[BEHIND THE WHEEL] Stop everything! The Honda City Hatchback Is Open For Booking

You know the Honda City, you’ve seen it enough times around because it is one of Honda Malaysia’s best-selling vehicles. Well, soon, the streets will be flooded with the Honda City Hatchback. There will be two engine choices available with the City Hatchback — the e:HEV and the Petrol.

The City Hatchback RS e:HEV is powered by a 1.5-litre Sports Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) that is assisted by two electric motors for propulsion. This powertrain delivers 109PS and 253Nm of torque. On the other hand, the petrol-only City Hatchback is powered by a 1.5-litre DOHC I-VTEC engine. The powertrain produces 121PS and 145Nm of torque.

Expect City Hatchback to come in several variants with a higher chance that the e:HEV and V variants occupy the top. The e:HEV will come in a High-Gloss Piano Black front grille, black solid wing and gloss back door mirrors. The lower grille, fog garnish and rear bumper will feature the RS exclusive shape. The rear bumper has been redesigned with a diffuser to appeal to the young. The RS e:HEV and V variants will have LED headlights with LED DRLs, LED front fog lights, LED rear combo lights and 16-inch alloy wheels.

The Ultra Seats, complete with all four modes, is brought over from the Jazz. It offers the same Utility, Long, Tall and Refresh modes, each with a distinct benefit to suit the storage situation. Remote Engine Start is available for the RS e:HEV and V variants, while the rear air conditioning ventilation and the electric parking brake is exclusive to the RS e: HEV.

The Honda City Hatchback, particularly the RS e: HEV variant, is equipped with Honda Sensing. The active safety suite includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keep Assist System, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Departure Warning and Auto High Beam. In addition, the Honda LaneWatch is only available for the RS e: HEV and V variants.

Honda Malaysia has started taking orders for the all-new City Hatchback. If history repeats itself — and it will! — expect the orders to fill up very quickly. And if you want your car fast, well, you know what to do.