Honda City facelift coming soon?

Japanese auto-maker Honda is apparently looking to bring the facelifted avatar of its popular sedan, the City, to India soon. A report of Team BHP, citing the Zauba record, reveals that Honda has exported two new prototypes of the City sedan, which belong to the new production series to Japan.

The new production series hints that the exported model could be the facelifted version of the City. The prototypes sent from India are equipped with the 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine, reveals the Zauba record, which tracks India's import and export data. Honda City has completed two years in India since the launch of the sixth generation in the country in 2014.

Although Honda has not revealed any plans about the launch of the City facelift in India, we will not be surprised if the Japanese maker brings it this year at a time the City sedan is losing some of its share to its rival Maruti Suzuki Ciaz.

Mechanically, the sedan is expected to remain unchanged in its new avatar and will continue to be powered by a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine that develops 117bhp and 145Nm of torque mated to five-speed manual and CVT gearboxes, and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine that can churn out 99bhp and 200Nm of torque mated to six-speed manual transmission.

The changes are more likely to be cosmetic, including re-worked headlamps and tweaked bumpers. It was reportedly earlier that the upcoming model of the City would be inspired by the Crider sedan and Greiz, which are in the Chinese market.The features expected include 15.7cm touchscreen, an automatic climate control system, audio and handsfree telephone controls, paddle shift, cruise control, electric sunroof and satellite-navigation system.