The Honda City Hatchback RS is available in either hybrid or petrol guise, which should you choose.
The Honda City Hatchback is one of those rare underdogs in the market that you can’t help but root for. Where other Japanese manufacturers have more or less given up on the B-segment hatchback market, Honda has doubled down. They came up with this new model and launched it locally in 2021 to replace the Jazz.
Not only did they introduce an all-new nameplate to the market, they also made it available with their latest and greatest hybrid technology, now marketed under the ‘e:HEV’ brand name. From 2021 until mid-2024, Honda Malaysia sold 30,000 City Hatchbacks in Malaysia. While it’s not an exceedingly high number, this does make it the most popular non-national hatchback in Malaysia and that is an achievement to be proud of.
With the facelift model arriving in May 2024, we got some minor enhancements to the package and a new petrol version of the RS trim. The exterior design has been tweaked with the RS model getting a new grille, front lower grille element, LED foglights and foglight garnish, side sill garnish, rear bumper lower element, and wheels.
Inside, the seats are redesigned and for infotainment, the e:HEV RS and petrol RS models get wireless Apple Carplay and wireless Android Auto. Auto air conditioning is now enhanced with coloured illumination when the temperature is increased or decreased. Finally, there’s a new Phoenix Orange colour option.
So, as you can probably tell the facelift brings very minor upgrades over what was a pretty substantive upgrade in 2021. We took both the hybrid and petrol versions of the City Hatchback RS for our VOTY evaluations this year. While both were still impressive in their class, the minor upgrades were just not enough to beat out the new competition in the space.
Petrol Or Hybrid: The Power Of Choice
One of the most overlooked aspects of the new City Hatchback is that it gives Malaysians the choice between pure petrol power and hybrid power while still retaining almost all the same major equipment. Between the two cars, the visual differences are pretty negligible now that they both sport an RS body kit and interior.
Unfortunately it’s not completely an apples to apples comparison. The e:HEV model is RM12,000 more expensive than the i-VTEC model but you do get your money’s worth. In terms of equipment, the hybrid version has an electronic parking brake with brake hold.
The Adaptive Cruise Control function on the Hybrid also gets Low-Speed Follow, which is absent in the petrol model. These functions add a lot of convenience to the daily drive and by themselves justify the 12% price increase.
However, it’s the performance and efficiency of the hybrid system that really justifies the price difference. The e:HEV model is noticeably more responsive and accelerates much faster not just to 100km/h but seems to have a stronger torque response throughout. This means that whenever your really need the power, the hybrid delivers a more consistent and usable experience.
The hybrid motor sips 3.7L of fuel per 100km while the petrol motor needs 5.6L to cover the same distance. If both cars are driven 20,000km/year for 7 years at the current RON95 prices, the hybrid would have saved you more than RM5,400 just based on the average fuel efficiency figures quoted. We’re sure the hybrid is far more efficient in stop-and-go traffic versus the petrol model.
So, while RM12,000 sounds like a massive price hike to go from the petrol RS to the hybrid RS, we think it’s a completely justified expense.
That being said there are going to be some customers who prefer the City Hatchback RS with petrol power – and here’s why. Firstly, the petrol motor is simply more consistent in its behaviour because there’s no engine start-stop and the powertrain behaves in a very linear fashion. This is not the case with the 1.5L e:HEV where the engine turns on and off whenever it needs to, often completely independent to what your brake and throttle input.
It can be a little jarring, especially at low speed. Imagine you’re just inching the e:HEV RS car forward by releasing pressure off the brake pedal. Suddenly the engine fires up and your gut reaction is to slam on the brakes. Obviously, the engine turning on doesn’t affect the rate the car creeps forward, but it is completely out of nowhere and very disruptive.
The second reason why is perceived resale value and maintenance costs post warranty. There’s a reason for this. The first and second generation of Japanese hybrid vehicles sold here did not hold up quite as well as their petrol counterparts.
While the market today is more accepting of hybrids in general, there’s still a pervasive belief that hybrids save you on running costs but cost you dearly when it comes to resale value. Often in the past, some parts even cost more and this may feed into the resale value problem. Lumped into this is the fact that the petrol model also comes with a spare tyre, which is a more practical alternative to a tyre sealant kit found on the hybrid.
Thirdly, I think there’s just something psychological about the RM100,000 barrier that may put off some buyers from the hybrid version. Sure, this City petrol is also past that RM100,000 mark, but it’s not THAT far out at RM100,900.
Frequent promos, such as the ongoing ‘Upgrade. Save. Enjoy’ campaign, instantly drops the price of the City Hatchback RS petrol by RM4,000 making it an RM96,900 car where the City Hatchback e:HEV RS is still an RM110,000 car AFTER discount. When you frame it that way, the petrol model feels like a competitive buy where the hybrid model is reaching into HR-V territory.
Hatchback To Beat
Regardless of your powertrain choice, if you’re looking for an upgrade to the Perodua Myvi that simultaneously improves packaging while maintaining a compact 5-door footprint, the City Hatchback is the one to get. The Toyota Vios and Mazda2, while good at certain things, are both really long in the tooth at this point.
The City Hatchback feels fresher than anything else it competes against thanks to the new vivid 8″ screen with wireless AA/AC and driver digital instrument cluster. The buttons are clicky and tactile. The rear seats fold flat down or stow up and out of the way, allowing for unrivaled flexibility. Its biggest weakness are the lack of a 360-degree camera, LaneWatch camera of low resolution and manual seat controls. Besides those two drawbacks it’s really hard to see how the City Hatchback can be significantly improved.
2024 Honda City Hatchback e:HEV RS
Engine: Inline-4, 16-Valve, DOHC, Atkinson Cycle
Capacity: 1498cc
Gearbox: e-CVT
Max power: 98PS engine, 109PS motor
Max torque: 127Nm engine, 254Nm motor
Top Speed: 177 km/h
0-100 km/h: 9.7 seconds
Price: RM112,900
2024 Honda City Hatchback 1.5L RS
Engine: Inline-4, 16-Valve, DOHC
Capacity: 1498cc
Gearbox: CVT
Max power: 121PS
Max torque: 145Nm
Top Speed: 193 km/h
0-100 km/h: 10.7 seconds
Price: RM100,900
