Wayback in August 2009, Honda India discontinued the Honda City S automatic variant, probably because of low demand. Now the company is re-introduction the S A/T (automatic) variant to its City line-up. With this new variant, Honda City now has a total 8 variants, out of which 2 are with sunroof option packs. Earlier, the automatic gearbox was available only on the top-end V variant. The City S A/T is targeted at buyers who want the convenience of an automatic gearbox at a lower price-point.
However, there are no changes in features, they are all the same as existing Honda City S, and it’s just the transmission that has now become the automatic. Automatic transmission is in trend these days, which might certainly help it growing its sales numbers. The new Honda City S Automatic is priced at Rs 9.09 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). And the vehicle is now available at most dealerships, there are some cities left, but they will get the deliveries soon. Compared to the Skoda Rapid Ambition A/T which is priced at Rs 8.42 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the City S A/T is still overpriced.
Under the hood, the engine is the same 1.5-litre i-VTEC, which churns out the maximum of 116.3bhp at 6600rpm, and an impressive torque of 146Nm at 4800rpm. Although nothing on the mileage has been said by the company officials, yet it is expected to go down a little, the Honda City S MT offers the mileage of 16.8kmpl. All automatic Honda Citys come with a five-speed automatic transmission with paddle-shifters. Compared to the Skoda Rapid Ambition A/T which is priced at Rs 8.42 lakh, the City S A/T is still overpriced.
Now Honda City Automatic is also available in cheaper avatar, but the absence on diesel engine is a big minus for this car. And it is believed that the war between the automatic transmission sedans is going to worsen and only time will tell which one will be the winner. Among the three i.e. Verna, City and Fiesta, only Verna has an automatic version in diesel – Hyundai Verna Fluidic 1.6 CRDi SX (O) A/T but this model is priced at Rs 11.26 lakh which is very high. Notably, the Honda City is already available in Automatic version but the City V trim has it and that is the top model and is priced at Rs 9.62 lakh. This City S A/T is believed to bring sudden response to the car.
Also see – Honda India launches new City at Rs. 6.99 lakhs
See more pictures of new Honda City –
