2023 Honda City facelift teased ahead of launch

Honda has teased the City facelift ahead of its launch in a new blue colour shade on its official Twitter page. The 2023 Honda City facelift will be launched in India on March 2, 2023. The car will be available for test drives from March 3 onwards and deliveries on later date.

Honda City facelift: what new

The new teaser video of the refreshed Honda City revealed some glimpses of the front of the vehicle. It seems to have a thinner chrome slat in the new front grille as well as the LED headlights. The teaser also hints at the new design of the bumper.

The City facelift is expected to come with a new look and a design for front and rear bumpers. The chrome bar in the front fascia that spanned the width of the car is now thinner. The company is expected to offer a new design for the 16-inch alloy wheels in the higher trims. While the ower trims will continue to be offered with 15-inch alloy wheels.

With the update, Honda will add a new Obsidian Blue paint shade as well.

Honda City facelift: new variants, features

The City facelift will also get a new entry-level SV trim and a City e:HEV VX trim. The entry-level SV trim will be offered with only a 6-speed manual gearbox on offer. The remaining trims – V, VX and ZX – will also have an option for the CVT gearbox.

The City facelift will come with wireless charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with ADAS, which was available only with the City hybrid earlier. The ADAS features includes adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and autonomous emergency braking. Other features include up to six airbags, rain-sensing wipers, TPMS.

Powertrains

The City facelift will become a petrol-only sedan with the new update. Honda will likely offer the City facelift with the ongoing 121hp, 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to either a 6-speed manual or a CVT gearbox. It will also have the 126hp, 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle hybrid engine paired with an e-CVT gearbox. Currently, the City is the only car in the midsize sedan to offer a strong-hybrid powertrain.

Honda will upgrade both engines to meet the RDE (real driving emissions) norms and E20 compliance. However, there will be no diesel engine on offer due to a lack of sales and RDE regulations.

The City facelift will compete against the likes of the Volkswagen Virtus, Skoda Slavia, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the soon-to-be-launched next-gen Hyundai Verna.