The three-box Honda City has been ruling the sedan market for the past three decades. However, very few people know that the Japnese brand first introduced the City as a hatchback in 1981, and now, repeating the history, Honda has once again introduced the hatchback version of the City sedan in the global market. It will go on sale in Thailand first.
Honda City Hatchback – How It Is Different From The Current-Gen City Sedan?
The new Honda City hatchback looks merely the same as the current-gen City sedan, until the C-pilar. It shares the same platform and styling elements with its sedan sibling. On the rear, it gets a wide hatch, featuring horizontally placed blacked-out LED tail-lights and a huge rear bumper with a black finished rear faux diffuser along with the vertically stacked faux air vents. The images released by the Honda is of the RS sports variant, therefore it gets a black finished front grille and alloy wheels.
On the inside, the City hatchback gets the same dash design as its sedan version. Interestingly, it also features a 60:40 split multipurpose rear seat that can be folded up to increase vertical area and sit flush with the front seats to create a bed. Besides this, it gets an all-LED lighting system, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity support, 8-speakers, automatic climate control, cruise control, multiple parking cameras, six airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist, Hill Start Assist, and speed-sensing auto door locks, etc.
Here have a look at its dimensions: –
| Honda City Hatchback | |
| Length | 4,349mm |
| Width | 1,748mm |
| Height | 1,488mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,589mm |
Compared to the City sedan, the hatchback is 200mm shorter.
Honda City Hatchback – Engine
The hot-hatch version of Honda City is powered by a 1-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, mated to a 6-speed CVT automatic gearbox. The engine produces a maximum power output of 122bhp and 173Nm of peak torque.
Will it launch in India?
Honda hasn't made any official announcement regarding this. However, the brand is likely to launch the City hatch in various markets including the US and many ASEAN countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where it will be introduced as a replacement for Honda Jazz, which is on sale in India as well. The City Sedan is a big name in our country and the Jazz is not performing well in terms of sales. Hence, Honda might bring the two box City to our shore.