Honda launches all-new City Hatchback Taking sporty style a step up
The much loved Honda Jazz may be gone, but in its place rises the new City Hatchback. Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), officially launched the all-new City Hatchback earlier this week on their social media channels.
Its design is derived from the “energetic hatchback” concept which accounts for the City Hatchback’s active and energetic character. Although it shares the same premium comfort and quality characteristics as the City sedan, the hatchback is intended for the sporty and cool, and quite suitable for an active lifestyle.
Sportier style
With Honda offering it in a lone RS variant, there are some similarities shared with the City RS sedan. Up front, Honda has fitted the RS Design front bumper and RS Design high gloss black front grille with RS emblem. It’s paired with full LED headlights and LED daytime running lamps. Overall, the façade is not much different from the City sedan’s front end, which resembles a solid wing face.
Further down the body are powerfolding mirrors in high gloss black. Naturally, the hatchback form gives it a sportier appeal. Honda further accentuates it with 16-inch two-tone Berlina Black aluminum alloy wheels. At the rear, the racing theme continues with the RS Design’s rear bumper with a diffuser and a tailgate spoiler in high gloss black.
Under the hood is a 1.5-liter, fourcylinder DOHC i-VTEC gasoline engine. It produces 121-Ps at 6,600 rpm and 145-Nm of torque at 4,300 rpm and this is mated to a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). Paddle shifters are standard in the RS, and there’s also Honda’s Eco Assist System, which consists of the ECON mode and Eco-Coaching Ambient Light.
A touch of red
Getting in and starting the engine is easy with the smart keyless entry system and the one-push start system. You can also start the car from outside with the remote engine start feature on the key.
Inside, the energetic concept is still felt thoughout the interior. The premium cabin compliments the sporty RS exterior with its spacious, high quality materials.
The driver gets a multi-information display with red illumination. His or her hands will enjoy the leatherwrapped shift knob and steering wheel with audio controls. Feet rest on sports pedals.
Passengers will delight in the combination of suede and leather on the seats. There are front and rear center armrests. It’s tied together with black interior trim with red stitching and accents.
Their comfort is maintained by a new air conditioning system with rotary knobs, and illuminated digital display. The eight-speaker entertainment system comes with an eight-inch advanced touchscreen display audio with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and WebLink connectivity.
Safe and practical
The City hatch has the same 2600 mm wheelbase as the City sedan, but is taller by 21 mm and shorter by 204 mm. But these compact dimensions hardly hamper its impressive cargo capacity.
The all-new City Hatchback is also equipped with Honda’s signature Ultra (ULTR) seats which allow you to configure the interior to different passenger and cargo needs. In Utility Mode, the rear seats fold flat, expanding the rear cargo area to accommodate larger items. In Long Mode, the front passenger seat can be fully reclined to meet the flat folding rear seat behind it to fit long cargo items. In Tall Mode, the rear seat cushions fold upward, opening up more space on the floor for taller items that need to remain upright (like plants). Finally, Refresh Mode moves both front seats fully forward, removing the headrests and tilting them all the way back level with the rear seats to makes for a comfortable area for two occupants to relax.
The all-new City Hatchback has Honda’s G-Force Control (G-CON) body structure, protecting the cabin from collisions from any direction. In addition, there are six airbags (dual front, driver and front passenger side, and side curtain airbags) that can deploy. It’s also equipped with Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Agile Handling Assist (AHA), Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Hill Start Assist (HSA) and the multi-view rear camera with dynamic guidelines. The City Hatchback has been rated with 5-stars in the ASEAN NCAP crash safety tests.
The all-new City Hatchback is priced at P1,115,000 (exclusive of P13,000 Safeguard Duty Cash deposit) and comes in Ignite Red Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic, Platinum White Pearl (additional P20,000) and Brilliant Sporty Blue Metallic (available by June 2021).