The specification inspection between 2020 and 2021 Honda City Cars

We're still a little excited about the new Honda City, because it is one of the most important cars to be launched this year. It is one of the best-selling models in the field and Honda's best seller in the Philippines.

The City has grown exponentially and moved to the high end of the market over the past 24 years. Another problem with Honda's small sedan, however, is the size of another car at the urban level, which is not a bad thing at all. It just means more space inside the city. But how much more is this mini car than its predecessor?

Even before the launch of the fifth generation, the outgoing Honda City was one of the longest models in its class. The length of this version is 4,440 mm, making it the second longest in the field. It's just behind Suzuki's Ciaz, which is now 4,490 mm. But the new Honda City convincingly regained the crown.

The 2021 City is now 4,553mm long, making it the longest mini car on the market today, which means the new generation has gained 113 mm, or about 4.5 inches, in height. Not long ago, compact cars were that long. By contrast, the body length of the ninth generation Civic (2012-2016) is 4525 mm, which means that the new City is even longer than the compact car less than 10 years ago.

Perhaps what makes this brand-new city look longer is the wheelbase. Not because Honda extended it, but because they kept it. The wheelbase of the fourth and fifth generation models is the same, 2,600 mm. But that's not a bad thing, because it has the longest wheelbase in the field. It's just behind Suzuki Ciaz, and it's 2,650 mm long.

In addition to the length, the 2021 City also adds a few millimeters between the side mirrors. Starting from the 1,694mm of the previous model, the new version now has a width of 1,748mm. This is a 54 mm gap, about 2.1 inches. Now, it may not look much, but there's a lot of cabin space here and there in a few inches.

With a longer and wider body, you can expect the 2021 model to provide a lot of space for passengers. But it is strange that the luggage compartment space dropped from 536 liters to 521 liters. However, it has more than 500 liters of trunk space, the largest of its kind in the long run.

But will 2021 City be taller than the previous generation? Well, the answer is no. The new car is not as tall as the old one, but not much worse. It loses 10 millimeters, about 0.4 inches, so you hardly notice the difference. The reason why it is lower depends on the ground clearance. The brand-new city is low above the ground with 134 mm clearance. In contrast, the old town is 150 mm above the ground.

In theory, the City is a subminiature car, despite its scale and size. It can compete with some compact cars in price, but it is still smaller than its brother Civic. That's why the City is in the mini car market. Although the City has broken through the 4.5m barrier, the civic is a fairly large car, 4649mm long, nearly 100 mm more than the city.

If there is any difference, the fifth-generation city shows the development of this market segment over the years, both literally and figuratively. With its scale, we can even see its competitors expanding in the next iteration. But it's a long way from the future. At the moment, Honda City is the largest small car you can get.