The mystery behind the Honda City
Hatchback trademark filing last year has finally been solved. A hatchback
version of the 2020 Honda City is in the making, a leaked design patent filing
has revealed. It will be introduced later this year.
The design patent filing reveals that the
Honda City Hatchback will look the same as the fifth-gen Honda City sedan for
the most part. Apart from the obvious differences from the body style, the
5-door version has a slightly tweaked design for its LED tail lamps, one that
reflects its relatively compact dimensions. Other exterior design highlights
include the aggressive projector headlights, a prominent radiator grille and
shark fin antenna.
The Honda City Hatchback will be bigger
than the new generation Honda Jazz, which is 3,995-4,090 mm long, 1,695-1,725
mm wide and 1,515-1,570 mm tall. While the latter has a wheelbase of 2,530 mm,
the former will have a wheelbase of 2,589 mm. While the Jazz is a truly global
model, the City Hatchback will likely be sold in only a few regions, such as
Latin America and ASEAN. A potential competitor would be the Mexico-made
Hyundai Verna Hatchback (Hyundai Accent HB).
The Thai-spec 2020 City gets the tenth-gen
Civic's 1.0-litre VTEC Turbo turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine. It has
been tuned to produce 122 PS of maximum power at 5,500 rpm and 173 Nm of peak
torque at 2,000 to 4,500 rpm in the B-segment sedan. The engine is mated to a
CVT and returns an excellent fuel economy of 23.8 km/l. The hatch version may
or may not employ the same power plant and transmission, depending on its
target market.
