City hybrid over City diesel manual? Does it make sense?
Honda City is the best-selling midsize sedan in India. Recently, the City got a major update in the form of petrol hybrid tech. So with the recent launch of the City Hybrid, there is a high increment in overall confusion as well. Buyers of this famous nameplate are now bound by two confusions: whether to consider a rival or whether to consider the regular City or the City Hybrid. To clear this air of confusion, we have compared the Honda City Hybrid with the City diesel manual. We have also mentioned which car is for you in the end in this article on Honda City Hybrid vs City diesel.
Design
Not much is different in terms of the overall design of the hybrid and the regular variants. The City Hybrid does get some minimal differences to differentiate from the normal City. These include blue inserts in the Honda logo, the eHEV badging, spoiler and extra bits of chrome here & there. Apart from that, you might not notice any huge changes as far as design is concerned.
Engine & Mileage
The Honda City Hybrid runs on a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine that makes 97bhp & 127Nm of torque. Along with this engine, it gets two motors that power its front wheels. So, with the motor boost, the power figures increase to 107bhp & 253Nm of torque. This engine is mated to an eCVT transmission with paddle shifters. This combination helps the City Hybrid achieve a claimed mileage of 26.5 kmpl.
The Honda City diesel comes powered by a 1.5-litre i-DTEC unit that makes 98bhp & 200Nm of torque. Honda City diesel is only available with a six-speed manual gearbox. An option to buy diesel automatic has not been made available yet. City diesel gets a claimed mileage of 24.1 kmpl.
Features
Although, both the cars might not be different in terms of design but are definitely different in terms of features. The Honda City Hybrid takes a significant leap from the regular car when it comes to offering some premium features. Since the hybrid variant comes positioned as the top-of-the-line offering, it gets everything that the top-trim regular City has to offer (LED headlamps, an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, lane watch camera, front parking sensors, connected car technology, rear glass sunshades, etc). Above that, the hybrid gets new features like Honda Sensing (Honda’s ADAS technology) and updated connected car technology.
Honda City Hybrid vs Diesel – Prices
The Honda City Hybrid is only available in one variant, the City eHEV. This variant costs Rs 23.08 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai). The regular City, on the other hand, is available in three diesel variants. The lower trim of diesel costs Rs 15.69 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai) and the top trim costs Rs 18.53 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai).
Honda City Hybrid vs Diesel – Conclusion
The City Hybrid manages to offer impressive mileage figures, considering it is a petrol-powered setup. With the hybrid setup, the City also manages to push out more power & torque, even when power figures of the diesel engine are taken into consideration. Also, looking at features, it is clear that the City Hybrid does take a significant lead with the availability of ADAS technology. However, one understated advantage of hybrid is that you get to dip your feet in the technology of the future (ELECTRIC), but are not completely shifting to it. So, you get the best of both worlds. So, all-in-all, if you like the Honda petrol engine and also appreciate a feature-rich car, the City Hybrid makes sense for you. However, if we check the price difference, the City Hybrid costs Rs 5 lakhs more than the City Diesel.
What the City diesel misses out on is actually new technology, an automatic transmission (CVT) and a few additional features like ADAS. Apart from that, the diesel still comes out to be a strong option for you. So if pricing is a concern, be assured, you are not missing out on much. However, if you are open to move to the intermediate technology that is hybrid before taking the final leap to electric, the City Hybrid comes out to be the perfect option for you. Ultimately, it all lies in your hand.
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