea how they came to this decision, but my companion and I found these new additions more than a little amusing. Rather than spending RM77.1k on the 1.5S, the smart money would either be on the RM69.9k 1.5E or the RM74.3k 1.5G, which both do away with these add-ons.

 
The facelifted Toyota Avanza 1.5S

What’s with the fake taillights?

Carbon fibre inserts for an Avanza?

Credit where credit is due, this water bottle hole is properly useful.

Another option to consider is the base model 1.3E, which goes for RM62k (M/T) and RM65.5k (A/T). I took a manual version out for a spin. That car came with 14-inch steel wheels but had the 1.5S bodykit which I suggest that you not take. You’d be surprised to read this: but it was a properly good drive.

The gear change was excellent – slick and precise in a way that a car like the Avanza has no right to be. When revved hard, the engine picks up pace quick enough for most people. You can’t take corners too spiritedly, but do you buy an Avanza for that? I suppose not. However, driven smoothly and sedately, the Avanza gives you brisk progress around town, and the superb turning radius makes it an excellent urban runabout.

I must admit that the Avanza gave me a properly pleasant surprise. On the road, I actually liked it better than the sedan-bodied Vios, an outcome which I totally did not expect. I would be quite happy to recommend the Avanza to anyone looking for a small practical people carrier, with the tested 1.3E manual my personal pick of the bunch. For those who want an auto, my fingers would point to the RM69.9k 1.5E, which is technically identical to the more expensive G and S variants.

Entry level 1.3E’s plain looks better than ’sporty’ 1.5S

Though 1.3E test car is equipped with 1.5S bodykit.

Interior for 1.3E does away with carbon fibre inserts. Five-speed manual offers surprisingly good gear change quality.

All-new model features a much more mature and cohesive design

The original Honda City was a novel concept, it promised Japanese design, engineering and quality at Asean prices and they did it by building the car in a low-cost production centre, Thailand.

While prices were Asean, so were the quality, only the badge and engineering were Japanese.

The second generation City departed from the plain-Jane styling of the original and went for something memorable.  Honda engineers focused so much on function, like the need for space and practicality and almost forgot about the form. The second-gen City was never accused of being pretty. Functional, practical and friendly yes but pretty? Never.

By now their engineers realise that Ugly Betty, no matter how talented she is  is never going to be as popular as a good looking car with talents so they set out to draw something more exciting.

Al I have to say is, bravo. The new car looks great, especially from the front three-quarter angle.

They incorporated the new Honda face onto their Asean car and gave it a genuinely memorable grille. This car is immediately identified as a Honda from 50 paces and it wil probably stand out against the more plainly designed competitor.

The new shape is also successful in hiding the car’s height, the key to its cavernous cabin through the very positive use of horizontal feature creases on the flanks and wedge profile.

Just take a look at the amount of metal above the frotn wheel arch and you will realise just how tall the car probably is.

The rear of the second generation City looked like it had a boot tacked onto it, this time they resolved the problem by giving the rear screen a more aggressive rake.

The compromise is evident in the shorter boot adn this will probably effect boot opening size but they have tried to resolve that problem by lowering the bonnet and extending the boot opening downwards. Just take a look at how deep the bonnet opening is.

This is good news because it means you don’t ahve to lift heavy luggage too high befire sliding it into the boot.

The angular rear lamp cluster also adds dynamism and movement to the rear of the car. it also helps to hide the thickness of the boot.

Notice also the very gentle kink in the rear window, this is a design trick to make the eyes move upwards to the base of the C-pillar and rear screen without it realising just how high it is positioned to accommodate the boot area.

Where the exterior is eciting, the cabin is slightly more predictable. The silverplastic centre console and door inserts help to relieve the monotony of dark plastic, which dominates the cabin.

The swooping lines that separate the upper and lower portions of the dashboard adds interest to the design and reflects the swooping door pocket openings.

The steering wheel is similar to other Honda models, which means that it looks good.

Seat fabric in this Thai model looks appealing but a bit too dark for my liking. Unfortunately light coloured trim gets grubby very quickly so the darker trim is actually a necessity in entry-level models like the City that are destined for first time buyers and young families.

Look carefully under the rear seats and it looks like the Thai variant does not feature the magic seats, isntead it may have under-seat storage bins.

From this picture ot appears that Honda has not compromised on headroom, in fact the rather tall rear seat position allows them to reduce seat pitch (the distance between the front and rear seats) without cramping the passengers. This contributes to the boot space.

Below is the ful Press Release from Thailand

 PRESS RELEASE:

Honda Begins Sales of All-New CITY in Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand, September 10, 2008– Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (HATC), Honda’s automobile production and sales subsidiary in Thailand, today began sales of the all-new CITY.

The design of the new CITY is based on the total pursuit of a compact, yet dynamic form with road presence. In addition, class-leading*1 interior space was achieved to create a cabin that surrounds the occupants with an open and secure feeling. The new CITY is equipped with a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine, which is further advanced in every way, including greater output and fuel consumption. Furthermore, with Honda’s unique commitment to provide both advanced safety and environmental performance, the new CITY achieves the highest levels in every area in the effort to become the new bench mark for subcompact sedans.

The first generation Honda CITY was introduced in 1996, quickly responding to the growing needs for automobiles in Asian markets associated with economic growth in the region. Today, CITY is produced in seven countries*2 and enjoyed by customers in 39 nations around the world. CITY also is becoming one of Honda’s core models, along with Civic, Accord, CR-V and Jazz (Fit), with cumulative sales passing the 1 million unit mark in late May 2008.

The sales of this third-generation CITY will begin in Thailand from today and expand successively to other existing markets. Honda also envisions further expansion of CITY sales, in order to meet growing customer needs, especially in emerging markets.

Regarding production of the new CITY, HATC will support the startup of production in developing countries including ASEAN markets, India and China. Honda’s automobile production capabilities in Thailand have grown continuously for more than 20 years, which is helping accelerate the advancement of automobile production in the region as a whole by providing technical support for other production operations in neighboring countries. Honda has been strongly promoting local autonomy by transferring more production and procurement functions from Japan to Thailand with the goal of strengthening Honda’s production strategy and to increase local parts sourcing. In addition, increased coordination with local R&D and production engineering functions (production equipment and tooling) is supporting the advancement of Honda production operations in Thailand as the leader plant in the region. As a result, the local content of the new CITY has now reached 93% from 83% of current model.

The second HATC plant will begin operation in late October of this year, expanding the total annual production capacity to 240,000 units. HATC will also expand auto exports and technical support to other operations to enhance its role as the leader plant, and strengthen it’s competitiveness in the world.