Following the success of the 5th generation Honda City sedan and discontinuation of the Honda Jazz, Honda Malaysia has finally unveiled the long anticipated Honda City Hatchback to the media this morning, the City Hatchback brings over most of the things found on its sedan sibling and offers several sophisticated safety technology features that makes it both a safe and fun car to drive.
Similar to its sedan sibling, the City Hatchback is offered in V, E, S and RS e:HEV variant, while the former three variants will be powered by the familiar 1.5L DOHC i-VTEC engine that produces 121PS and 145Nm, the RS e:HEV variant will be powered by the 1.5L Sports intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) with Electric Continuous Variable Transmission (e-CVT), which will deliver up to 109PS and 253Nm of torque, which Honda says is equivalent to a 2.5-litre natural aspirated D-segment engine and drivers can expect fuel consumption levels of 3.6L/100KM, very impressive indeed.
Compared to the discontinued Honda Jazz, the City Hatchback’s body rigidity has been further enhanced by 6% for better collision safety and cabin noise isolation, the A and B pillars of the car is also filled with polyurethane spray foam in addition to the variable thickness sound absorber fitted under the engine compartment to reduce noise and vibration.
The City Hatchback sets a new benchmark when it comes to its safety tech and convenience for its class, the RS e:HEV, V and E variants are being equipped with remote engine start and air-conditioning feature, while Honda LaneWatch on the RS e:HEV and V variants uses camera based safety technology to monitor incoming cars from the left and reduce blind spots by providing a live visual in the infotainment system.
Of course, Honda SENSING is definitely part of the safety package of the City Hatchback but only in the RS e:HEV variant, which includes the full suite of driver assistance safe systems that include Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Auto High Beam (AHB).
In other tech conveniences, the City Hatchback RS e:HEV comes with a 7″ TFT color instrument display that shows various information of the car, while sharing an 8-inch infotainment system with the V and E variant that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Exclusive to the RS e:HEV variant, this is the second car to be fitted with Honda CONNECT, a telematics technology that enables customers to access their car with the Honda CONNECT smartphone app, which lets you do vehicle diagnostics, remote applications, security applications, vehicle tracking and support services.
Honda Malaysia targets to sell 1000 units of the City Hatchback monthly, while 2000 bookings have already been received prior to the sales launch, the City Hatchback will be available in color options of Lunar Silver Metallic and Crystal Black Pearl, while the RS e:HEV variant will get additional exclusive colors of Ignite Red Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic and Platinum White Pearl.
With the current sales tax exemption from the Malaysian government, the City Hatchback is priced at RM87,860.00 for the V variant, RM83,080.00 for the E variant and RM75,670.00 for the S variant for Peninsular Malaysia, the RS e:HEV variant will only be made available in early 2022 with no pricing details from Honda Malaysia, the City Hatchback will also receive a 5-year unlimited mileage warranty from Malaysia, while the battery of the RS e:HEV variant gets a good 8-year warranty, customers can now head over to Honda dealerships nationwide to check out the car, deliveries of the car is expected to begin on January 2022 onwards.