Honda city ZX Vtec review - page 2 |
Engine and transmission
One would agree that most Honda cars feel like they were built with a thin tin foil; I would agree though that Honda makes bad engines. Honda makes focused engines, they make engines that for some particular charm or the other brings that grin on your face, either at the petrol station or on the highway. The Vtec engine though aims at doing both. It has a hundred Ps to its credit, so it should be no slouch on the open road and thanks to Vtec, it shouldn't be too prodigal in the city; well at least that's what we hope.
This is the same 1497cc mill that is available in the i-DSI model, the changes though include 4 valves per cylinder instead of 2 and the Vtec head of course. Sadly though, this engine continues to be a SOHC(single overhead camshaft) configuration. That aside, 100bhp is available at 5800rpm, those are the kind of numbers we thought went extinct with the old Honda City, thankfully though; we've been proved wrong. As is the case with most Vtec mills, the city generates a maximum torque of 13.5kgm at a rather high 4800rpm. The engine isn't actually noisy; most people would actually find it very quiet inside the Cabin of the city, but ask any owner of the i-DSI model and he'll tell you with a huge grin on his face that his car is actually quieter!
On the move though, one felt the same refinement that is normally associated with most Honda engines. There is one very interesting thing though; even thought the peak torque is available rather high, a good amount is available low down. This car is capable of pulling very strongly from as low as 800rpm, in fifth gear! The engine is a bit disappointing at the other end of the tachometer though. The ECM(engine control module) seems too biased toward fuel economy, The engine doesn't rev smoothly to its red line or with enough zest unless you actually decide to scorch up the tarmac. By this we mean that unless you drop a gear or two and really hit pedal to metal, the engine will not respond as it should. This can be a bit irritating at times, but what this means is that this 100ps engine is still able to give pretty good economy, company claims an average of 14kmpl.
There's one thing though, this engine is the same long stroke engine that is available with the i-Dsi model; of course, with a Vtec head. This means that that the motor isn't really rev-happy; as was the case with the previous Honda city Vtec, the ECM is proud of its frugality which further robs the driver of the sensation of having 100ps under his foot. The fact that Honda can play around with small capacity engines is shown very well in this car, this engine is able to give you all the power you need while keeping the fuel supply in constant check, Bravo.
The transmission of the city is very good, slotting in place with a nice reassuring click. The gear ratios have been decided quite well, allowing the gearbox to harness the engine's torque; 100kph comes up in second gear! The motor continues to sing even further but things could sound a bit harsh, so shift and watch the speedo fly past the 120kph mark in third gear. No complaints at all in this department, but throws if shortened could go a long way in improving the driving experience.
That said, the Honda City ZX Vtec was a bit of a let down, perhaps I had expected too much. The let down actually was not so much in the engine department, where was it then?
Page 1
page 3
|
![Honda City Vtec engine](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=cvteceng.jpg&imagetitle=Honda City ZX Vtec Engine"))
![Honda City Vtec exerior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=cvtec2.jpg&imagetitle=Honda City ZX Vtec exterior"))
![Honda City Vtec exerior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=cvtec1.jpg&imagetitle=Honda City ZX Vtec exterior"))