Honda City Sport Launched In India At Rs 14.89 Lakh
The Honda City has been a very popular model in the Indian market. The outgoing generation has, however, lagged behind its predecessors in acceptance. To give its sales a boost, the company has now launched a new limited-run, special edition called the City Sport. It is essentially, a bolder, sportier avatar that comes with an affordable price tag. In the City lineup, it sits above the standard CVT (V) variant and has an ex-showroom price of Rs 14.89 lakh.
Honda recently shared a teaser of the Sport variant on their social media handles, which had a piece of text that read 'Ready to live the sportier life?' in it. Now we have it- the City Sport...
Honda City Sport: What Is It?
The Honda City Sport edition is available in three colourways- Radiant Red Metallic, Platinum White Pearl and Meteoroid Gray Metallic. Opting for the Pearl finish would require an additional Rs 8,000 to be added to the payable bill! The carmaker has been tight-lipped about the production numbers of the special edition.
The Sport edition, as the name implies, looks sporty. It gets minor exterior styling tweaks like a tasteful use of Black accents and 'Sport' badges. The front grille and outside rear-view mirrors (ORVMs) are finished in Black. The boot now has a Black lip spoiler as well. The alloy wheels get a Grey finish and go well with the rest of the design. The shark fin antenna gets a gloss Black finish as well. These changes are claimed to give more road presence to the sedan.
The cabin has made a smooth transition to an all-Black theme with contrasting (and sporty) Red highlights and detailing. Most other variants, if you'd remember, come with dual-tone interiors. The seats, door inserts, and steering wheels of the Sport variant get Red contrast stitching. The roof liner and pillars are finished in Black. The dashboard itself gets a dark finish, but with a contrasting Red insert integrated into it. The sedan also gets a 7-colour ambient lighting as well. (This isn't available on the previous variant)
The seats get premium leather upholstery and the doors are clad with soft-touch panels. Talking of kit levels, the City Sport comes with all essential comfort, convenience and safety features. It even gets the Honda SENSING (Honda's own ADAS tech) suite that comprises adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, collision mitigation braking system, and more. No feature has, however, been introduced specifically for this variant.
City Sport Specifications: No Diesel, No Hybrid, No Manual!
The Sport variant comes just with the 1.5L i-VTEC petrol engine which does duty on other (lower) variants as well. It makes 121 PS and 145 Nm and comes mated to a CVT transmission alone. The company claims a fuel efficiency of 18.4 km/l on for this combo. This variant is only available in the automatic guise! Plus, there is no hybrid powertrain on offer.
What Does The Leadership Have To Say?
Speaking about the product, Mr. Kunal Behl, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd. said, “The new City Sport has been crafted to meet the aspirations of young buyers who value individuality and a spirited driving experience. It embodies a perfect blend of sporty exterior and interior style, fun to drive performance and the everyday usability that Honda City is known for, at a price that makes it even more compelling.”
City Sport's Rivals
In the Indian market, the City competes with the likes of the Volkswagen Virtus, Skoda Slavia, and Hyundai Verna. The segment is witnessing increasing footfalls and a soaring affinity towards dark-themed cabins and sportier aesthetics. With its price, the City Sport definitely stands a chance to rack up orders.