I’ve been dillydallying on buying a car for some time now, what with my scant interest in driving, the cost of fuel and maintenance, and the worsening traffic situation in Manila. However, whenever holidays like the upcoming Holy Week come around, that’s when I really wish I have a car so I can go on a road trip, which I think is one of the best things about having your own car.

So when my family decided to spend the weekend in a beach resort in Batangas, Estrellas de Mendoza in Laiya, San Juan, I decided to give Honda’s new City a test drive (we tried the 1.5 VX Taffeta White model). Well, my boyfriend took over driving duties, but I got his very detailed feedback on the experience. I can tell you right now, we’re both pretty impressed with the car.

Taffeta White

This new City is the fourth generation of Honda Cars’ bestselling model, with six available variants to choose from. The new City has a sleek, sophisticated, and sporty look and feel, with comfortable and spacious interiors, impressive new technology and features, and, more importantly, improved fuel efficiency. If you’re really thinking about buying a new car, read my very detailed review of the new City and how it performed during our road trip around the Southern Tagalog region recently.

1. Fuel-efficiency and sufficient engine power in long drives

I’ve always known the City to be one of the most fuel-efficient cars around, but when we tried this latest version, we didn’t expect it to exceed our expectations.

Just think: We went from the Honda Cars Philippines in Bonifacio Global City to Trese Martires, Cavite, and then Nurture Wellness Village in Tagaytay on the first day. On the second day, we drove from Nurture to Antonio’s for lunch, and then drove all the way across Batangas, from one end to the other, passing not highways but town streets, to get to Laiya in San Juan, Batangas. On the third day, we drove from Laiya to another town in San Juan, before driving to Alabang for dinner, and later settling in Discovery Suites in Ortigas for the night. On the fourth day, we drove around Ortigas and San Juan before going back to BGC. We started with a full tank, yet we still had around over a quarter tank of fuel left after four long days of traveling! My boyfriend just couldn’t get over how fuel-efficient it was, he kept exclaiming about it. Not once did we stop for gas.

The new City has Honda’s improved 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine that delivers maximum power output of 120 ps at 6600 rpm. This is mated to a new 5-speed manual transmission and developed under Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology, new Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT with 7-speed paddle shifters). It had sufficient horse power for easy driving, even on the highway, while maintaining fuel efficiency.

What probably contributed to the impressive fuel efficiency is the ECO Assist system, which consists of the ECON mode that controls the engine, drive-by-wire, transmission, and air-conditioning performance to improve fuel consumption; and the Eco coaching ambient light that promotes a more fuel-efficient driving habit by glowing green when throttle input is light and glowing blue when throttle input is heavy. No wonder we didn’t consume the full tank, we mostly stayed on green. Not necessarily by choice: Heavy traffic in the Cavite and Batangas towns because of all the road work was mainly responsible for that. And, well, my boyfriend is a responsible driver, haha.

He also liked the seamless shifting that gives rapid response, and he kept going on and on about the “great turning radius.” I did notice that he’s able to execute sharp turns (like when we missed our turn on the road) rather smoothly. He said the brakes are also very responsive. Overall, he said he appreciates the responsive handling of the new City.

2. Porma factor: Did not scrimp on style and size

Now, let’s get to appearances, because for a fuel-efficient car, it’s really rather classy. It has a sleek front form and dynamic side form, with a solid wing face harmonized with low front face, aerodynamic bumper design, and clear-cut side panel. In other words, it looks very stylish to me. But more than that, with its angular lines and sharp creases, the new City glided through the air efficiently.

It comes in five colors: Gold Brown Metallic (VX and VX+ only), Carnelian Red Pearl (E CVT and VX only), Modern Steel Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl (except VX+), and Taffeta White (which is what we tried, and my boyfriend thinks this looks most sophisticated).

Gold Brown Metallic (front view)

While the new City retains its compact size, the engineers managed to create an interior space with increased and substantial head, shoulder, and knee room; leg room that is comparable to some mid-size sedans; and generous trunk space: We were able to fit two small hard-case luggage, and there was room left for at least one or two more, plus small boxes and more bags. It’s definitely spacious and seems bigger than the older City.

Through heavy traffic jams, long drives, and sometimes bumpy rides (read: dirt road), both my boyfriend (the driver) and I (the passenger) remained comfortable and secure in the ergonomic seats, so thank goodness for that. Otherwise, we would have been very sore and grumpy.

3. Awesome audio and touchscreen features

Another thing we were impressed with are the super cool, user-friendly, and convenient features of the new City, such as the multi-function seven-inch touch-screen display audio, which allows you to control your hands-free telephone (HFT) and the radio and stream audio via Bluetooth. Certain variants of the new City, like the model we tried, are equipped with a multi-view reverse camera that is capable of displaying three views (normal, wide-angle, and top-down), and this touch-screen automatically shifted to the camera view whenever we were backing up.

My boyfriend could also easily operate the audio via controls mounted on the leather-wrapped steering wheel—for instance, when he doesn’t like the next song on the radio station I’ve chosen, haha.

Speaking of sounds, we were sound-tripping the entire time we were driving around, and we’re pretty impressed with the sound quality and power of the 8-speaker sound system (four speakers on each side) of the car. It made for a fun experience singing, rapping, and dancing in our seats to loud Rnb music and ’90s hip-hop beats while stuck in traffic!

4. Temperature control and other techie features

Just below the display audio unit is the automatic air-conditioning system with a user-friendly touch panel. There were more temperature options than just 1 to 5, so I was easily able to set the air-conditioning to a precise coolness that’s comfortable to me and my boyfriend.

Since I was using Waze and Google Maps on my iPhone 6 to navigate our way through Cavite, Tagaytay, and Batangas (I was trying to maximize my free one month of the Navigation Pack on the new Globe myLifestyle plan, and I have to commend Globe for having consistent mobile internet signal throughout my trip, in all our destinations!), it helped that the City is equipped with different ports such as auxiliary, USB, and the new HDMI port that lets you connect and mirror your smartphone on the display audio screen. I was able to charge my phone conveniently via the USB port, too!

Another addition to the advanced dashboard design is the Smart Key with Push Start System, which intelligently locks and unlocks the doors without even touching the smart key, and a push button to start or turn off the engine.

5. Safety

The only time we were really able to put a safety feature to the test was when we got lost at night in some deserted area close to the beach resorts in Laiya that didn’t seem to have any lights on anywhere. The resort was plotted incorrectly by users on the crowd-sourced Google Maps, so we were led down a dark, narrow dirt road lined with trees, similar to what you see in horror movies. Good thing the fog light was pretty powerful, so we were never completely in the dark and we saw our way very clearly.

Thankfully, we didn’t have a reason to test the other safety features of the new City, like the driver and passenger SRS airbags and anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD). The top of the line variant that we tried also had additional safety features such as side airbags, side curtain airbags, vehicle stability assist (VSA), hill start assist, child seat anchors, 60:40 rear seats, and driver and front passenger seatbelt reminder (which sometimes annoys my boyfriend because it really wouldn’t stop beeping until you put your seatbelt on). Case in point: It was beeping while we were taking the photo below, lol.

6. Value for money: Not just a city car, it’s a road trip car

Sure, it may be named a City, leading us to believe it’s really just good for city driving, but this new generation definitely broke boundaries—literally and figuratively. More than just taking you to work or mall errands on weekends, it can definitely take you places, as our experience has proven. My boyfriend says the new City is an easy drive in and out of the city, with impressive gadgets, comfortable interiors, and sleek exterior.

The City 1.5 VX Taffeta White model we tried costs P890,000, and my boyfriend thinks it definitely gives great value for your money. Here’s a quick price guide if you’re interested.

Visit any of the authorized Honda dealerships nationwide or visit www.hondaphil.com to know more about the available features specific to each variant.