Honda City ZX Vtec - A wise investment.

I bought a Honda City zx Vtec in Oct 2006. Have driven it for a past 10 months.

Performance - Good initial pickup, when the rpm goes over 3500 and all valves kick in, the vehicle literally leaps forward and you can feel it. Cannot take the rpm past the red line as the ECU seems to cut off the acceleration but anything above 3500 rpm is fun in this car. I have driven the car at 165kmph and found it pretty stable once you get a feel of the steering.

Braking : Most people say that the brakes lock up, I have braked hard in this car to bring the vehicle down from 150 kmph to 10 kmph (thanks to the bullock cart on the highway !) and it did not lock up. All wheel disc really helps and the braking is pretty good

Mileage : The car gives me 12-13:5 kmpl in the city and gives 17-18 kmpl on the highway which is brilliant.

Comfort - Very comfortable seats both in front and rear, leg room is also pretty good. Oustanding alpine music system (not integrated) with built in sub-woofer. The A/C is excellent and cools the cabin almost instantly. the instrument cluster and controls are decent, the optitron illumination is good. The boot is enormous (500 L).

Ride Quality and Stability : The ride quality is good but not excellent. the ride euality can be improved by playing aaround with the tyre pressure. I found that 28psi (solo) or 29psi (4 adults) improved the ride quality.

Running Costs and After Sales: So far, I have had to re-paint the front bumper as someone dashed into it in a parking lot taking a considerable amount of paint from my car with them !. It cost me less than 3k which I feel is not very expensive. No other issues with the car so far and hence nothing to spend on !. After sales is pretty good. The service dealers are polite and prompt. They have never been rude or unreasonable as stated in some reviews. The build quality is excellent. I drive through mud and gravel (caused due to road works) everyday and no rattles so far.

Overall the car is easy to maintain and practical. I agree that the features list is pretty less and ABS, EBD, Airbags are not to be found in a car that costs close to 9L. I guess the premium is for the quality that has gone into the car which can be found in every aspect of it. Even the floor mats have been designed to please the customer with the driver's side getting an additional grip and button which keeps the mat in place.

There are some features that are not mentioned in most reviews

Height adjustable front seatbelts.

5th wheel is also an original Honda alloy.

There is a lot of storage space under the rear seat of the car.

The brightness of the instrument cluster can be adjusted to reduce fatigue.

Theatre Dimming Light