HONDA UNFURLS HAYMAKERS
Honda City remained our bestselling model
Reaffirming its commitment to provide superior mobility to Filipinos on its 30th year in the country, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) recently unveiled a powerful combination of its iconic models — the all-new fifth-generation Honda City and the new Honda CR-V.
Through the company’s first virtual launch, the all-new City unraveled its new stylish exterior design, exquisite interior space and advanced technology, while the updated CR-V gave us a glimpse of the stunner’s sophisticated styling features and potent turbo diesel engine and seven-seater capacity, asserting the brand’s 2030 vision of mobility innovation.
The ambitious sedan
Introduced in the local market in 1996, the Honda City was first launched as an exclusive model for the Asian region and has become HCPI’s bestselling model over the years.
With over 131,000 units sold since its arrival, the City consistently reflected its core values of smart style, outstanding interior space and strong commanding presence through its sportier exterior, and comfortable and spacious interior that surpasses other subcompact sedans in the market.
Now on its fifth-generation, it was developed under the grand concept of “Ambitious Sedan.”
“Regarding our sales performance in 2019, we had sold a total of 20,338 units. Honda City remained our bestselling model with approximately 7,600 units sold, that was 44-percent share in our passenger car lineup,” HCPI president Masahiko Nakamura said.
“For 2020, HCPI continues to be among the top 10 industry leaders in the country. We already sold over 5,000 vehicles in the passenger car segment and around 2,600 vehicles in the commercial vehicle segment,” he added.
Honda City remained our bestselling model.
This all-new City’s exterior sports a cutting-edge sleek design with its thick long nose, lowered full height and widened full width as it is now longer by 111 mm, wider by 54 mm and lowered by 10mm, compared to its predecessor.
Sporting a new chrome front grille that is paired with fresh front bumper set, its front fascia is even more primed with its new LED daytime running lights and halogen projector headlights.
For its side profile, sharp horizontal character lines inspired by Katana Blade in Motion add more swagger as its rear features LED tail lamps.
For added creature comforts, it keeps power adjustable door mirrors across all variants and power folding door mirrors with integrated side turn signals for the 1.5 RS CVT and 1.5 V CVT variants.
Inside, it accentuates high-quality textures and functional approach to achieve sophistication and comfort for both driver and passengers with its spacious cabin with soft pads and other amenities.
It gets an upgrade with its new one push start system across all variants, specifically smart entry keyless entry system for the 1.5 RS CVT and 1.5 V CVT, and keyless entry for the 1.5 S CVT and 1.5 S MT variants.
The S Diesel 9AT variant is now equipped with a power tailgate providing improved convenience in accessing the rear cargo area.
Moreover, an eight-inch advanced touchscreen display audio with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and WebLink is now available in the 1.5 RS CVT, 1.5 V CVT and 1.5 S CVT variants.
A new exceptional RS variant
This City likewise inherits and embodies Honda’s sporty DNA through its new RS variant. For the first time in the Philippine market, it is now available in a 1.5 RS CVT variant that gives it a sportier and more premium look. The RS variant comes with a complete set of sporty upgrades including a high gloss black front grille with RS logo emblem, sporty front bumper and grille, full LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, LED fog lights, sporty black power folding door mirror with integrated side turn signals, gloss black trunk spoiler with RS logo and newly designed sporty 16-inch alloys.
The cabin is fully equipped to reflect a complete look of sportiness with a combination of newly designed leather and suede seat material with black and red stitching interior trims, new sport pedals, eight (4 + 4 tweeters) speakers and a multi-information display with red illumination that are exclusively available for the 1.5 RS CVT variant.
It is also now equipped with a new remote engine start, which is a first-time feature for the City, while paddle shifters are also offered for an engaging driving experience.
For added protection, a side curtain airbag is available to enhance the safety of the passengers.
Ideal balance
Powering the new model is a new 1.5-Liter four cylinder DOHC i-VTEC engine to provide an ideal balance of performance and fuel efficiency. Coupled with continuous variable transmission, this powertrain is able to produce up to a maximum power output of 119hp at 6,600 rpm and a maximum of 145N-m of torque at 4,300 rpm.
For those who prefer driving a manual transmission, a wide-range six-speed manual transmission option is available for the 1.5 S MT variant.
This all-new City is rated a five-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating as it gives customers better safety and peace of mind on the road.
It now comes in six colors: Ignite Red Metallic (new color; 1.5 RS CVT, 1.5 V CVT and 1.5 S CVT), Platinum White Pearl (new color; 1.5 RS CVT and 1.5 V CVT only), Modern Steel Metallic, Taffeta White (1.5 S CVT and 1.5 S MT only), Lunar Silver Metallic (1.5 V CVT and 1.5 S CVT only) and Crystal Black Pearl.
This vehicle is offered in the following: City 1.5 RS CVT (P1,048,000), City 1.5 V CVT (P968,000), City 1.5 S CVT (P878,000) and City 1.5 S MT (P838,000).
As a treat, HCPI will be offering special introductory prices from 22 October to 31 December 2020.
Newly-refreshed CR-V
The new Honda CR- V has a redesigned exterior that gives it a modern and stylish appearance. Up front, it features a newly redesigned front bumper, new chrome grille wing and chrome bumper accents, which exude a sophisticated yet commanding appearance. LED headlights alongside LED Fog lights now also come standard across all variants, while the top SX Diesel 9AT AWD is now equipped with front sequential turn signal.
Meanwhile, the new CR-V sports newly designed 18-inch alloys for the SX Diesel 9AT AWD, S Diesel 9AT and 2.0S CVT variants that feature a solid and modern tone highlighting a premium look. They also now come standard with new roof rails across all variants.
At the rear, it also gets updated with dark-tinted rear taillights and a redesigned rear bumper, perfectly complementing the overall exterior look of the vehicle.
Furthermore, the S Diesel 9AT variant is now equipped with a power tailgate providing improved convenience in accessing the rear cargo area. The SX Diesel 9AT AWD — on the other hand — now features a new hands-free access power tailgate, which through the use of sensors under the rear bumper, enables the rear tail gate to open through a kicking motion when both hands are occupied. Other features such as the panoramic sunroof and
auto rain sensing wipers are also exclusively available to the SX Diesel 9AT AWD variant.
Inside, it continues the same level of comfort and convenience as its predecessors except for USB ports that are now located on the center console for easy connectivity access. The SX Diesel 9AT AWD now also comes equipped with a wireless mobile charger for added convenience.
Under the hood, the new CR-V is available with two engine options, the 1.6-liter DOHC i-DTEC turbo diesel engine mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission, which produces 118hp at 4,000rpm and a maximum torque of 300N-m at 2,000rpm. The other is the familiar 2.0-liter engine.
Safety-wise, the new CR-V, the SX Diesel 9AT AWD and now the S Diesel 9AT variants come equipped with Honda’s Sensing suite of driver assistive functions. Through a monocular camera and wave millimeter radar, both devices work simultaneously to monitor and assess various road conditions in front of the vehicle, alerting the driver of potential hazards that may occur. It keeps a five-star ASEAN NCAP (17-Protocol) safety rating as it gives customers better safety and peace of mind on the road.
It comes in Cosmic Blue Metallic (new color - SX Diesel 9AT AWD and S Diesel 9AT only), Ignite Red Metallic (new color — all variants), Platinum White Pearl (all variants) and Modern Steel Metallic (all variants).
This new Honda CR-V is available in the following: SX Diesel 9AT AWD Honda Sensing ( seven- seater) — P2,158,000; S Diesel 9AT Honda Sensing (seven-seater) – P1,888,000; V Diesel 9AT (seven-seater) — P1,713,000 and 2.0 S CVT (five-seater) — P1,678,000.