The all-new Honda City Hatchback has made its global debut in Thailand today. Paying homage to the model’s lineage of nearly 30 years, the hatchback bodystyle finally returns to the Honda City in its seventh generation – and if rumours are to be believed, the City Hatchback will most likely replace the Honda Jazz in our region.
In terms of appearance, the City Hatchback unsurprisingly looks very similar to its sedan counterpart. In fact, most of the car including the entire front fascia and character lines on the sides up to the C-pillar is pretty much identical to the Honda City in sedan form.
To transform the B-segment sedan into a hatchback, Honda has extended the roofline of the City further rearwards, terminating it into a roof spoiler above the tailgate window – itself steeply raked in line with the shape of the new C-pillars.
The taillights on the Honda City Hatchback, while similar to that of the sedan, is also completely new; the top is aggressively contoured to the shape of the tailgate lip, and the sides are significantly shorter than its sedan counterpart. Further down, the reflector “air vents” on the sides of the bumper have been slimmed down significantly, while the RS variant also gets a more aggressive diffuser trim piece in matte grey.
In terms of dimensions, the Honda City Hatchback measures 208 mm shorter than the sedan at 4,345 mm long (4,349 mm for the RS variant), while its height increased by 21 mm to 1,488 mm. Wheelbase and width are unchanged.
Inside, the dashboard is also identical to the sedan variant, where we can find the new eight-inch infotainment display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. However, its main party – being a hatchback – is its versatility in space.
Just like the outgoing Honda Jazz, the new City Hatchback is also exclusively equipped with Honda’s Ultra seats, which the company says also contributed to the increased leg room compared to the sedan variant. According to Honda, the seats can be arranged in four different settings: utility, long, tall, and refresh.
Over in Thailand, the all-new Honda City Hatchback will be powered by the same 1.0-litre VTEC Turbo three-cylinder as the sedan which makes 122 hp and 173 Nm of torque, with power sent to the front wheels via a CVT gearbox. However, if and when the hatchback variant makes its way onto our shores, do expect it to feature the same powertrain combinations available on our Honda City sedan.
The hatchback is available in three variants over in the Land of Smiles – one less than the sedan variant. Prices for the hatchback starts at THB599k (RM81k) for the entry-level S+ variant, making it slightly more expensive across the board than the City sedan which starts at THB579.5k (RM79k).
GALLERY
