Honda City Type 2- A Tuner Icon or Just Another Overhyped Honda?

The year was 1996. The world saw the newest iteration of Honda's popular city car- as it goes by its name-the CITY. But it also marked the entry of the brand into a country that made globalization liberal quite sometime before- INDIA. Fast Forward today, the City still stands as one of the greatest and most loved sedans in the Indian market. Despite the decline in sales of sedans, the city has managed to maintain its popularity for 25 years- yes you heard me right, more than 2 DECADES and 5 GENERATIONAL changes, having initially entered a market that was dominated by hatchbacks and currently faces competition from SUVs. But according to the popular saying, "Every tall building needs a strong foundation", the foundation for the City brand stands strong on the reputation of the first City that Indians saw- The Type 2.

The pre-facelift Type 2:

The original type 2 City was launched as a subcompact four-door sedan targeted for developing Asian markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, etc... It was positioned below the Civic, as the more budget-friendly option with 1.3 and 1.5-liter engine options. What many people don't know is that Type 2 was actually based on the EF Civic platform to cut down on costs, which made it superior in terms of handling when compared to its segment rivals. 

1996 pre-facelift city

The clean, uncluttered design language, brilliant engine options, and great driving dynamics positioned the city as a people's favorite in the Southeast Asian market. I'm sure this must have sent Honda executives into cloud 9 as Honda was searching for a product to kick-start its brand on a new soil- INDIA. 

Indians witnessed the launch of the Honda City and along with it a new-for-them automobile brand in 1998, which they never ever would've thought even in their dreams that this brand would become one of India's favorite automotive brands. 

But as a popular saying goes "fortune favors the brave", Honda made a gamble. why you ask? well, all of the City's then competitors, Maruti Esteem, Daewoo Cielo, Hyundai Accent, Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Escort, and Opel Astra, were going down in terms of sales and popularity. But the gamble appears to have paid off, largely owing to the city's undisputed ownership experience and joyful driving pleasure.

The facelift and the VTEC:

The city soon got a facelift and with it, came the new millennium. While the whole world was stuck with Y2K, Honda went nuts and gave us the VTEC, the magical 4-word mantra that stands for enthralling performance and pure adrenaline rush. The facelifted City in India got the VTEC variant and it was a whole new driving experience for the Indian enthusiasts who really longed for a driver's car for ages. Being the first Indian car to hit a ton in under 10 seconds, the city marked a revolution in the Indian tuner scene, which was previously dominated by Suzukis. 

The mighty City VTEC

What made the VTEC so special?

VTEC-variable valve timing and lift electronic control was a technology that was newly developed by Honda to have a balanced hand in both fuel efficiency and performance. Basically, the engine had 2 camshafts, a lower-spec cam for lower RPMs to aid in fuel efficiency, and a higher-spec cam for higher RPMs to aid in performance. When the ECU senses that it needs more power using various inputs such as throttle position, engine temperature, and IAT(intake air temperature), it activates a solenoid which then switches the cam profiles, resulting in a sudden surge of power and sudden change in acceleration and character of the engine. 

Indians, who hooned around in their Balenos and Esteems, went absolutely bonkers driving the new city. The tunability of the B15C2 engine in the VTEC created a revolution in the Indian tuning scene. both the 1.5 VTEC and Non-VTEC (yes, they are completely different engines, KEYBOARD WARRIORS!) contributed to the City being the first Indian car to roll out of the factory, hitting the 100-hp mark and putting a huge, wide smile on every Indian that drove one. 

Forced Induction and Naturally Aspirated builds showcased the potential of the B15C2 engine and even the Non-VTEC 1.5 liter had its takers. I once remember reading about a turbocharged city once owned by @turboindia on Team-BHP. You can check out his build by clicking here. To be precise, it is a 1.5 Non-VTEC city with a little over 8s of 0-100 time. That is a real hoot, even by today's standards!

@turboindia's turbo city 

Race Concepts, A tuning firm based out of Bangalore, has been working on these Citys for quite a while now and they have a reason behind a dominant Indian touring car in the hands of the racing legend Mr. Arjun Balu who's a 10-time national racing champion. Race Concepts also uses Honda City VTECs in its driver academy to coach enthusiasts and also builds resto-mods, both forced induction and NA. 

Race Concepts-built Touring car spec City VTEC 

From forced Induction builds with basic Turbo kits with a smidge over 170-190HP to full-blown turbo builds with custom Forged internals and custom gear ratios pushing over 400HP, the forced induction city culture in India is so varied. Naturally aspirated builds usually range between 150-170 HP due to their nature of induction. 

But City Type 2 hasn't always been about the power or the tunability of the engine. It is about the Driving experience and the sheer excitement it offers. weighing less than a tonne, with such a beautifully correlated chassis and suspension balance, it is an absolute delight to drive. Even a stock City, be it VTEC or Non-VTEC, has that charm and charisma that a proper car guy longs for. As they say, "THEY DON'T MAKE CARS LIKE THESE ANYMORE!"

Today, The City brand stands tall in the Indian market, solely supporting the brand Honda with its younger sibling, the Amaze. Even though it has grown in size and weight, the excitement and the driving feel have been kept intact, and kudos to Honda for that. It is one of those cars that created an impact in our lives. Even now when so-called "SUVs" and "crossovers" are taking over the market, the City stands tall, As the king of the sedan segment, and its roots...can always be traced back to the Type 2.