Has the 2021 Honda City Hatchback already won the cool factor against the Yaris?
Sanjay · Feb 1, 2021 02:00 PM
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Look, we get it - cool cars are nice to look at and in most cases, just as great to drive. Except there’s one problem - they’re usually just out of reach for the average Malaysian. But a certain Japanese carmaker is adamant to bring back the cool factor with the 2021 Honda City Hatchback.
It made its world debut in Thailand in November, effectively bringing back a name that was last seen 27 years ago in 1994. But where this name is reignited, we wave goodbye to another - the City Hatchback supersedes the Honda Jazz in our region.
Cute as it is, we're not getting the GR-generation Jazz here.
But enough about goodbyes. The City Hatchback is here to go head-to-head against the runaway Toyota Yaris, and of course Honda cannot make the hatch any lesser of a car than the Jazz was.
Pictured with the optional Modulo kit.
Cue choice features like a sharply-designed exterior (does the rear remind you of a Mercedes-Benz A-Class too?) that's made better with the addition of an optional Modulo kit, as pictured here.
The interior is pretty much a carbon copy of the sedan.
Inside, there's a few practical touches such as an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support and a multi-function steering wheel.
The Ultra Seats in Tall mode, one of four different folding modes.
Another thing that's multi-functional are its seats - yes, the Jazz's practically-magic, multi-way foldable Ultra Seats return in the City Hatchback.
The Ultra seats offer four different folding modes (Utility, Long, Tall, Refresh) and Honda says you can even shove a kayak in there when folded appropriately.
The Thai-spec City Hatchback gets a 1.0-litre, turbocharged three-cylinder i-VTEC petrol engine that makes 122 PS and 173 Nm, mated to a CVT.
The Malaysian-spec City sedan's engine
Seeing that that engine was made to comply with Thai’s strict EcoCar regulations, the Malaysian-spec City Hatchback will most likely feature the same 1.5-litre mill we see in our Honda City sedan.
Here’s how that'll fare with the Yaris:
Performance comparison
2021 Honda City Hatchback
2021 Toyota Yaris
1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder
121 PS / 145 Nm
CVT
1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder
107 PS / 140 Nm
CVT
In addition to the naturally-aspirated mill, we can also expect the City Hatchback to feature the same trick i-MMD powertrain as the yet-to-be-priced City RS.
Meanwhile, both cars are almost equally-sized, check out the breakdown below:
Dimension comparison
Car
2021 Honda City Hatchback
2021 Toyota Yaris
Length (mm)
4,349
4,145
Width (mm)
1,748
1,730
Height (mm)
1,488
1,475
Wheelbase (mm)
2,589
2,550
Prices - aimed at the Yaris
Over in the Land of Smiles, the City Hatchback's prices range from THB 599k (~RM 81k) to THB 749k (~RM 102k), slightly dearer than the Yaris which starts from THB 549k (~RM 74k) to THB 679k (~RM 92k).
City Hatch or Yaris?
It's unmistakeable that the City Hatchback is one of the most hotly-anticipated models launch in Malaysia this year.
By every account, it should be - this small car may very well be Honda Malaysia's biggest launch of 2021.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
