Honda has launched the City Hybrid e:HEV in India with prices starting at Rs 19.50 lakh (ex-showroom). It is priced at Rs 4.5 lakh over the top-spec City ZX diesel. As the name suggests, it is an electric hybrid version of the car and is the first in its class to offer such technology.

We have driven the car and you can find a link to the review list here. We have also shot a video with the car and that’s linked above. What’s more, if you want a detailed look at the EV technology in the City hybrid click on the link below.

On the outside, as a part of the updates, the City hybrid gets the EV specific blue Honda logo, faux splitter element at the rear and of course, the e:HEV badging at the rear. The exterior changes are minimal but enough to make this hybrid City stand out among its standard siblings.

This Hybrid City e:HEV gets a new ivory-white over black upholstery as compared to the black and beige scheme of the ICE models and it lends a premium appeal to the car. However, the rest of the cabin remains unchanged and you get the same layout and feature list as the top-spec ZX variant.

The instrument cluster has been modified and instead of the tachometer, you get a digital screen that shows you information about charge in the battery, hybrid tech at work and is also the only display for using the ADAS/Honda Sensing technology.

The biggest highlight of the Honda City is its claimed fuel efficiency of 26.5kmpl which when combined with a 40-litre petrol tank gives a claimed range of 1063km. This is a major update from the standard Honda City petrol CVT’s 763km.

In terms of experience, it looks, feels and drives just like the regular Honda City which is a good thing as it will help normalise the car for buyers. However, we felt that some of the quality of plastics used inside could have been improved to match the pricing.

The ride quality is great and it has plushness that helps absorb most bumps and imperfections without much of a struggle. Honda has said that it has re-tuned the suspension setup to account for the additional weight of the hybrid drivetrain.

The City Hybrid debuts a new technology called Honda Sensing. It is an ADAS suite that comprises collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation system, lane keeps assist, adaptive cruise control and auto high beam function.

Photography: Kapil Angane