Owner Review: This car literally saved my life - My 2012 Honda City 1.5 E

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Basic information about my car

• Make and Model: 2012 Honda City 1.5 E

• Time of Purchase: October 2018

• Price of vehicle: RM 43,000 (RM 90,980 brand new)

Reasons why I bought this car

I was forced into this purchase after a bittersweet experience. Let’s go back to 2017 when I bought my first brand new car. I looked high and low, eventually narrowing the search down to three B-Segment models, the City, Vios, and the Prevé. After much contemplation I took a chance with performance and handling as a priority, assuming a 5-year warranty would “kautim” any problem I might face. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? (don’t ever utter this phrase with Proton, EVER!!). The car exceeded my expectations performance wise, but from the third month, this phrase came back to haunt me. The car had steering issues and spent most of its time in Proton 3S centers, alongside me. After one and a half years of repairs, I gave it up once and for all, deciding that reliability always comes first especially if it’s your only car. After experiencing firsthand how car values depreciate, I decided to buy a used but reliable car.

Car Selection Process

• I had a budget of RM 40,000-50,000

• Model(s) that I have considered include: Toyota Vios 2012, Toyota Altis 2009

Reasons why I chose this car:

The car had so much value to the price it was inexplicable. The features were unprecedented, with VSA (in other words ESP), ABS, EBD and Brake Assist. The Vios lost the safety battle there and then with no ESP. The Altis on the other hand was 3 years older and only came with a 4-Speed Automatic, while the City a 5-speed Automatic with Paddle Shifters. I knew the Altis had a more powerful 1.8 litre engine and better comfort but figured 120ps@6600rpm from the City’s 1.5 i-Vtec powertrains would be enough in case I needed to sprint somewhere while keeping the fuel consumption on the low side, and in the long run. After speaking to a friend who owned a City for over 8 years the confidence in the reliability and maintenance costs grew. I knew this was my other half.

User Experience

• I have already done 60,000 km (mileage 150,000 km)

Since the purchase, my thoughts about the car are:

In my two years of owning the City, it has given me so much joy. Opening the doors through the firm and solid chrome handles immediately give you a premium feel compared to the Proton. The distinction in material and finish quality between them is easily noticeable. Firstly, the seats are very firm and comfy with decent side support that holds you in place. It is a little high up but that’s because the fuel tanks are under the seats to allow for a class leading boot space of 506 litres. The interior is huge it actually feels like a baby Accord with so much leg and headroom especially at the back. 6 Cupholders!! Yes, take your time to digest that.

For an 8-year-old car, it starts smoothly and is very silent on idle. Air conditioning takes a few seconds to “wake up” but once it does it’s good enough in slow traffic and more than adequate at highway speeds. The 6-speaker audio system surprised me. I always knew Honda had good audio but being able to maintain bassy songs at high volumes without compromising on sound clarity is impressive (trust me I had a Wira with Rm 2,500 worth of audio upgrades). I’ve even had people ask me many times if there was a subwoofer hiding somewhere. And before I forget, the steering controls that make life so much easier are also available for this E spec.

Moving on to the drive, the steering is well weighted and gives you the best of both worlds. Light enough at low speeds to take a U-Turn with one hand and heavy enough at highway speeds for better handling. Since this model was right before Honda introduced the Econ button, driving in D basically means eco-mode, and gears upshift very quickly with a slightly delayed throttle response. It’s very good to save fuel but at times annoying when you’d like to pick up speed, which then downshifts right after an upshift even with gradual depression of the accelerator. The gear ratios are well balanced however and tacho is only at 2,300rpm when cruising at 110 km/h. (gives you the Accord feel) The car squeezes out 18km/l at this speed, which is spectacular for an 8-year-old car.

The paddle shifters are responsive enough for an auto-box, and Honda has programmed the TCU to be idiot proof, so you don’t blow the engine or the gearbox. You won’t be able to shift to 1st gear at 100 km/h for example. It, however, allows you to rev till 6,500rpm in D before upshifting automatically if you don’t. In Sports mode, however, throttle response is sharpened, and gears are at least one or two lower than they should be. If the paddle shifters are engaged in Sports mode the car becomes fully manual (except if the car slows down drastically and is not downshifted). In this case, the engine is allowed to rev up to about 7,000rpm before kicking back. Driving around curvy roads is really fun albeit with limited power and slight body roll. (pic of paddle shifter)

On the highway, NVH is as expected from a B-Segment car. Wind noise can be heard from 110 km/h and gradually increases. Having conversations at 140 km/h can be a pain with wind and tyre noise finding its way in through the poor insulation. Hence, it’s best to leave the SVC (Speed Dependent Volume Control) at the highest level so that audio takes over. And the best part is above 170km/h the volume automatically reduces, so you hear the wind noise and realize you’re going too fast. The suspension setup is good enough for City and mild highway driving, but body roll can be felt above 140 km/h, and crosswinds can cause panic sometimes too. Nothing an Ultra Racing Anti-Roll bar can’t solve but you get the point. The City tops out at an electronically limited 190 km/h because even Honda doesn’t trust the handling of this car beyond that speed.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Paddle shifters and Sports mode

• Impressive Audio

• Good fuel consumption (18km/l highway)

• Huge interior

• 6 Cupholders

• Low maintenance cost

• VSA, Auto Folding Mirrors, SVC

Cons

• Body roll at high speeds

• NVH is poor

• No Bluetooth support

• Fuel tank small

• Not a lady killer

Ratings

• Total Score: 4

• Performance: 3

• Quality & Features: 4

• Space: 5

• Ride Comfort: 3

• Fuel Economy: 4

• Price & Cost: 5

Summary

I’m glad for the bittersweet experience that led to my City. I’ve learned and decided that secondhand cars can be very reliable if the right model and unit is selected. I almost always take a quick glance back at the car whenever I leave it. There’s that connection to it that will keep me engaged for a long time.

Interesting events that happened to my car

The car has saved me once in the rain, with VSA springing into action and the TCS lamp blinked vigorously. It was a sharp corner and without the intervention, I wouldn’t be writing this today.

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