2022 Honda City: Which Models Suit You the Most?

The Honda City is arguably one of the best competitors from its segment after the Toyota Vios. Now, as new competitors emerge like the Geely Emgrand, the City shows its dominance with the coming of a new generation from 2021. The all-new Honda City shows class with its looks, power and fuel efficiency with its engine, and all the cool stuff Honda always bring to the table.

The Honda City, like the Civic, has three main variants – the S, the V, and the RS. The S being the base model has a manual transmission, while the three variants all come with a CVT. Of course, the top-of-the-line variant is the RS. It has its sporty and dechromed looks. A new front, side, and rear profiles, accentuated by modern and sleek lines. The front looks uber sporty with the RS badge, LED lights and foglamps, and honey-comb grills.

On its side, there is an obvious improvement on the dimensions of the car, especially the shape of the body which has little implications on the headroom of the rear passengers’ side. The side mirrors automatically fold, and they come along with a built-on LED blinker. ON the rear side, LED taillights will swoon people over. Additional body kit like the diffuser with carbon fiber sticker, complementing the front chin bumper with carbon fiber sticker, come with the RS variant. The wheels of the RS also come in two-toned 16-inches alloy rims.

The S and the V share less dechroming and body kits with the RS but the three share a few things like all have push-button starts, the LED taillights, and LED daytime running lights. In the interior, the infotainment system is mostly the same, and it comes along with Apple Car Play and Android Auto. The center pillar and console has the same lay-out across the three. The dashboard share the same material, with the RS improving on its side panels and of course the material used for its seats (with suede).

The instrument cluster is also very similar across the three variants, differing in color as you move across the variants but it’s always a basic digital panel between an analog tachometer and speedometer. Of course, the controls for the cluster and the infotainment system found on the steering wheel vary from variant to variant, lesser and lesser from the RS to S. Crucially, cruise control is not available for the S variant.

Air vents are found on the back of the center console to the rear seats, as similar to the three variants but only the RS has a center armrest and 12V sockets for on-the-go charging as the V and S variants only get a cup holder in the place of the sockets. Across the three, the interior is nice. Leg room is also spacious. At the boot, a 500-plus liter space for all the stuff one can bring. Safety features are also very similar across the three variants, except the number of airbags, and yes, I just remembered, the number of speakers, too.

The greatest similarity among the three variants is the engine and transmission. They share the same type of engine, the same power, torque and fuel efficiency across all variants, so one does not have to choose a variant for its engine but only for its bells and whistles. The engine of the Honda City is an In-Line 4 Cylinder DOHC i-VTEC with an overall 1498 cc engine displacement, 121 horsepower and 145 Newton meters of torque. This is more than enough to power through the city. This engine is paired with a CVT (only the S has a manual option) which bring about maximum fuel efficiency.

Comparing the City to its competitors, it’s really a no brainer to get the City if you have the right budget. Apart from the looks and engine efficiency, the technology and the safety features, the City is actually more reliable and trusted than its new competitors in the market, and has more swag than its old competitors. The Honda City S with a manual transmission is priced at PhP 848,000, which is very closely priced from its rivals, just like the S CVT, priced at PhP 899,000. Add close to another hundred grand, and you can get the V variant, which is the best-selling variant across the three according to Honda. Add about another 70 grand and get the top-of-the-line RS variant, pegged at PhP 1,069,000. Comparing the City to its sister, the Civic, instead of buying the City, go for the S variant of the Civic as it already includes more safety features and Honda Sensing. Well, to each its own. I, for one, wouldn’t mind missing on other features of the Civic as I plan to get the RS of the City.  

To end, the looks, power, and safety features of Honda never gets old with its latest iteration of the Honda City. It’s more than just a facelift, as what Honda did is a major upgrade. The City, namesake for driving preferably in where Honda wants you to drive it, with its upgrades, and just like before, can bring you beyond and more.

Also Read: A Nitpicker’s Guide to the 2022 Honda City