Honda City Phoenix Orange Pearl: Adding colour to the ride

COLOURS sometimes give a car that special hue in much the same way that clothes would define a person.

It is an approach that some car companies take to give their respective models a “unique” sheen to exude a refreshed aura and appeal or stand them out from the crowd.

Honda Malaysia took that route with the City in April this year with a deep and almost reddish orange tone that’s called Phoenix Orange Pearl, a metallic sheen no less.

This RM400 colour option applies to all City variants although the orange choice is not exactly a unique one.

It has become rather common with varying shades of orange being offered by several car brands, some brighter and more striking in impression than others.

Nevertheless, orange in all its shades and tones remains a standout colour by being not often included in a car’s normal colour range.

This sort of reminded us of the time when we bought a Japanese liftback car with bright pollen yellow solid body paint; by the way, yellow is another colour that is not often included in a new car’s range options.

It was nice to stand out from the crowd with that unusual and head-turning hue, which was normally featured on sports and super-fast cars.

The only problem arose when we had to patch up the dented and damaged body part as we couldn’t get a colour to match the original tone because of its rarity.

Needless to say, we enjoyed that “exclusivity” while it lasted and that’s a feeling the orange City folks would probably enjoy just as much today.

Apart from enjoying its deep orange sheen, a weekend’s drive in the City reminded us of why this Honda entry model holds strong appeal among many new car buyers, the younger set in particular.

The model that Honda Malaysia loaned us was the e:HEV RS version, the top honcho in the range.

As such, it comes with some exclusive features that are also featured on the non-hybrid 1.5-litre RS model such as the LED (light emitting diode) headlamps and foglamps, and boot spoiler.

There are also stylish alloy wheels to match with 185/55 R16 Toyo Proxes R57 tyres fitted as standard.

Stepping inside, it comes with a bigger 7-inch TFT instrument meter panel and sports foot pedals to drum up some spunk.

The 8-inch multi-info display at the centre of the dashboard remains a standard feature for this generation of the City. When the facelift version was introduced in the second half of 2023, the updated items include the honeycomb front grille, new lower front grille, new side skirting, new rear diffuser and freshly designed RS emblem.

The refreshed bumper design also added to the City’s overall body length at 4,589mm for the RS variants against the other models at 4,580mm.

For power, the City e:HEV RS gets a smaller displacement Atkinson Cycle engine against the Civic variant that delivers less at 98PS and 127Nm.

Its primary purpose is to come in on hard acceleration although the electric motor packs a greater punch with 109PS and 253Nm; the latter is about double that of the engine’s torque output.

Being a lighter car than the Civic, it won’t be far behind in performance clocking 9.9 seconds in 0-100kph sprints, faster than the other City variants (10.2-10.4 seconds).

The hybrid power combination only loses out on top speed against the other City offerings at 177kph (195-196kph).

It’s the good fuel consumption that is another main draw; 3.6 litres per 100km against 5.6 that works out to about 10km per litre advantage.

The fuel needle barely moved during our weekend with the City e:HEV RS, all the more amazing as our drives were mostly in the city centre.

There is always that pleasure of taking off on electric power and seeing the battery recharging process on deceleration and during braking.

Like the Civic, we also appreciated the LaneWatch camera that is activated each time we use the indicator to switch to the left lane or to turn left.

The camera on the left door mirror has the image of the left side of the road projected onto the 8-inch multi-info display.

It was added assurance to know that we were not running onto another vehicle’s path when changing lanes or possible obstacles during the turning process.

The City is spacious for its class with a boot to match although the e:HEV RS has a smaller boot capacity of 410 litres against 519 litres for the other variants.

This was due to the additional battery unit located there; this also explains why it doesn’t come with a spare wheel but a temporary tyre repair kit.

It is also a comfortable car to travel in despite the lower profile 16-inch tyres as we happily drove over the many bumps and uneven stretches that we go over daily.

However, it has a lower ride height and while we drove over most speedbumps without any problem, we took special care when parking in areas with deep elevations to avoid having the underbody scrape the road.

For those who want to be seen driving a City, whichever model that might be, going for the Phoenix Orange Pearl is definitely one way to go about it.

After all, you don’t need the pricey privilege of the RM111,900 top honcho as prices (on the road without insurance) of RM84,900 and RM89,900 for the City S and E allow you to enjoy the “Orange” fever at a more affordable range.

SPECIFICATIONS
Honda City e:HEV RS
Engine: 1,498cc, twin cam, i-VTEC, four-cylinder, Atkinson Cycle
Maximum power: 98PS/72kW from 5,600-6,400rpm
Maximum torque: 127Nm from 4,500-5,000rpm
Electric motor power: 109PS/80kW from 3,500-8,000rpm
Electric motor torque: 253Nm from 0-3,000rpm
Transmission: Electric Continuous Variable Transmission
Acceleration (0-100kph): 9.9 seconds
Top speed: 177kph
Features: Phoenix Orange Pearl colour option (RM400), LED headlamps and foglamps, boot spoiler, remote engine start, walkaway auto lock, combination leather upholstery, sports foot pedals, wireless Apple and android connectivity, 7-inch TFT meter, Honda LaneWatch camera, Honda SENSING with nine safety control features, Honda CONNECT
Price: RM119,000 (on the road without insurance)