Honda has introduced a new variant of the Honda City in Thailand. The new variant features an electric hybrid powertrain and is dubbed e: HEV RS. The Honda City e: HEV is priced at THB 839,000 which roughly converts to INR 20.47 lakh. The Honda City RS with the turbo-petrol powertrain is priced at THB 739,000 and the standard S grade which is the entry-level version in Thailand is priced at THB 579,500.
The new Honda City is powered by a 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine that pumps out 98 Ps of power and 127 Nm of torque matched to an electric motor that makes 108 PS of power and 253 Nm of torque. The power is transmitted using a direct drive setup and as per the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle), the fuel efficiency is claimed at 27.8 kmpl.
The Honda City e: HEV comes with highlights such as Sport Hybrid I-MMD (Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive), Honda Lane Watch blind sport monitoring and electric parking brake to name a few. The Hybrid model also features paddle shifters on the steering wheel and a 7-inch digital instruments cluster. The Honda City e: HEV also comes with Honda Sensing intelligent safety suite which offers features such as collision warning system with automatic braking assistance and is able to detect other cars, bicycles as well as pedestrians. The Honda Sensing Suite also features Adaptive Cruise Control, lane departure warning with road departure mitigation, lane keep assist and auto high beam.
On the outside, the Honda City e: HEV features a new Blue exterior paint option along with RS styling such as the boot lid-mounted black finish spoiler, black radiator grille, RS badging on the tail, a black finished shark fin antenna, black ORVMs, 16-inch dual tome machine alloy wheels and LED headlamps and taillamps.
Honda launched the 5th generation City in India a few months ago with the starting price of INR 10.90 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi and goes up to INR 14.65 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi for the top-of-the-line trim. The brand also plans to launch the Hybrid version in the Indian market which could become the new top-spec trim and is expected to be priced around the 18 lakh mark.