Honda City: 10,000 kms later ...

Someone emailed me and asked me some pretty detailed questions about my Honda City VTEC, so I thought I'd do this blog to coincide with the 10,000 km mark my City hit just recently.

So, you ask, what do you think about the City so far ??

You've got to read this and this blog to get some overview about my beloved car. From a Proton driving background, this car definately hits the right spots ...

So, let's do a 10,000 low down ...


Any problems so far ??
None. Pretty darn good. Except for the complicated alarm system, which could sometimes get me going nuts (it immobilises the car after 4 minutes, it complaints if you turn on the car but don't start after sometime, it goes nuts if u leave boot open for too long, etc.). But more secure is good.

How about the service from Honda?
The car came with a 20,000 40,000 km 0r 2 years (whichever comes first) free service package when I bought it.

And it's great. No hassle. Just drive it to your nearest Honda Authorised Service Center. Once they've verified you're still eligible for free service, it takes around 90 minutes or so to turnaround the car. And there's a free car wash thrown in for good effect too. And they play really funny movies in the service center I go to. So, I'm not complaining.

Fuel Economy?
Great. Averaging around 15 - 16 km/l, on a mixture of highway and urban driving. My normal drive to work is from Bandar Kinrara to Pusat Bandar Damansara. In case that sounded like Greek to some of you, what it means is - I have to drive 25 kms, mostly on a highway which will normally have long sections of slow moving urban crawl, at least 1 section of badly congested traffic where 2 kms takes 20 minutes to travel, and a few stretches where traffic flows freely. Now, multiply that by 2 (because I need to drive home) and then by 5 (because I work 5 days everyweek) ... and that's my driving week. This sort of drive will yield fuel consumption of around 15 - 16 km/l. Done 17 km/l before on pure highway driving.

On my RM65 worth of petrol, I'll get at least 12 days of travel. Yes, I've been keeping track ... ;)

Let's be honest, I am a 'normal' driver. I don't normally drive at speeds above 90 km/h on my work commute, simply because there isn't any reason to. I find that when you push the car (keep it revving above 3,000 rpm), then fuel economy goes south. This shouldn't surprise anyone - it's well known that going easy on the gas pedal will generally help improve fuel economy. So, if you drive reasonably, fuel economy is very good.

If you keep to just abour 2,000 rpm as consistently as you can, then you'll find your petrol ringgit streches more.

Vibration?
Don't feel anything out of ordinary. Car is very smooth. Even when idling, it really is just ... quiet and nice.

And no, I don't feel the gear change at all.

Suspension?
With the correct tire pressure, the car's suspension is decent. It's a bit on the harder side of things - that's the way it is, says my Honda service guy - which makes a sporty ride. But you'll know immediately when tire pressure needs to be adjusted - the bumpiness factor just increases dramatically. Imagine driving a motorboat head on into a 3 foot wave. Not nearly that dramatic, but you get the idea.


I think that covers the question most owners would have once they've owned a car for a bit. I'm all for practicality - thus this is a great fit for me. I would be having epileptic fits if I have to go through some of the Proton service or Toyota service I've heard of.

It's serving me well, and I hope it'll stay that way. I heard some rattling noise issues with only 1 other City owner (iDSI, lady owner), but I don't have the same issue, and others I know of have not reported the same, so I'm assuming she's unlucky.

The aircon is fine as well. One of the previous complaints (esp in the original City model) is about the power of the air conditioning system. I don't know if there's a problem in that one, but this 2006 Honda City VTEC, cool is not a problem. Take it from a man who hates the heat when driving.


I think my windscreen wiper might need to be replaced, but other than that, no worries at all. In all, a great car. Happy 10,000 km, Moz Mobile ....


*** Farewell, mozPod ***
Sold my iPod mini today ... I'm hoping the new owner will find as much joy as I have had ... It had accompanied me practically to at least 1 corner of the world, and it's a solid companion to have, especially on flights where you don't have personal entertainment consoles ... *tsk* ... I miss you ...

And I'll be looking forward to a iPod nano ... !!!