The Honda City has been considered a staple among sedan buyers in India since its debut back in 1998. The latest fifth-generation City, first introduced in 2020, has managed to keep that spark alive. It shares its Honda Global Small Car platform with the larger Elevate crossover. Of late, however, the City has not been talked about as much.
This could likely be one of the reasons behind the launch of the new Honda City Apex Edition. Honda Cars India stated in a press release that the Apex Edition will be sold only for a limited period. The Honda City’s closest competitors include the Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Skoda Slavia, Volkswagen Virtus, etc.
Price of the Honda City Apex Edition
Right off the bat, you should know that the City Apex Edition is neither an all-new model nor a facelift. What it’s is essentially the fifth-generation City but with a few extra goodies tacked on. Note that the Apex Edition is only available with the V and VX variants, not with the top-spec ZX variant.
- V (MT) – ₹13.30 Lakh
- V (CVT) – ₹14.55 Lakh
- VX (MT) – ₹14.37 Lakh
- VX (CVT) – ₹15.62 Lakh
The prices mentioned above are ex-showroom, India. In case you’re wondering, the City Apex Edition variants cost ₹25,000 more than the standard variants they’re based on.
Exterior of the Honda City Apex Edition
Even if you’re a Honda loyalist, differentiating between the standard City and this limited-run model would prove tricky. Fortunately, Honda has added an “Apex Edition” emblem on the bootlid and edition-specific icon badges on the front fenders. These seismic changes aside, however, the exterior of the City Apex Edition is largely identical to the standard model it’s based on.
The fifth-gen Honda City is a good-looking car, so the lack of cosmetic updates is not necessarily a bad thing. The sleek front-end styling is well-proportioned and even sporty in its appearance. There’s a lower-lip spoiler, 3-eye projector headlights, stylish LED DRLs, a chunky chrome bar, and a simple radiator grille. The Katana-inspired side character line looks quite cool.
A side view of the Honda City also reveals a sharkfin roof antenna, blacked-out window surrounds, and 15-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. The wraparound taillights are the most noteworthy design detail at the rear of the Honda City. It features stylish Z-shaped LED lights with segmented markers on the side, beckoning one to take a closer look.
This is when you’ll notice the subtle ducktail spoiler design on the bootlid and a sporty-looking diffuser effect in the bumper. The Honda City Apex Edition is available in Golden Brown Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic, Obsidian Blue Pearl, Platinum White Pearl, and Radiant Red Metallic. The Honda City’s boot is a spacious 506 litres, making it family-friendly.
Interior & Features of the Honda City Apex Edition
Unlike its exterior, the interior of the Honda City Apex Edition is where customers will find some apparent changes. The beige leatherette seat upholstery of this limited-run City gets the distinctive “Apex Edition” iconography on the front headrests. The same symbol is replicated on the rear seat cushions as well. Apart from these, there are a few other goodies.
The interior adds leatherette trim around the primary instrument console and on the door pads. This heightens the sense of luxury and comfort experienced by the occupants. Honda also includes its optional 7-colour LED ambient lighting package, which is standard with the City Apex Edition. This further helps elevate the premium experience that one expects from a Honda City.
However, apart from these extra accessories, the Apex Edition’s interior resembles the standard City V and VX variants. This means that the list of features includes an electric sunroof, automatic climate control, push-button ignition, and paddle shifters (CVT). There’s reach & rake adjustment for the steering wheel, a digital MID, front & rear cupholders, plus multiple charging ports.
The City Apex Edition offers Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen, and an 8-speaker sound system. Customers get to use the Honda Connect telematics app, along with voice recognition and Amazon Alexa. Improving comfort are features like rear AC vents, a rear sunshade, and a rear-centre armrest. Seat comfort and rear-occupant space have never been an issue with the City, anyway.
Powertrain and Performance of the Honda City Apex Edition
Under the bonnet of the Honda City Apex Edition lies a 1.5-litre four-cylinder i-VTEC petrol engine. It features variable valve timing and dual overhead camshafts for superior performance and everyday drivability. The transmission options include a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 7-speed CVT. The 7 ‘steps’ in this automatic gearbox can be kind of controlled using the steering-mounted shift paddles.
The 1.5-litre four-popper churns out 119 hp and 145 Nm of torque. In its manual avatar, this engine promises 17.8 kmpl, with the CVT version rated at 18.4 kmpl. The Honda City (manual) is capable of breaching 190 kmph with relative ease while hitting 100 kmph in under 11 seconds. No doubt, the Honda City is fun to drive.
Its responsive and rev-happy engine sounds good, too. The clutch & manual gearbox are fantastic to operate, even in city traffic. However, the 185-section tyres protest quite early when cornering with enthusiasm, making you back off a bit. The NVH levels could have been better contained, with road noise creeping in rather easily.
Safety Features of the Honda City Apex Edition
The Honda City Apex Edition gets vehicle stability assist, traction control, hill-start assist, ‘Agile Handling Assist’, and 6 airbags. The Honda Sensing suite ropes in adaptive cruise control, collision-mitigation braking, lane-keeping assist, road-departure mitigation, auto high-beam, and ‘LaneWatch Camera’. The latter uses a camera mounted to the passenger-side ORVM to avoid blind spots.
Conclusion
The only reason to get the Apex Edition is if you’ve 25,000 rupees extra when buying the standard City. Most of what you get here is superficial and could be added as an accessory later. That said, this Apex Edition brings the Honda City in the limelight.
FAQs
What is the price of Honda City in India?
The Honda City costs from ₹12.36 Lakh to ₹16.63 Lakh in India.
What is the boot space of Honda City?
The Honda City has a boot space of 506 litres.
Is the Honda City available in automatic transmission?
The Honda City is available with a CVT automatic transmission.
