Honda City Hatchback

The Honda City Hatchback has an all-black layout for the interior and contrasts red highlights on the seats, steering wheel and dashboard for the RS trim in which it is available. The cabin layout has been shared with the City sedan, but due to the black-and-red treatment, the hatchback looks like a sportier place to be in.

The overall cabin design is simple and easy on the eyes, with the Honda City Hatchback having a chunky tilt and telescopic adjustable three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel and an elegant-looking instrument console with analogue gauges and a 4.2-inch TFT MID in between them. 

The Honda City Hatchback shares much of its features with the City sedan, including automatic climate control with rear AC vents, driver seat height adjustment, engine push start-stop button and 8-speaker audio system, paddle shifters and sport pedals. The cabin of the City Hatchback is very spacious, offering the flexibility to adjust and fold seats in four different configurations – Tall Mode, Refresh Mode, Utility Mode and Long Mode.

Based on the City sedan, the Honda City Hatchback shares much of its design with the former, which is evident in its look at the B-pillar. The hatchback then has a different appeal altogether beyond the B-pillar. The Honda City Hatchback is on offer in the Philippines in the RS version, which adds a host of sporty-looking design elements to make the car look sportier and more aggressive. 

Shared with the City sedan, the front profile of the Honda City Hatchback has a wide front grille with honeycomb mesh inserts and gloss black highlights. The headlamps on the sides of this grille are all LED units and feature eyebrow-shaped LED DRLs. While the grille has a red-coloured RS badge, the angular vents on the bumper corners and the trapezoidal central air dam have gloss black highlights. 

Sporting 16-inch Berlina Black alloy wheels, the Honda City Hatchback has a sharp crease running through its door panels, while it also has blacked-out and door-mounted rearview mirrors. The nicely proportioned rear profile of the City Hatchback includes a raked windscreen with an integrated roof-mounted spoiler with an LED brake lamp and triangular stretched LED combination tail lamps. 

The Honda City Hatchback features a conventional suspension – Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear. While the hatchback is styled in a sporty manner, the overall driving dynamics are more comfort-oriented, with the suspension having a soft setup for a plush ride quality. The steering feels light and decently precise, making the City Hatchback a welcoming car to drive. 

The Philippines-spec version of the Honda City Hatchback is being offered with the tried-and-tested 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine from the City sedan. Here in the City Hatchback, this engine is paired with a CVT gearbox and claims a maximum power output of 121 PS and a maximum torque output of 145 Nm.

The single variant of Honda City Hatchback offered in the RS variant in the Philippines is packed with several safety features, including from Honda Sensing ADAS suite like collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lead car departure notification, auto high beam and road departure mitigation. Other safety features include six airbags, ABS with EBD, vehicle stability assist, reverse camera, hill start assist and agile handling assist. 

The Honda City Hatchback justifies its premium and expensive positioning with its sleek and sporty design, reliable and efficient powertrain which also loves to be revved, and spacious and comfortable cabin, making it one of the most practical and sensible hatchbacks on sale.