It has its own charm!!!!. Review on Honda City ZX VTEC

I did loads of research both online and offline. Test drove all versions of Fiesta. Tried my hands on V-TEC and decided to buy i-DSI. The reasons are not obvious so I will not mention them here. This is about the new ZX from Honda and I will stick to that. I received the car on 30th December from the dealer (as promised).

For some strange reason Honda is not providing full range of colors. There is a waiting period of four months for red color (as told to me by the dealer). Even other colors are not freely available...Indian market still holds a lot of promise but not attracting enuf attention as far as customer choice and options are concerned.

Dealer experience was good, everything was professional, though the car was not cleaned properly at the time of delivery.

Lets talk about the car now. Well it does look like a good decision from the experince that I have had with this lovely piece of machinery.

Interiors -

Best in class, unmatchable. It looks like a futuristic car, one that will see very few changes as far as the quality of interiors is concerned. Fiesta's interiors were pedesterian if we keep ZX as benchmark (though Accent interiors are still passable). The cubby-holes are well placed and aplenty. Ergonomics are pretty good. Cabin is very quite and with the music on you shut yourself from the blonks of gurgaon call center cabs. Back seat is as comfortable as they come. Very spacious and comfortable ingress position.

Looks -

Iproved a lot on the previous version. I am not a fan of the looks, but this one has established itself as a 'liked-by-all' kinda' motor. Will not comment more on the looks as it is a personal choice.

Driveability

This is one area where I am very happy with the car. Torque curve is flat and maximum torque is available at 2700 revs. Which practically means, in 5th gear u get the max pulling power at the speed of 90. Makes life much more easier on highways. 77 bhp will not excite many speed-buffs, but is sufficient to drive around in a city like delhi. I drove it on highway )delhi-chandigarh) and found it impressive. Though I was driving a SAntro before this, I must say the road manners of this car are pretty cool. The steering wheel as opposed to many in this forum is not bad either. If you drive a ford car regularly you will definitely feel the difference, but it gives good feedback at higfh speeds and is very light in heavy traffic.

Coming to the things I don't like about this car:

• Headlights are a let-down on HIghway. Single headlight of Santro gives better light than full-beam of new city. Why can they not think about it. I know thay call it a city car, but does that mean it should be prohibited from driving on highways (then they should take away the best-in-class boot too).

-Fat A-pillar - As per honda engineers, the fat A-pillar is for the security of the occupants of the car. Well if the driver is blinded, security is already compromised. Anybody going for a test drive must test this aspect.

• Foot-mats that come with the car don't live upto the expectations. I am already thinking of replacing them.

  
  




• If you buy EXi version, there is no way you can put side-protection moulding on the doors. God save the world and give Honda some brains.

  
  

Fuel Efficiency -

This is absolutely music to ears. I am getting 15 in city (w/o a/c, before first service) and hold yoiur breath - 21 on highway (w/o a/c). I have driven it upto a speed of 125-130 kmph. This is something to look forward to.

The car is scheduled for a first service tomorrow. I will keep updating about my ownership experience and the performance of the car subsequently.

Anyone interested can get in touch with me on 9811957711. Don't forget to rate this review.

Cheers

Punit

P.S. - There is no section for non-VTEC therefore I am posting it here.