Thread: Maruti Suzuki SX4 vs the New Honda City

The other day, I went for a test drive with my friend who is looking to guy a good mid-size sedan. He ruled out Hyundai Verna for some reason - I am really surprised - he said that he didn't like its looks and resale value may be less. But I felt that, guessing that one keeps a car for at least 6 years (not being a businessman), he paid too much attention to resale value and looks. Also Verna has the diesel option which both SX4 and Honda City do not have. Anyway, this thread is comparison of the two cars.

There are many website from which you may get the facts and figures. I am not going to do that. In fact, I am going to concentrate on what I felt.

Engine Power: The New Honda City was definitely up there. A drive on the highway gave the adrenelin a definite pump. SX4 was not bad but Honda was at least a yard or two ahead (OK, that is a way of saying it. We never raced the two cars side by side).

Ride feeling: Again Honda City gave better comfort. It has a low stance and thus gave better security feeling. Also we felt the cabin was quieter. But this could be related to the road also. We never drove on the same stretch. Whereas we did not perform sharp turns at high speeds to test the rolling, we felt that Honda would grip the road better because of its low CoG.

Cabin features: Suzuki packs a lot of punch here. We drove the SX4-ZXi model and it has almost everything that you can wish for. The Honda was a bit on the frugal side. Features such as Adjustable steering column, Automatic AC, Twin map lights, Driver's seat height adjuster, Trunk room light, etc. were not found on Honda. From different web sites, you can get a full comparison. Interior space is more or less same.

Exterior: The Honda City appears much more elegant and sexy. But SX4 offers alloy wheels with tubeless tyres and front/rear fog lamps as standard on SX4-ZXi. It also features the antenna that is built into the rear windshield. The lack of alloy wheels on Honda City was a big disappointment. It will mean an extra cost of Rs. 30,000 or so. However, tubeless tires are standard on Honda city.

Price: On the price front, SX4 won significantly. It is Rs. 1 lac cheaper than Honda City on the invoice price. When you consider that RTO and Insurance charges are based on the Invoice Price, the final price difference is nearly Rs. 1.1 lac.

My friend is inclined towards the Honda City as he believes in looks and status, resale value, etc. more than anything but in my mind SX4 offers more in terms of value for money. In fact the SX4 does not require you to invest in any external accessory other than perhaps the reverse warning sensors.

Wonderful review. Thanks for the comparison post.

I wasn't a big fan of the (older) New Honda City, but the New New HC (2008) is quite good. However, I didn't like the look of this one also until I saw a gray City "S" Variant with black rims! Looked killer...

I REALLY don't like the Sx4's look...at first glance, it's okay, but it has a weird 'tall boy' design and a funny A-pillar with window.

Power-wise, I think the City a leg up and is probably better suited for such things as engine modifications, etc. if your friend is into that kind of thing.

Why doesn't your pal look into the Fiat Linea or Ford Fiesta? True, their resale values are not as good, but are more cost-effective in the short term.

Honda City all the way

Also, leg room in the back for SX4 is a bit less as compared to the Honda City

whoa! what happened there with mail2sc??

Originally Posted by pjaveed

I wasn't a big fan of the (older) New Honda City, but the New New HC (2008) is quite good. However, I didn't like the look of this one also until I saw a gray City "S" Variant with black rims! Looked killer...

I REALLY don't like the Sx4's look...at first glance, it's okay, but it has a weird 'tall boy' design and a funny A-pillar with window.

Power-wise, I think the City a leg up and is probably better suited for such things as engine modifications, etc. if your friend is into that kind of thing.

Why doesn't your pal look into the Fiat Linea or Ford Fiesta? True, their resale values are not as good, but are more cost-effective in the short term.

I forgot to mention this.

SX4 is indeed not very good to look from the outside. From the inside, it appears much better.

Also, as you mentioned, the SX4 has a tall stance. This could be termed as an advantage also because it has very good ground clearance. The Honda City when fully loaded with 5 passengers will scrape every speedbreaker and pothole.

Not to mention that with an extra 1.1 lac at your disposal, you can buy approximatelty 2000 litres of petrol with that amount at current prices.

That is why I say that SX4 is value for money.

^^ Doesn't the high ground clearance induce unnecessary body-roll ? Or is such phenomenon non-existent for cars?

Originally Posted by cool_techie_tvm

^^ Doesn't the high ground clearance induce unnecessary body-roll ? Or is such phenomenon non-existent for cars?

That is correct - it does produce body roll.

Body roll may be higher than the City's (or any other car with lower ground clearance), but not enough to be dangerous even during high speed turns. Cars like the Santro, however, WILL FLIP if trying to execute a high speed, very sharp turn. (trust me, I've seen this myself at Bangalore's Speed Run)

One thing to remember is after sales service.
I have used almost all models of Maruti and Baleno has always been my favourite....

Trouble always starts after 15 months, the spares and overall service for Honda cars is way to expensive than Maruti. Moreover you really do not have any kind of adjustments for new engines.
Moreover Maruti has lot more service outlets and spares are easily avaialble. ( applicable only to users who drive lot )

If you have tried using Ford, all Ford owners will agree that maintenance and service as well as costs of spares is way to high.

Thanks just4kix for sharing such an useful info.

I would rather go with Maruti SX4. Its not that i don't like New Honda City but SX4 is longest and tallest in its segment. While the front of SX4 is not so appealing as those of New Honda City. I liked the front grill design of New Honda city.

Originally Posted by jain347

Thanks just4kix for sharing such an useful info.

I would rather go with Maruti SX4. Its not that i don't like New Honda City but SX4 is longest and tallest in its segment. While the front of SX4 is not so appealing as those of New Honda City. I liked the front grill design of New Honda city.

Note that whatever I said are my personal opinions only.

The New Honda City will have a better resale value. Take that into factor also.

I have taken sx4-vxi model after test driving all most all cars available in Coimbatore.
Upto first free service, the car was quite good. But after the change of oil, i feel my new car which has just clocked 2000 km as on this date is sluggish. 2 times i had to been to service station, where they say, there is nothing to adjust and the speed of the engine cannot be altered and everything is set.

Further the front glass visibility and cleaning the glass is also causing some disturbance during a night drive on highways.

Again i am taking to service and some body in toll free number told me that every 15 days a service engineer from Maruti visit the sales office and attend to the customer complaints.

I am wondering any VXI model owners of SX4 facing the same complaints of sluggish engine and poor glass visibility on highway drive during night.

Originally Posted by kovaipurush

I have taken sx4-vxi model after test driving all most all cars available in Coimbatore.
Upto first free service, the car was quite good. But after the change of oil, i feel my new car which has just clocked 2000 km as on this date is sluggish. 2 times i had to been to service station, where they say, there is nothing to adjust and the speed of the engine cannot be altered and everything is set.

Further the front glass visibility and cleaning the glass is also causing some disturbance during a night drive on highways.

Again i am taking to service and some body in toll free number told me that every 15 days a service engineer from Maruti visit the sales office and attend to the customer complaints.

I am wondering any VXI model owners of SX4 facing the same complaints of sluggish engine and poor glass visibility on highway drive during night.

check your filters ( Oil, fuel), probably service guys didnt change it.
because there are not much settings any service guy can do for sx4 engine.

as for glass visibility, put windshield cleaning solution in wiper washer box alongwith water.
alternatively, you can use any good shampoo sachet. Put one sachet alongwith water in wiper washer box.

The SX4 is built on the SUV platform and hence it is quite heavy. Consequently, it is bound to be sluggish.

Ranjit Raut is correct. Replace the plain water in the windshield water reservoir with proper washer fluid. It is a mild soapy solution.

The new SX4 is now launched. It sports:

a) a new engine that yields 105 bhp and delivers a better mileage
b) leather upholstery in ZXi model
c) Push interiors
d) BS IV compliant
e) Printed antenna
f) Integrated rear sensors

In fact, if you buy the ZXi Leather variant, you do not need any other accesories, other than fancy things such as a video system, etc.

Indians fooled by Honda.In this country anything sells when buyers have very little idea about cars and only talk about mileage. For 1.50 lakhs additional you can calculate the fuel I can fill for maybe three years plus the money I save on spares.Honda was crap and remains so.

Are you sure you picked this off their website / manual? I have been eyeing the SX4 ever since its' new soft-launch but havent' seen any material on this.

Thanks for the detailed comparision between SX4 & HC.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Are you sure you picked this off their website / manual? I have been eyeing the SX4 ever since its' new soft-launch but havent' seen any material on this.

Thanks for the detailed comparision between SX4 & HC.

No. My review was based on actual test drives.

Anyway, the comparison was with the previous version of SX4; not the latest one with the new VVT engine.

----------------

@Unregistered of post 17, You have a right to your opinion. And I certainly agree with some of your points - especially about the Rs. 1.50 lakhs savings and petrol/spares/maintenance savings out of this amount. But that does not mean Honda is crap. Honda and Toyota are epitome of quality. Honda is yards ahead when it comes to brand equity.

A typical sedan from the stables Mercedes/BMW or Honda/Toyota or Maruti-Suzuki/Hyundai will still carry 5 persons. But the costs are different because you are paying for brand, quality, engineering, ride feel and above all status. So there is a price to pay there.

For all the features in SX4, even the top model does not have an Arm Rest for the front seats.. what's up with that? An to top it all the Version sold in other countries has the arm rest. Don't we Indians deserver an arm rest for the price we are paying..come on Suzuki

Originally Posted by funguru

For all the features in SX4, even the top model does not have an Arm Rest for the front seats.. what's up with that? An to top it all the Version sold in other countries has the arm rest. Don't we Indians deserver an arm rest for the price we are paying..come on Suzuki

Very true. This is one thing I found very annoying. Can't imagine why I forgot to mention this. Thanks for bringing this to attention.

Strange as it may seem but for us Indians there is nothing like value for money. SX4 which sells in India is worth 8L (rough $18k) and i can bet Suzuki will not be able to sell the same model for over $12K in foreign market and yet it can provide a arm rest in that model...

Well. You cannot convert INR to USD and compare prices of Indian cars and USA cars. That is completely out of sync.

In India, cars have multiple direct and indirect taxes. Excise, special excise, customs duties, etc. are indirect taxes. Excise is applicable on the entire value of the car with factory fitted accesories such as AC, Music system, keyless entry, etc. So it add's to costs.

Sales tax/VAT, octroi (in MH) and other such direct taxes add to more tax. These are tax on tax.

In USA, the tax regime is much straight forward. Also large volumes make the car sell cheaper.

And let me assure you. The equivalent car in USA is much less in other features. Just compare the Civic/Corrolla's sold in two countries.

I agree with you on the taxes front but at the same time, what good are taxes to ppl when in the home country where the car is manufactured the price is higher them when it is exported and sold else where... the taxes in India on cars are un just as their seem to be no visible development happening with those taxes.. anyways sorry for hijacking this thread as it started off with something else.

Originally Posted by funguru

I agree with you on the taxes front but at the same time, what good are taxes to ppl when in the home country where the car is manufactured the price is higher them when it is exported and sold else where... the taxes in India on cars are un just as their seem to be no visible development happening with those taxes.. anyways sorry for hijacking this thread as it started off with something else.

Yes. We are going offtopic. But you cannot compare economy and taxes in one country and other.

In India, cars are still considered a luxury item. And hence taxed accordingly. But then you should compare Singapore where tax on privately owned vehicles is much much higher, so much so that in equivalent currency the same car will be twice as much. And to top it all, in Singapore, you have to show that you have ample parking place at your residence and office to own a private vehicle.

We have miles to go before we can think about cheap(er) cars.