Leaves a little to be desired

Leaves a little to be desired

From Honda one has grown to expect extremely good quality and amazing experience. But off late this expectation is becoming a little more of a hope than a normal experience. There are many stories about how people have had issues with components in the car and the company turning a deaf ear to the woes of the customer. I have also been on the receiving end of this, when after 15 minutes of driving out of the showroom, the car refused to start and move smoothly. After multiple back and forth in figuring out where the problem is, it finally got resolved a good 3 weeks later. Anyway, so after that initial 3 weeks, the car has mostly been a good experience in terms of driving. The interiors are plush, comfortable and adjusted well ergonomically to suit my healthy body type. The car is smooth and hardly makes a sound when driving on highways or clear roads, cruise control is a blessing while on highways. In the city, the car definitely takes a beating on the mileage, and with the ruthless traffic in our country scratches are bound to occur. But the car takes on the road like a king, although for people migrating from a small hatchback to a luxury sedan, the adjustment in clutch etc can be a little painful initially as you do not realize the power or throttling needed in jam packed situations. What is extremely amazing is the elegnace and the look of the car and the overall experience of sitting luxuriously inside a vehicle as you see traffic engulfing the road around you. The car does not leave much to be desired for a normal Indian middle class citizen. What pains however is the quality of the equipment and the stuff under the hood. In an effort to cut costs, the company has compromised on the raw material they use for things like wires, hoods, caps and other connecting items you find under the hood. The cheap manufacturing sort of shows, and is even more apparent if you compare an older Honda (2007 and earlier) to the new Honda city. There is a world of difference here. But for someone who is not too bothered by stuff that cannot be seen, this does not really make much of a difference. Although it might be good to have a Road side assist service handy just in case you do get unlucky with your car. For a family of 4 adults and 2 young kids, this car does more than enough justice in terms of the leg room, the back seat, the rear ac vents and overall comfort. Where it leaves a little room for improvement is the sudden change in the pickup or loss of power you feel in a full car vs with just 2 members. Overall, for an urban dweller who wants to upgrade, this provides a decent option. But with in city mileage almost coming to the same around 10kmpl for peak traffic time drivers, a Verna or a Vento would be equally good. Vento would be perhaps more sturdy in case of an unforeseen accident occurs. City has a slightly poorer exterior body quality, mine got a dimple when a friend of mine just leaned on it and put his body weight on the side of my car. Something you wouldn't find happening on a Vento. If you are constrained by a couple of lakhs on the budget, go for a higher version Vento or Verna over this. If budget is not really your main concern but luxury and comfort is, then go for a City. It's not going to really disappoint you, but you'll have a more real relationship with your car :)