31 October 2006

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 ... !!!

21 comments:

rainbow angeles said...

Chup first!
:D

I want a Honda next :D

And hor, what happened to your liuliu xxxBox? Boh liao???

inevitable said...

My waja sucks... BIG TIME!

Anonymous said...

Epppy 10,000kms!!! Here's to many more kmssssss.

Mine just hit 20,000kms less than a month ago.

And believe you not, I keep track of my car's fuel consumption too. Virgoans Rule!

Anonymous said...

Happy 10,000 km, Moz Mobile :)

Infectioner said...

yeah! I win! My Myvi hit 15000km weeks ago! :D

moz monster said...

angeliu:
chup get nothing on this blog, hor? maybe just a hug or a lame hi-five .... but nvm, since u chupped ... i give you another kiwi key chain ??

inevitable:
How's Sydney? Having fun climbing the Harbour Bridge?

I heard the Waja is pretty decent ... and it's got Lotus tuning and suspension ... can't be all that bad ...

In Oz, they tried to position Waja against the 3-series, which was a pretty bad thing to do ...

che-cheh:
Happy 20,000 kms !!!!!

Yes, VIRGOANS rule !!!

jemima:
Thanks !!! HUGS !!!

infectioner:
Happy 15,000 kms !!!!! You sure you've taken that car out for drifting ?

Wahlau ... liddat oso wanna compete ah ? Ok lor, you win, you have the older car =p

Wingz said...

my wira hit 57k today!!!! better than marsile!!!

moz monster said...

wingz:
Taiko ... sure anot, better than mar-silly ... ? i wanna test drive kenornot?

moz monster said...

anonymous:
Didn't realise you would be pissed off. Did I step on your toes or tail? =p

And yeah, I feel alright. Thanks for asking. Cheers, mate !!

Anonymous said...

10,000kms!!! How old the car is? 5mths?

moz monster said...

anonymous:
It's about 9 months old now ... don't get to drive it often enough - always out of town =(

Anonymous said...

wow!!! u always aboard!!! fun ma? Jealous!!

moz monster said...

anonymous:
Always away can be fun. But it can be no fun too.

Anonymous said...

yah! I agree! always fun if away but less work! =P

Anonymous said...

I guess, u r a malaysian. How about the rest of the gang? :)

moz monster said...

anonymous:
You're spot on ! It's only fun when you get to mix work and fun. Most travel is just work !! =( .. but I'm thankful for the travel opps.

Yes, I'm Malaysian.

Who's the 'gang' ?

Anonymous said...

the "gang" is the people who read your dairy everyday. =D

moz monster said...

anonymous:
I think they are ... but maybe you'd like to discover for yourself ?

Anonymous said...

how about the back bonnet? my city's bonnet hit me and my wife couple of times.. the last time was the worst!
but i still keep it although i bought a new 3-star branded car!

moz monster said...

wang pirangpirang:
the boot? or the bonnet? i'm assuming you are talking about the boot - we call the back storage area the boot here - terms might be different ...

i have no problems with either, both are fine. works ok ... no issues at all. spacious, the door works fine, closes well ... and opens without a problem.

Kew said...

Yea, totally echo what Moz mention, moving from a Potong, this car certainly mets all the expectation of a decent and reliable car..

Recently we had the chance to visit the honda plant, and it was impressive all the quality checks Honda puts into the process.

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