A Sporty Greyed-Out Honda City RS Hatchback Spotted in the Philippines

    Since 1996, the Honda City was a 4-door subcompact sedan known for its affordability. It was seated a rank below the Civic and was sold in a number of developing nations, from Thailand, to South Africa, and all the way to Brazil. Often overlooked, the City was always seen as its older brother's cheap counterpart, or the poor man's Civic. However, with the release of the new City, some say it may have found its rightful place.

    But before 1996, the City started out as a cheap economy hatchback sold around Europe and Australia. However, almost 40 years after the dissolution of the hatch variant, the city car returns as the replacement for the Jazz, carrying a longer body, a lower roofline, and a more German sense of fashion.

    The City's rear takes inspiration from the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, but takes its sloping roofline from the Audi A1. From the sides, it takes appearance of a mini-CR-v with a resemblance to the proportions of a Suzuki SX4, albeit less SUV and more wagon. And on the car's front, it utilizes the modern honeycomb design, suggesting a more sportier image compared to the new Jazz sold only in Europe, Japan, and China.

    Inside, the City amounts to standard technology, such as its push-key start and infotainment system, found in many other modern cars. It carries a coalescence of fabric and plastic around the interior, offering a simple yet quite drab look. The dull look of the interior rather makes up for it with its increased utilization, where around the cabin, many spots of storage, from cubby holes on the back of the center console, to the retractable rear seats for an increase in luggage space makes it quite the storehouse, inferencing its strong point.

    The City hatch, such as this one, is only made available with the RS trim. It carries a 1.5L VTEC engine that generates a fair 119 brake horsepower with 145 Nm of torque. This gives it a top speed of 175 km/h, a 0 to 100 acceleration of 9.7 seconds, yet an astounding fuel economy of 65 MPG, or 3.6L/100km.

    At a price of ₱1.1 million. The City stands in the same price range of the old Jazz, cheaper than the Mazda 2, but relatively more pricey than the Yaris. It has certainly got the looks to heed attention from buyers, yet unfortunately lacks in the department of the interior. But for a replacement for the Jazz, the City assuredly lives up to that standard and more. How about you? What do you think of the new Honda City? Do you think it has found its rightful place? Let me know in the comments below.