Honda City To Be Shown At Australian International Motor Show

The TMR crew will be packing its bags (well, those of us who don’t live in Sydney) and heading to the Australian International Motor Show this week, and one car this writer’s looking forward to seeing is the stunning new Honda City.

The City name was first introduced in 1982 in the form of a three-door hatch, and was famous for its special optional extra: a 50cc motorcycle that you could fold up like a transformer and stick in the boot.

Fast forward to the fourth generation of the City, unveiled in 2002, which by this time was now a sedan version of the Honda Fit – sold in western markets as the Jazz – and the model now has a home in 36 countries.

Now, in 2008, Honda has revealed the 2008 Honda City in both India and Thailand, and will now be showing it at AIMS with a view to bringing it to the Australian market.

Set to compete against the Toyota Yaris, Holden Barina, and Nissan Tiida (all of which offer both sedan and hatch versions), the City stands to be a genuine contender in the micro sedan market.  It certainly wouldn’t be unfair to describe it as the most stylish of the bunch.

The City is expected to be offered in two spec levels, coming in at a very competitive $17,990 and $21,990.  Power will come from the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder in the Jazz, making 88kW and offering a fuel economy of better than 6.4L/100km.

The new City is loaded with space, with 60/40 split-fold rear seats allowing the already-excellent boot space to accommodate a mountain bike or two.

While the interior abounds with lunchbox plastic (Dear Manufacturers, must you continue to put the bottom line above everything else?), the dash is pleasing to look at and the overall feeling is stylish and modern.

Look for our photos and information from the Australian International Motor Show this week!