After Honda Atlas announced a new and improved Honda City in a cryptic teaser on its Facebook, City loyalists in Pakistan were expecting an upgrade too. While Honda is set to roll out a 7th generation City, it’s likely that Pakistan will end up with the 6th generation Honda City instead.

First rolled out in 2019, CBU/ Completely Built Unit of 6th generation GM6 Honda City is just now being imported from Thailand, reports PakWheels. According to the outlet they made this discovery via Pakistan Import Data.

So what does the 6th Generation City entail?

Developed by Honda R&D Japan with input from Honda India, the GM6 City is based on the same platform as the 5th generation Pakistan currently has.

On the outside, it looks more like the Honda Grace with LED DRL while LED fog lamps, an updated bumper and LED taillights with a connecting chrome strip.

Minor tweaks include 4442mm length rather than 4395mm, 1694mm width rather than 1695mm, 1477mm height instead of 1480mm, and a wheelbase of 2600mm, instead of 2550mm.

This means that the upcoming City is slightly bigger as far as footprint and with 2″ of increased wheelbase.

It might not seem like much but equates to 60mm more legroom. Meanwhile, trunk space for GM6 City is 510L, 4 cubic feet over the 5th generation.

So what improvements did Honda make on the inside of the 6th generation City?

For starters, the fuel tank has a new location, i.e., under the rear seats. Some interesting upgrades you can expect with the GM6 City include;

• Design to reduce road noise, harshness, and vibration
• Driver focused dashboard with easily accessible control
• New steering wheel
• Three rings instrumental panel
• Multi-information LCD display
• Power windows with auto door lock
• Power folding side-view mirrors
• Keyless entry with push-button start
• Rear AC vents
• 60;40 split rear seats with central armrest
• Cruise control
• Tilt steering adjustables

Now the most important question; what gets better under the hood with the 6th Generation City?

The GM6 carryovers the same engine from previous generations with some improvements. Two engine options are expected. A 1.5L SOHC i-Vtec inline 4 with approx. 118HP at 6600 and 145NM of torque at 4600. The other option would use the same parts that are used for the 5th generation.

Hopefully, the GM6 City launched in Pakistan will be equipped with Honda’s more modern safety features. Add-ons that a City can be equipped with include;

• Standard two front airbags
• Vehicle Stability Control
• Traction control
• Hill-start assist
• ABS with EBD

For this, Honda City has also improved the design of headrests to reduce the impacts and help mitigate neck injury. Parking sensors will also be seen and obviously backup camera on the variants which will be equipped with a double din head-unit.

In some overseas markets, City also has side curtain airbags, I doubt our upcoming City will have those. Overall, this will be a marked improvement over the outgoing model.

Why GM6/6th Generation?

Despite being discontinued elsewhere, the GM5 City continues to be sold in Pakistan. Without much market competition, there was no need for an upgrade. However, with the release of the newer 7th generation, Pakistan would fall two generations behind.

When Toyota Indus was working on developing the Yaris sedan in 2018/19, Honda finally decided to bring the GM6 City to Pakistan. With the success of Yaris in the country, Honda had to step up their game. With other B-segment sedans like the Yaris, Alsvin, and SAGA here to give the City competition, Honda will have to be wary of how they price the GM6 City.

What’s the expected price?

The price range for the upcoming Honda City is expected to start at around PKR 2.5 Million for the base model and close to 3.1 Million for the top of the line 1.5L Aspire CVT.

The current model City is being sold for PKR-2.449 Million for base 1.3L manual, while the 1.5L Aspire costs PKR-2.859 Million.