My new Honda City is now 1 and half years old. It’s a new City Gxi (Aug 2004 model).

I would say - a very good car for space, interior and fuel economy. Though, I have gotten fuel average in the range to 12 to 21 ! Must have something to do with quality of petrol....By the way, what’s the verdict on the type of petrol that one should use in Honda City ? I use SPEED wherever available. Any technical analysis on why this is (or is not ) the right fuel is welcome. I am searching for this but haven’t got the info.

Very smooth ride, silent engine are surely the plus points. Ground clearance is very less which Honda MUST increase. Suspensions are very good. If you protect them, they protect you.

After around 20,000 KM, when I switch ON the AC, I started getting some kind of a smell for first 30 seconds or so - similar to the smell of wet dust (mitti ki khushboo!!!)...I checked with the dealer and they said they will need to open the dashboard and do a complete AC cleaning....I am a little upset with this problem as I did not hear about this from anyone else. And if this happens every 20,000 KM (that is, one year), it’s not impressive. Plus, they charge Rs. 1100 for this AC clean-up which is ridiculous.

Also, after 20,000 KM, the steering started to give a screeching noise (local). Turned out that the metal plate that makes contact (inside the steering wheel) on pressing the HORN had needs oiling. Now, I have to specify them to do that in every servicing.

Radiator cleaning is also an issue. After any highway drive, you can see that a lot of dust particles, insects are trapped in the radiator fins. Cleaning this is very difficult and tedious. The Honda manual says one should spray water with gentle pressure or use soft-brush to clean. I tried this, but did not work. I you touch the fins, they bend - they are very delicate. I really doubt whether this can be taken care of by the owner on a weekend. Honda service center MUST do the radiator cleaning during every servicing, but they don’t !

Honda service sucks!

Thanks,
Anand

Purchase Price (INR):	745000
Dealer Name and City:	Deccan Honda, Pune
Model Year:	2004