Ford Fiesta 1.6 vs Honda City ZX VTEC

Ford Fiesta vs Honda City. DOHC Duratec vs SOHC VTEC. Europe vs Japan. It's a battle between two cars coming from two different cultures...

Story: Sameer Kumar Photography: Kunal Khadse & Rhinton Mehta

VTEC. AS AUTOMOTIVE ACRONYMS go, this one is pretty evocative of high-performance engines from Japan - and more specifically, from Honda. 'Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control,' the first system of its kind, developed by Honda, is right up there with the best of other such systems - like VVT-i from Toyota and VANOS from BMW - all of which were developed after the Honda system. Here in India, the 'old' Honda City VTEC offered 107PS in a lightweight, responsive and flickable package that kept the driver entertained. Straight out of the box, it didn't seem as well planted as, say, a Ford Ikon 1.6, but the City VTEC's high-revving engine, slick gearbox and the Honda name made it irresistible to many, including me.

The whole mid-size car paradigm though has evolved mightily in the last three to four years. More affordability from the middle class set has seen a major upgrade movement from the Zen-class of car users. In this period, the move to even more stringent emission norms also came into play and every car maker worth his performance standing had to change, big time. Some could do it easily, others laboured away towards it while some are yet grappling with it. The conundrum is acute because what was possible earlier in the freer-breathing, freer emitting world has had to be penalised - in performance terms just to feel good and clean in an ever conscious green world.

Thankfully, there yet are car makers who haven't forgotten their raison d'etre - cars which delight while yet being made for the masses and this test is all about two such cars, one from the old world - read that as Europe, while the other is from the best exponent of the automotive art in the Orient - Japan. Ford is the perceived maker of small cars with a performance edge while Honda has performance writ large all over its produce.

I was a big fan of the last-generation City VTEC and was much saddened by its demise. But that was three years ago. The world has moved on since then, and now, the City VTEC is back. It looks more mature and less boy-racer-ish than the old one. It's more refined, more comfortable and safer. But, it's also heavier than the old one and is slightly less powerful. Can the new City VTEC re-kindle the old magic?

And what's even more important is, can it take on the brawny new Ford Fiesta, with its 101PS, 1.6-litre, DOHC 'Duratec' engine? In this segment, it's more than just 0 - 100km/h times and power-to-weight ratios. Fuel efficiency, ride comfort, cabin space and the value for money factor are also very important considerations, and the Fiesta has been engineered ground up to take these very things into account. Should be a good battle, eh? Bung in the bossman, our road test editor and yours truly and haul out into the hills for a good thrash.

Source: Car India March 2006.