Honda recently commenced the deliveries of its first hybrid car in India, the City e:HEV. Although this hybrid version is based on the firm’s fifth-generation City, it comes with an improved claimed mileage and a slew of additional features.

Electric powertrain

Powering the City e:HEV is a 1,497cc, inline, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, Atkinson-cycle petrol engine linked to a battery pack and a dual electric-motor setup (one of them acts as a starter generator while the other delivers a brief power boost). The hybrid system is mated to an e-CVT automatic transmission. Furthermore, the engine produces 97bhp/127Nm, whereas the electric motor delivers 107bhp/253Nm.

The hybrid sedan features three driving modes: EV Drive, Hybrid Drive, and Engine Drive. With the EV Drive mode, one can drive the car solely on battery power for a brief time. Meanwhile, the combined power output is rated at 125bhp. As claimed, the City e:HEV gives out the fuel efficiency of 26.5kmpl as compared to 18.4kmpl of the combustion-powered City.

Honda Sensing

Honda Sensing is a suite of active electronic safety features, famously known as ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance systems). It consists of adaptive cruise control, auto high beam assist, lane departure warning, lane keep assist system, and collision mitigation braking system.

ADAS is a camera, sensor, and radar-based system and uses a high-tech onboard computer to analyse and process the gathered data to make informed decisions. In specific situations, with the help of this system, the car can steer, brake, or accelerate itself.

Features

The hybrid sedan gets plenty of features, such as full-LED headlights, LED fog lamps, a semi-digital instrument cluster, an eight-inch infotainment system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with Weblink connectivity, next-generation Honda connect system with Alexa and Google voice assistant support, smartwatch connectivity, an electric sunroof, and an auto-dimming inside rearview mirror.

Furthermore, the smartwatch connectivity allows you to turn on/off the air conditioner, lock/unlock doors, find your car, open the boot, and provides auto crash alerts, tow-away notifications, and geofencing alerts. To read our 2022 Honda City e:HEV review, click here.

Safety equipment

The list of safety features includes hill start assist, vehicle stability control, agile handling assist, four-wheel disc brakes, electric parking brake with auto hold, a left-lane watch camera, a tyre pressure monitoring system, six airbags (front, side, and curtain), a rearview camera and parking sensors, keyless entry, and a smart electric boot lock.