One of Honda’s best-selling badges to date is the City. Now on its fifth generation, the Honda City, which is developed under the grand concept of “Ambitious Sedan,” continues to grab a good hold of the market.
Truth be told, it is not surprising at all.
The recent past shows how the City has evolved from an economical daily-driver to an athletic and stylish vehicle adored by many.
However, what leaves us puzzled is that with its overall design (plus the features it is loaded with) and the fact that it enjoys brand recall thanks to emblem’s fanboys and fangirls, it has yet to be the leading subcompact sedan in the Philippine market.
Let’s check all the bells and whistles of the top-of-the-line variant of the 2021 Honda City, the RS CVT, to let everyone know what we are chiming about.
The 2021 Honda City RS CVT measures 4,553mm long, 1,748mm wide and 1,467mm tall with a 2,600mm wheelbase. Given the numbers, the City provides ample leg and headroom for four occupants and a small kid—a typical arrangement for sedan buyers.
The 134mm ground clearance should be enough to coast through small lumps on the road. But despite the ample ride height, drivers need to take it easy with huge speedbumps on the road as we found the suspension too soft, and you might scrape the undercarriage.
Given that is designed to be driven daily, the subcompact sedan offers up 519 liters of trunk space; enough to load it up with cargo — or even two weeks’ worth of groceries.
The latest-generation City RS CVT does not stray much from its predecessor in terms of looks yet somehow, the tweaks make quite an impression. The City RS CVT sports a glossy black strip across the upper honeycomb grille with the red RS logo on the left, reflecting the overall design upgrade. The similar honeycomb design appears on the lower part in between the sporty fog lamp housings.
At the rear portion of the car, you will see notable changes such as an updated LED taillight design. A pre-installed diffuser gives more of that athletic vibe.
While it has that overall sporty look, the all-new City RS CVT exudes an elegance that must have rubbed off from its bigger brother Honda Civic.
Occupants are welcomed with black with red and chrome trimmings. The plush black leather/fabric with red trimming offers that sophisticated clean appearance, and piano black trim garnish chrome handles inside surely add to the look while ensuring that door handles are visible enough.
A pair of 12-volt sockets in the front and rear and as well as the eight drink holders (four cup holders and four bottle holders) promise convenience and utility, particularly on long drives.
The dual-zone air-conditioning system (controlled by rotary knobs with digital display) keeps all passengers cool and comfortable even on the most humid days.
Just like the rest of the trims, the 2021 Honda City RS CVT is also powered by an in-line four-cylinder DOHC i-VTEC engine that has a max churn of 119hp and 145Nm of pulling power. The main difference that you get to enjoy from this top-of-the-line variety is its fun-to-drive feature brought about by the paddle shifters.
During a recent test with the Automobile Association of the Philippines, this variant was able to muster 25.17 kilometer per liter (kpl) after covering 73.5 kilometers of highway. When we tested it through more than 200 kilometers of mixed heavy city traffic and open highways, it managed a 15kpl reading.
The 2021 Honda City RS CVT is equipped with an eight-inch touchscreen audio with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Weblink connectivity. The system also has two USB ports and can be controlled via buttons found on the steering wheel.
The 2021 City RS CVT is heavy on safety features. Aside from the usual dual airbags, it also has side and curtain bags to ensure safety of passengers. Add to these an anti-lock brake system, electronic brakeforce distribution, vehicle stability assist and agile handling assist, hill start assist, emergency stop signal.
Just like any Honda model, the 2021 City RS CVT is big on features and design. The P1.058 million pricing is relatively on par with its competitors in the market. Again, we are surprised why it's not the segment leader.
Should it be on top of mind for people shopping for a subcompact sedan? We believe it should.
Photos from Ruben D. Manahan IV
Also read:
First look: All-new Honda City and new CR-V
Sedans and the City: The Honda City vs. other subcompact sedan options
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