New Honda City ad calls competitors ‘toys’: Maruti Ciaz/Hyundai Verna?

The Honda City has been around in India for nearly 20 years now. Until the arrival of the Hyundai Verna Fluidic (in  2012), and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz (in 2016), the Honda City was nearly the undisputed leader of the C-Segment sedan segment. Highlighting this, the Japanese automaker has unveiled a TVC that refers to the Honda City’s competitors  (Maruti Ciaz and Hyundai Verna?) as toys. Of course, Honda stays clear of naming the Hyundai Verna and Maruti Ciaz but it’s easy to make the connection. Here, watch the TVC for yourself and decide.

Despite the ever increasing competition in the C-Segment sedan segment, the Honda City continues to be a strong seller. It’s just that the first and second places in the segment are now taken by the Maruti Ciaz and Hyundai Verna. In fact, the City was relegated to third place in August 2018 due to very strong dispatch numbers of the facelifted  Maruti Ciaz. The City that’s sold in India continues to have an edge in perception among buyers, who still consider it the benchmark in its class, to compare other cars with. This is the reason Honda has been able to price the City sedan at a premium over cars, such as the Maruti Ciaz,  Hyundai Verna and Toyota Yaris, and yet post good sales.

In fact, prices of the Ciaz and Verna start from close to the Rs. 8 lakh mark. Prices of the City are clearly about Rs. 70,000 higher, and this gap remains on higher variants, too. Prices start at Rs. 8.96 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. Currently, the Honda City sold in India gets two engine and three transmission options. It received a facelift last year, and an all-new model will be launched in 2020.

The petrol engine of the City – the motor that brings the lion’s share of sales – is the 1.5-litre i-VTEC unit that generates 117 Bhp-145 Nm. This engine is offered with 5-speed manual and CVT automatic gearbox options. The diesel motor is a 1.5-litre i-DTEC turbocharged unit, with all-aluminium construction. The diesel makes 98.6 Bhp-200 Nm, and transmission is a 6-speed manual gearbox. The City sedan gets airbags and ABS as standard fare across trims with the top-end trim getting 6 airbags.