It took a while for the 2021 Honda City RS e:HEV i-MMD to finally go on sale in Malaysia. But, was the wait and that RM 105,950 price tag worth it? Adrian took the new City RS out for a spin and here’s what he has to say.

Honda Malaysia launched the all-new fifth-generation Honda City in October 2020. At launch, Honda had only three variants on offer, the base-spec S variant, the mid-spec E, and the V variant. The RS i-MMD you see here didn’t make it to showrooms until March earlier this year.

And the price the RS came with had several people making a double-take. Not only is it priced over RM 100,000 but it also cost almost RM 20,000 more than the V below it. Even when Honda Malaysia introduced Honda Sensing in the V, the price was nowhere close to the RS.

Also read: All-new 2020 Honda City (GN-series) launched in Malaysia, new engines, from RM 74k

But there is a reason for the price tag. With all the bells and whistles that come with the RS like a full suite of Honda Sensing ADAS, electronic parking brake (EPB), and suede-wrapped seats, it is not hard to see why it commands a premium over the regular variants.

The City RS also features a 7-inch fully digital instrument cluster not only looks better but displays more information compared to its petrol-powered siblings.

To recap, the City RS’ i-MMD 1.5-litre engine produces 109 PS and 253 Nm. The engine is mated to an e-CVT that sends power to the front wheels.

While Honda Malaysia claims the RS has a fuel consumption of 3.6 L/100 km, our tests returned real-world results of 5.2 L/100 km, which is pretty good considering we did multiple 0-100-0 km/h sprint tests in between. 

Also read: 2021 Honda City RS e:HEV, price confirmed from RM 106k

Honda fans are split into two camps, some argue that topping up another RM 4,600 will get you a base Honda Civic, others have declared that having a fuel-sipping B-segment sedan with a full suite of ADAS is the better option. Tell us in the comments section below!