Honda City VX i-DTech or Hyundai Verna CRDI SX(O)


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Budget: Rs.12 lakhs on road

New or Used: New

Location: Chandigarh

Top Five Priorities: Safety, Comfort, Low Maintenance, Drivability

Monthly Running: 3000kms/Month

Type of Fuel: Diesel

For What Purpose: Regular Use

Seating Capacity: 90% only just 1 or 2 people on board.

Type of Segment: Sedan

Looking for a new car for my uncle who currently drives a 2011 Tata Manza ABS diesel which has just clocked 1,00,000kms a few days back. So planning to replace this one with a newer model. He has already shortlisted 2 cars after test driving them and wants me to take the final call for him.

Shortlisted cars -

1.Hyundai Verna.
2.Honda City


No Vento's/Rapid's as his running is a lot and these car's maintenance is surely on the higher side. Renault Scala/Nissan Sunny rejected for there looks and poor interior designs.

So finally took out some time to look at the two cars today. Had taken prior appointments for extensive test drives and fortunately both the Honda & Hyundai dealer obliged.

Took an extensive test drive of the new Honda City diesel first. The car looks pretty decent in person specially the variants V & VX with the company fitted alloys and Chrome door handles. Interiors are two generation ahead than the previous model. Really liked the touch interface for the Auto Climate control. The Head unit in V & VX variant is pretty neat as well with features of reverse camera etc. And space wise it seems to be the segment leader among the likes of Verna, Vento & Rapid.

Now coming to the drive - The moment I started the ignition there were notable engine noise and vibrations in the cabin at idle, gradually they declined in about 15seconds but still prevalent. Slotted the first gear and the car moved, not as briskly as I would have liked though. Engine noise at RPM's of 2.5k was quite evident inside the cabin. On the outside, the Honda iDtech engine sounded as loud as my Polo 1.2 TDI, but somehow on the inside I feel Polo's cabin is a tad better insulated.(Just my personal perception) Gear shifts were neat but a little notchy going from 2nd to 3rd. I really liked the driving position in the Honda City. Pushed the car to 100kmph quickly and slotted 6th gear and it was cruising at 2k RPM without any fuss. Though I would have really liked a little more power on tap in this segment but not complaining as such. Steering feedback was surely better than Hyundai Verna which I drove immediately 10mins later.

Here are the impressions of Verna 1.6 SX(O) CRDI I drove immediately later to compare with the Honda's I-Dtech.

Push the start button and you won't come to know if the engine has come to life. Yes this good are the NVH levels and minimal vibrations in the Verna. Kudos to engineers at Hyundai for achieving this almost zero levels of NVH inside the cabin. Slotted first gear and immediately you could feel the extra power on tap, gear shifts were smoother than Honda and easily hit the speeds of three digit. The one thing which left me wanting was the feedback from the steering, but it surely was better than my fluidic Verna 1.6VTVT SX 2011 model. The SE told me that the suspension has been stiffened a little by Hyundai for the newer models but it still lacks the absolute driving characteristics an enthusiast would have liked.

Feature wise more or less both cars are on par with maybe Honda marginally ahead but the SX(O) with extra 4 Airbags made more sense than having a sunroof in City VX variant. Cruise control in City is surely a plus but I've my doubts over its usability in India. Backseat comfort is surely better in the City with generous sized windows as well. The upward swooping window-line in Verna makes it a little claustrophobic at the rear. But rear space is of no or little importance to him.

My uncle drives about 100kms daily on the highway as his Hospital is about 40-45kms one-way from his house. He is one of those very sedate drivers who generally don't even go beyond 70kmph even with a 6 lane empty road ahead.[frustration]

After driving the two today, I am a little bent towards the Verna SX(O) just for the extra 4 Airbags and the new set of headlamp assembly with projector and DRL's. Steering feedback is a bit of a letdown but everything else seems pretty decent and since my uncle doesn't drive at insane speeds which I have pushed my petrol Verna every now and then, I am sure he should not encounter those nervy moments which I have felt quite a few times at triple digit speeds in my Verna.

This car is not to be driven by me, so would appreciate fellow TAI members suggestions before I give him my final verdict. Thanks.

P.S. - Price comparison

Honda City VX diesel - 10.92 Lakhs ex-showroom Chandigarh. (No discounts)

Hyundai Verna SX(O) CRDI - 10.78 Lacks ex-showroom Chandigarh.(Additional 30k discount as well.)
 
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Man if you want relibilty it comes with Honda surely. The main disadvatege for Verna as you said is steering and handling problem so City have upper hand in those categoury. The cruse control is very useful on highway or proper moving traffic, belive me I am using it on daily basis which results in more fuel efficiency. More over City's siting position is more comfy then Verna.
The main downfall is NVH level but once you used to it then there is no problem at all so you can made your mind on that.
One more disadvatage is if you go for City then there is huge waiting period on V and VX model in country so you have to wait it for more.
But I think in your case the City is my choice.
All the best.
 

allhyundaicars

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He won't drive the car above 70kmph so handling issue ruled out. Stiffen the suspensions so another problem gone. No rear passengers so under thigh support problem ruled out [:D]

And I think those extra 4 airbags will come in handy rather than the sunroof. And you yourself said don't have good use of cruise control on indian roads.

I thought verna has cost cuttings but now comparing with the city[surprise]

What about high speed cornering on the skinny tyres of the city?
No proper covering below the wheel arches(even my i10 has proper cladding)
Naked boot lid.
Low quality insulation.
I wouldn't mind telling you the problems of verna as well.
Fragile front bumper and panel gaps(don't know about city) everything else you know about the car.

I'd easily save those 60-70k rupees and buy the verna or if he wants to go with the city he should buy the V model.

Just saw honda launched city with 6 airbags, vsa, bigger touch screen and what not. And in both the countries price difference between the lowest model and highest model is 3.5lakhs. So they chose not to bring those extra features in india.
 
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Budget: Rs.12 lakhs on road

New or Used: New

Location: Chandigarh

Top Five Priorities: Safety, Comfort, Low Maintenance, Drivability

Monthly Running: 3000kms/Month

Type of Fuel: Diesel

For What Purpose: Regular Use

Seating Capacity: 90% only just 1 or 2 people on board.
Honda City will be best for you .It has low maintenance and to noise levels we get adjusted .

Ankit
 
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After driving the two today, I am a little bent towards the Verna SX(O) just for the extra 4 Airbags and the new set of headlamp assembly with projector and DRL's. Steering feedback is a bit of a letdown but everything else seems pretty decent and since my uncle doesn't drive at insane speeds which I have pushed my petrol Verna every now and then, I am sure he should not encounter those nervy moments which I have felt quite a few times at triple digit speeds in my Verna.

This car is not to be driven by me, so would appreciate fellow TAI members suggestions before I give him my final verdict. Thanks.

P.S. - Price comparison

Honda City VX diesel - 10.92 Lakhs ex-showroom Chandigarh. (No discounts)

Hyundai Verna SX(O) CRDI - 10.78 Lacks ex-showroom Chandigarh.(Additional 30k discount as well.)
If you feel NVH levels of ANHC is on higher side then I suggest you to go with Verna since additional airbags adds value more than Sunroof and Cruise control which is of very little use in our conditons. Also, since your uncle is used to drive below 70 then I don't think the nervousness of Verna will affect very much. Moreover, a common man would prefer light steering than feelsome steering though it depends.
 
Thread Starter #6
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Man if you want relibilty it comes with Honda surely. The main disadvatege for Verna as you said is steering and handling problem so City have upper hand in those categoury. The cruse control is very useful on highway or proper moving traffic, belive me I am using it on daily basis which results in more fuel efficiency. More over City's siting position is more comfy then Verna.
The main downfall is NVH level but once you used to it then there is no problem at all so you can made your mind on that.
One more disadvatage is if you go for City then there is huge waiting period on V and VX model in country so you have to wait it for more.
But I think in your case the City is my choice.
All the best.
Thanks for your suggestion HaruH. Reliability regarding petrol engines from Honda is of absolutely no doubt. But they are a late entrant in the diesel terrain and I have my doubts over the reliability of I-Dtech as of now. Its just 7-8months old in the market as of now. Maybe 2-3 years down the line I could comment more on the reliability aspect of this diesel engine from Honda.

Good to know that you're actually able to use Cruise control in India. I have tried it many times myself on the highways but more or less every time I had to disengage it with-in a minute or two because of our famous Indian roads.

I agree driving position is better in the City and even the steering feedback was much better than Verna but the noisy cabin was a big irritant and was taking the pleasure of driving somewhat away. I am presuming you drive a Honda I-dtech diesel yourself, does the engine noise decrease noticeably after the run-in period? And what about any floor or clutch vibrations?

Waiting period is not an issue I guess here in Chandigarh. They have huge stocks piled up for the fast moving colors like white & silver or else even if they had to order for a specific color like Golden Brown, I was quoted 3-4 weeks time for both V and VX variants.

He won't drive the car above 70kmph so handling issue ruled out. Stiffen the suspensions so another problem gone. No rear passengers so under thigh support problem ruled out [:D]

And I think those extra 4 airbags will come in handy rather than the sunroof. And you yourself said don't have good use of cruise control on indian roads.

I thought verna has cost cuttings but now comparing with the city[surprise]

What about high speed cornering on the skinny tyres of the city?
No proper covering below the wheel arches(even my i10 has proper cladding)
Naked boot lid.
Low quality insulation.
I wouldn't mind telling you the problems of verna as well.
Fragile front bumper and panel gaps(don't know about city) everything else you know about the car.

I'd easily save those 60-70k rupees and buy the verna or if he wants to go with the city he should buy the V model.
I was thinking on the same lines allhyundaicars. Since he drives pretty sedately, I am sure he won't be pushing to see even for a single day that how this car handles on corners or its high speed stability,etc. Surely a plus to have 4 extra Airbags than Sunroof or Cruise Control here in India, though would've been great if Honda had the option of 6 Airbags in the top end variant.

Yes the tyres looked skinny in City and an upgrade would be a must. Cost cutting too quite evident as you pointed out in City. With Verna, I've been living with it for last 2 and half years and know its weaknesses. Frosting of the headlamp assembly, extremely fragile bumpers, a tad expensive after sales service and bouncy ride on undulated surfaces even at city speeds.

The only thing stopping me to make a call for City are the NVH levels inside the cabin. It doesn't matter how loud or audible the engine is on the outside, but the noise should not creep inside the cabin, but unfortunately in the case of City it is quite evident. On the opposite, the CRDI engine is silky smooth with a nice humming sound.

Even I feel V variant makes more sense as it has all the essentials required, will push him for it if we do plan to go in for the City.

Honda City will be best for you .It has low maintenance and to noise levels we get adjusted .

Ankit
Thanks for the suggestion _Ankit_ . Low maintenance will surely be the key as he does plan to keep this new car for another 3 years and will mount close to 1,00,000kms in it with-in this period. So invariably the car will be heading to the service station after every 3-4 months. Hyundai's service for diesel cars are on the higher side. Any idea on the service interval and cost for Honda City I-Dtech?

If you feel NVH levels of ANHC is on higher side then I suggest you to go with Verna since additional airbags adds value more than Sunroof and Cruise control which is of very little use in our conditons. Also, since your uncle is used to drive below 70 then I don't think the nervousness of Verna will affect very much. Moreover, a common man would prefer light steering than feelsome steering though it depends.
Thanks karthick raja. This is the only irritant with the Honda City. Rest I know he wouldn't mind the less power in City as compared to the Verna. Sunroof and Cruise control although nice features to flaunt are not as precious as maybe having extra pair of Airbags. Although I've been told that even in Verna SX(O) variant the extra Airbags had been removed for a while, but they have been re-introduced which is a nice thing. Agree with your statement regarding the light steering, but even Honda's steering wasn't all that heavy and it was easy to maneuver around. Feedback surely was much better than Verna's steering.

I feel while buying a car, Its just better if you are head over heals over one car, then you just neglect what's good and what's not. Choosing otherwise becomes a tedious task with so many options around. :help: [:)]
 
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verna:
Build quality is very good
Rear seat comfort you need to think of, you feel sitting inside a well which makes long journeys mentally tyring. (in my opinion)
City:
Interiors, steering manuevers are good in City
Rear seat comfort is good
City ground clearance is now almost equal to verna, so cant be compared.
 
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I agree in all points regarding cons od City, i have driven Idtec car, i also feel NVH levels are on higher side buy not that much, I think my comfort level is different no ofence to anyone.
Yes surely Honda need to provide those features in car like in global model but as you said Honda is always know for relability and not for features and Hyundai is more or less know for feature rich car.
I didn't say that Verna is bad car and City is good, so my kind advice to your friend is do extensive TD for both of the car in same day with back to back appointments so he can get excat difference with them. But same day is IMP.
And if you get chance to read internal circulations of comparo then do read, it'll give you excat info for competition.
 
Thread Starter #10
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Hi
I think service interval is 1 year or 10,000 KM. Please confirm it.

Ankit
Just confirmed with Honda. Service interval is 6months or 10,000kms whichever is early. Cost per service would be in the range of Rs. 3.5-4.5k. For Verna it is every 1 year or 10,000kms whichever is early and the cost is about Rs.5-6k per service.

verna:
Build quality is very good
Rear seat comfort you need to think of, you feel sitting inside a well which makes long journeys mentally tyring. (in my opinion)
City:
Interiors, steering manuevers are good in City
Rear seat comfort is good
City ground clearance is now almost equal to verna, so cant be compared.
I absolutely agree with each of your point. City seems to be winning on the space fornt, driving position, Steering feedback and drivability. The only thing which is not so good about is the NVH levels. I think I'll take another test drive of the City diesel to check for the noise levels again. First impression regarding the same were not upto the mark.

I agree in all points regarding cons od City, i have driven Idtec car, i also feel NVH levels are on higher side buy not that much, I think my comfort level is different no ofence to anyone.
Yes surely Honda need to provide those features in car like in global model but as you said Honda is always know for relability and not for features and Hyundai is more or less know for feature rich car.
I didn't say that Verna is bad car and City is good, so my kind advice to your friend is do extensive TD for both of the car in same day with back to back appointments so he can get excat difference with them. But same day is IMP.
And if you get chance to read internal circulations of comparo then do read, it'll give you excat info for competition.
Agree with you, NVH levels may affect someone, and may not to other person. I am happy with a noisy car like a Polo TDI myself, but the cabin inside is a tad better insulated I feel than City and my car has fairly loud music on all the time, so engine noise is more or less never heard inside.
For this new car, it would be my uncle who would be driving and I guess loud engine noise inside the cabin will be a tad disturbing for him. Everything else in the City looks good. As mentioned previously, I've already taken back to back test drives of both the cars and the same has been done by my uncle also seperately. I'll be going again for a test drive of the City with-in a day or two with my uncle this time. Let's see if the NVH levels really bother him or not. If not, City should be the one which we would be booking mostly.
 
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Looking at both the options i would have picked verna.

Also verna fulfills all your requirements and you will save around 60K as well.

And talking about long term reliability somehow i would believe more in verna rather than the city. Yes if it would have been the petrol city than in that case ivtec wins hands down but talking about diesel i personally think Hyundai has a winner which is a tested and proven one.
 
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Looking at both the options i would have picked verna.

Also verna fulfills all your requirements and you will save around 60K as well.

And talking about long term reliability somehow i would believe more in verna rather than the city. Yes if it would have been the petrol city than in that case ivtec wins hands down but talking about diesel i personally think Hyundai has a winner which is a tested and proven one.
Had the car been for me among these two, I would have picked the Verna as well. Agree with you Singh890 on the reliability of the new diesel engine from Honda. These are still early days for it where as 1.6CRDI from Hyundai is a proven engine.

Heading for another set of test drives with my uncle this weekend, would pick the one he finds better. He is a tad heavily built and getting in and out in both these cars is tougher for him than Tata Manza which he drives at present because of the low slung nature of both City & Verna. I was asking him to get an SUV instead but he wants to stick with a sedan only. So this is one issue I guess no sedan in this budget will be able to address unless he decides to go for a Manza again.[;)]
 
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Hi GM88...well I would think honda is a better bet to go for simply for few reasons:-
--its fresh in the market
--i have a i10 bought from KLG Hyundai, Tribune Chowk and a Honda Brio bought from Harmony honda , Indust Area...the level of customer service between the two is a huge difference...the honda ones are way ahead.
--the visibility of verna 1.6CRDI is very common on Chandigarh roads (especially white). The new City is definitely a head turner.
--Overall I have felt the City is much roomy from the inside as compared to Verna which I feel somewhat intact.The only place where City was lagging was Diesel Machine, ACC and features which u get n top variants now.

But on the same page, I acknowledge the diesel mill of Hyundai is very quite and more responsive

My brother in law has also planned to buy City i-Dtec V variant from Gurgaon. We are trying for delivery b4 31st so that april price hike don't impact us.
Do share your decision and ownership experience.
 
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@GM:Bro it has to the straight H rather than the slanting on.Honda is leagues ahead when it comes to reliability and after sales expeience.I have a first hand experience and can vouch for their spare parts.Honda spare parts tend to last much longer than its immediate rivals.
I agree its not as quick as the verna but yes you cando three digits speed all day long because of very linear power delivery.The lower end torque is ablsoulutely fantastic.Even mileage wise it returns the best FE in the country.Eyes closed,go for the Nipponese,they are just damned so perfect.All the best
 
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Hi GM88...well I would think honda is a better bet to go for simply for few reasons:-
--its fresh in the market
--i have a i10 bought from KLG Hyundai, Tribune Chowk and a Honda Brio bought from Harmony honda , Indust Area...the level of customer service between the two is a huge difference...the honda ones are way ahead.
--the visibility of verna 1.6CRDI is very common on Chandigarh roads (especially white). The new City is definitely a head turner.
--Overall I have felt the City is much roomy from the inside as compared to Verna which I feel somewhat intact.The only place where City was lagging was Diesel Machine, ACC and features which u get n top variants now.

But on the same page, I acknowledge the diesel mill of Hyundai is very quite and more responsive

My brother in law has also planned to buy City i-Dtec V variant from Gurgaon. We are trying for delivery b4 31st so that april price hike don't impact us.
Do share your decision and ownership experience.
Appreciate your suggestion harry b. Yes, City is the new kid in the block so will surely turn a few more heads atleast for next couple of months. Feature wise now I think Honda has overtaken Hyundai which was missing in the previous gen City. Space wise too City has a clear cut advantage, its just where the NVH levels from the diesel mill is a sort of concern for me right now. Else everything else seems to be in place for the City. Good to know that you're happy with Prestige Honda's service here. We shall get the City from them only if we do decide to go forward with it. Plus I get my Verna serviced at KLG Hyundai only and I am fairly satisfied with them, nothing really to complain about as yet.

@GM:Bro it has to the straight H rather than the slanting on.Honda is leagues ahead when it comes to reliability and after sales expeience.I have a first hand experience and can vouch for their spare parts.Honda spare parts tend to last much longer than its immediate rivals.
I agree its not as quick as the verna but yes you cando three digits speed all day long because of very linear power delivery.The lower end torque is ablsoulutely fantastic.Even mileage wise it returns the best FE in the country.Eyes closed,go for the Nipponese,they are just damned so perfect.All the best
Nice reference for both the manufacturer's cotterpin. [:)] Right now both the H's have made me utterly confused. Agree with you on Honda's reliability and after sales, but my point of concern is they are new in the diesel engine segment and reliability of the same can be judged only after a couple of years. Though I am positive Honda would have launched the engine only after they were 100% sure about its reliability unlike our Indian manufacturers who make the few early buyer's their test bunny's, but still a point of little concern for me.

Mileage wise Honda should surely be more fuel efficient but that would be a slight margin only, not too much of a concern. Spares and service cost as mentioned by you would surely be lower with Honda and that is one major point in its favor.

So the decision seems to be bending towards the City now. [thinking]
 

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