Honda City Hatchback Debuts in Thailand

After chalking up an impressive record of 9,000 bookings after a month of its launch in Malaysia, the hatchback variant of the Honda City has made its global debut in Thailand today. Though not as legendary as the Honda Civic hatchback, the Honda City Hatchback traces its lineage back to almost 30 years. 

With the Honda Jazz fending off the newly launched facelifted Toyota Yaris and the Mazda2, we won’t be surprised if this handsome looking thing will replace the aging hatchback in Malaysia. 

Honda has extended the roofline of the City rearwards, culminating in a roof spoiler before steeply raking down to a taut looking rear end which sports a pair of new taillights. The chunky C-pillars lends the car a distinctive look which should appeal to the target audience. 

In terms of size, the Honda City Hatchback is 208mm shorter than the sedan at 4,345mm, while height has increased 21mm to 1,488mm - a little bit more bulbous then. Wheelbase and width remains unchanged. 

The dashboard is identical to the sedan variant, where an 8-inch infotainment display sits on the dashboard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Being a Honda hatchback, however, is its versatility - the body style-exclusive Ultra Seats contributed to increased legroom compared to the sedan. According to Honda, the seats can be arranged in 4 different settings - utility, long, tall, and refresh. 

In Thailand, this sporty little thing is powered by the same 1.0-litre VTEC Turbo 3-cylinder engine which churns out 122hp and 173Nm. Power is sent to the front wheels via a CVT gearbox. However if it makes it here, we don’t expect to see the same. 

The Honda City Hatchback comes in 3 variants in the Land of Smiles, one less than the sedan. Prices start at THB599k (RM81k) for the entry-level S+, making it more expensive across the board than the City sedan.