New Honda City gets 5-star ASEAN NCAP rating

The all-new Honda City has just been awarded a 5-star crash test rating by ASEAN NCAP. The rating marks the third time that a Thailand-spec Honda City has been awarded the maximum number of stars by the ASEAN safety agency. The third-gen and fourth-gen City were given a 5-star rating by ASEAN NCAP in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

The new City secured an overall score of 86.54 out of a maximum possible 100 in the full frontal offset impact and side impact tests, along with an evaluation of safety features available on the car. The new City got a score of 44.83 for adult occupant protection (AOP), 22.85 for child occupant protection (COP) and 18.89 points for safety assist tech (SATs).

The Thai-spec Honda City put to the test comes with G-CON (G-Force control body structure), six airbags, ABS, EBD, vehicle stability assist (VSA), hill-start assist, emergency stop signal and a multi-view reverse camera. Given the ASEAN NCAP’s stringent requirements for a 5-star rating, the new Honda City should also perform well in Global NCAP’s crash test protocol.

While the new City for India will look similar to the Thailand version, there will be a long list of India-specific cosmetic and mechanical changes. The new City that will come to our market will be slightly longer than the Thai-spec car and will also sport higher ground clearance.

Under the hood, the new City for India will come with a BS6-compliant 119hp, 1.5-litre petrol engine coupled with 5-speed manual and CVT automatic gearbox options. Additionally, India will also get a BS6-compliant diesel– the Honda Amaze’s 100hp, 1.5-litre powerplant.There are talks of adding a 1.5-litre petrol with mild-hybrid tech to the City line-up, though that’ll only arrive a little later.

For India, the new City will come with features like full LED lighting, a sunroof and 16-inch alloy wheels. The market launch of the City was earlier expected to take place around April this year. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the price announcement of the new City could be delayed. Key rivals to the new City include the likes of the heavily updated Verna, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid.