Honda City Hatchback

The Honda City Hatchback retains the entire cabin layout and list of features with the sedan version. In this fully loaded RS trim, it is easily the most heavily equipped car in its class. The overall layout of the dashboard and cabin looks classy with top-class fit and finish levels exuded in its theme.

The chunky-in-feel three-spoke steering wheel and looks good, however, the analog instrument console looks a bit boring for the overall car. The all-black cabin of the Honda City Hatchback has got piano black surrounds for the large AC vents and center console. Here, the center console has got a large 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system flanked with vertical and large AC vents. The cabin also gets soft-touch leather on the dashboard and door panels, which further uplift the premium quotient of the car.

Apart from the modern infotainment system, the Honda City Hatchback packs in a number of other premium features, like automatic climate control, push start-stop button, rear AC vents, sport pedals, leather upholstery, remote engine start, 8-speaker audio system and driver seat height adjustment. Space levels on the inside are also optimum, however, the boot space of 289 litres is a bit small by segment standards.

As mentioned above, the new Honda City Hatchback is the hatch version of the already-on-sale Honda City sedan, which currently is in its fifth generation. However, Honda has attempted to make a hatchback version of the City for the very first time. And this attempt has turned out to be quite fruitful, for the City Hatchback is the most premium hatchback in its segment right now.

The front profile of the Honda City Hatchback is completely the same as that of the sedan version, with this top-spec RS variant getting all the premium bits like sleek full LED headlamps with daytime running LEDs and turn indicators. The RS design front bumper with blacked-out housings for the LED fog lamps and sleek black grille which extends over the headlamps do make the Honda City Hatchback look sporty.

The side profile is where the changes start to become more apparent. While the Honda City Hatchback retains the design of the sedan version till the B-pillar, things start to change post it with a truncated design towards the rear. The Honda City Hatchback gets blacked-out rearview mirrors 16-inch Berlina black alloy wheels, which accentuate its sporty character even more.

At the back, the Honda City Hatchback has its own different identity as compared to the sedan version. The boot lid looks completely different, with a new set of LED tail lamps, a smaller rear windscreen with roof-mounted spoilers and black side spoilers and a new RS-spec rear bumper design with sporty-looking diffuser.

The sedan version of the Honda City has always been known for its perfect ride and handling balance. The Honda City Hatchback continues to follow the suit with more compact dimensions helping it to be more agile and dynamic in the process. The hatchback version too gets Macpherson strut at the front and torsion beam at the rear, which is the same unit from the sedan version.

Honda has retained the sweet 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine from the sedan version for the Honda City Hatchback. Here in the single RS variant, the engine is mated to a CVT gearbox and pumps out 121 PS of maximum power output and 145 Nm of maximum torque output. These figures easily make it the most powerful hatchback meant for the mass-market segment.

In terms of safety too, the Honda City Hatchback leads the pack of mass-market hatchbacks with best-in-class features. The car gets things like six airbags, ABS with EBD, multi-view camera with guidelines, vehicle stability assist, hill start assist and ISOFIX mounts for child seats.

The Honda City Hatchback might be the priciest mass-market hatchback available in the Philippines right now. However, the extra money it commands over others is worth asking for, for the bigger car appeal it provides, in terms of cabin quality, features, performance and space inside.