I think there are other good sedans out there as well. There are very definitive reasons why I chose the Ciaz over other cars. In fact while buying a new car, the choices were fairly broad. I wasn’t stuck to the notion of buying a sedan. The Honda Jazz, new City, WR-V, Amaze, Vento, to name a few were all contenders.
In this post I will highlight the points that led me to choose the Suzuki Ciaz over the Honda City.
Both have their pros and cons but I find the torque converter much more engaging and fun to drive. It gives you the same feeling of gear changes that a manual transmission does. The CVT is plagued by the ‘rubber band’ effect. As much as the company might claim to have minimized it, its still there. It’s just the way the transmission works.
The RPM of the engine and the speed of the car are somewhat unrelated during acceleration which gives a dull feeling to the acceleration. I find my head bobbing forward and backwards in the anticipation of speed whenever I press the accelerator, that comes albeit after some delay. Gives me a bit of a pain in the neck.
I believe that Honda has worked out some things differently in some of their other cars that use CVT transmission, to make them more engaging to drive. They have made the CVT behave like a 7 step gear box. So instead of the transmission constantly changing the drive ratio, it will slot in to the fixed 7 settings. I believe they have done this in the Civic and the new CR-V that is coming out with the CVT transmission.
But to be honest, I feel a little of the same head bobbing in the Ciaz as well. The gears take a moment to shift when I press on the accelerator. It’s not like a manual transmission where you know exactly when and how much power is coming.
The CVT has it’s advantages of course. It is smooth in the sense that there are no jerks between gear changes, as there are no gear changes altogether. It is a good option for hill driving as the engine can keep you in the power band without frequent gear changes.
But overall, driving the CVT was a listless experience and I lost all enthusiasm of driving the Honda City CVT very quickly. I still look forward to driving the Ciaz after a few months of ownership.
To give you a better example of how inclined the rear seat is, let me give you give this scenario.
If you want to keep your head neck and back in a straight line, and recline on the seat as well, you will be staring up at the roof of the car. Now we all know that sitting relatively straight with your head aligned with spine is the best way to sit. Perhaps its alright if you need to make a little bit of an adjustment. But in the rear seat of the Honda City, its too much. You cannot do a simple thing like look at your phone or out of the window without being constantly in the ‘head forward’ posture which is terrible a terrible posture for many reasons.
Which brings me to the other disadvantage of the rear seat, i.e. looking out of the window. The window sill is uncannily high. It comes over my shoulder line. If you look at someone of medium height sitting at the back of the Honda City from outside, you will just about be able to see the head of the person. I did not enjoy this experience.
Lastly, the headrests. They are not adjustable, though I think the new Honda City 2017 has adjustable ones, but only on the top variant. Anyway, I’m talking about the fixed ones that are their on most of the variants. I really don’t know what they are there for. I am not a tall person. And even then they are much below my head level. I cannot reach them without really tilting my head back and in that posture I am once again staring at the ceiling. They certainly do not help you to ‘rest’ your head in any way.
All of the above features are much better in the Suzuki Ciaz. The recline angle is perfect, the window line just right, while the glass panel is huge and panoramic. The head rests are fixed but they are at the right height and I don’t have to tilt my head back to find it find it resting on the soft cushions.
It’s a different story with the tactile dashboard on the Ciaz. You get in and the car looks decidedly European and classy. Honda has also decide to make their dashboard asymmetrical. Some might like this, but there really is too much happening. It’s also pretty high. But so is the Ciaz. I think this has something to do with all the things that there are fitting in there as well as the low seating height of the cars.
I got into a Brio a few days after a long time. I was so surprised at the perfect height of the dash, steering and the driving seat, that does not have height adjustment. I had a great view from the front windscreen. So yeah, that is one thing that I miss in both the cars. The visibility feels restricted.
There are dozens of service station in the city, although they are all terribly crowded. NEXA cars do not get serviced at the service stations, but only select ones. But then they get priority service, with dedicated NEXA mechanics and machines. Also, it’s in the grapevine that they are working on starting exclusive NEXA service centers for NEXA cars exclusively.
The services for the 1st year are done at your home at no extra charges. After that the scope of the jobs required to be performed for the servicing cannot be handled by the service van, so there after the car has to go to the service centers.
If I do have to buy an Honda it will because I want to buy one their more iconic cars like the Honda Accord or the Honda CR-V.
In this post I will highlight the points that led me to choose the Suzuki Ciaz over the Honda City.
Listless Automatic Transmission
I was looking for an automatic transmission vehicle. Both the City and the Ciaz come with one. However, the technology they both use are very different. The Ciaz comes with a torque converter while the Honda City uses a CVT transmission.Both have their pros and cons but I find the torque converter much more engaging and fun to drive. It gives you the same feeling of gear changes that a manual transmission does. The CVT is plagued by the ‘rubber band’ effect. As much as the company might claim to have minimized it, its still there. It’s just the way the transmission works.
The RPM of the engine and the speed of the car are somewhat unrelated during acceleration which gives a dull feeling to the acceleration. I find my head bobbing forward and backwards in the anticipation of speed whenever I press the accelerator, that comes albeit after some delay. Gives me a bit of a pain in the neck.
I believe that Honda has worked out some things differently in some of their other cars that use CVT transmission, to make them more engaging to drive. They have made the CVT behave like a 7 step gear box. So instead of the transmission constantly changing the drive ratio, it will slot in to the fixed 7 settings. I believe they have done this in the Civic and the new CR-V that is coming out with the CVT transmission.
But to be honest, I feel a little of the same head bobbing in the Ciaz as well. The gears take a moment to shift when I press on the accelerator. It’s not like a manual transmission where you know exactly when and how much power is coming.
The CVT has it’s advantages of course. It is smooth in the sense that there are no jerks between gear changes, as there are no gear changes altogether. It is a good option for hill driving as the engine can keep you in the power band without frequent gear changes.
But overall, driving the CVT was a listless experience and I lost all enthusiasm of driving the Honda City CVT very quickly. I still look forward to driving the Ciaz after a few months of ownership.
Poor Back Seat Experience
I was disappointed with the comfort of the rear seat. The leg room is ample and generous. And the full leather seats are soft and luxurious. But me and a few family members cannot sit without getting a pain in the neck. The reason is the rake, or the incline angle, of the seat. It is too much. You have to recline too much. You cannot sit up straight.To give you a better example of how inclined the rear seat is, let me give you give this scenario.
If you want to keep your head neck and back in a straight line, and recline on the seat as well, you will be staring up at the roof of the car. Now we all know that sitting relatively straight with your head aligned with spine is the best way to sit. Perhaps its alright if you need to make a little bit of an adjustment. But in the rear seat of the Honda City, its too much. You cannot do a simple thing like look at your phone or out of the window without being constantly in the ‘head forward’ posture which is terrible a terrible posture for many reasons.
Which brings me to the other disadvantage of the rear seat, i.e. looking out of the window. The window sill is uncannily high. It comes over my shoulder line. If you look at someone of medium height sitting at the back of the Honda City from outside, you will just about be able to see the head of the person. I did not enjoy this experience.
Lastly, the headrests. They are not adjustable, though I think the new Honda City 2017 has adjustable ones, but only on the top variant. Anyway, I’m talking about the fixed ones that are their on most of the variants. I really don’t know what they are there for. I am not a tall person. And even then they are much below my head level. I cannot reach them without really tilting my head back and in that posture I am once again staring at the ceiling. They certainly do not help you to ‘rest’ your head in any way.
All of the above features are much better in the Suzuki Ciaz. The recline angle is perfect, the window line just right, while the glass panel is huge and panoramic. The head rests are fixed but they are at the right height and I don’t have to tilt my head back to find it find it resting on the soft cushions.
Dashboard Design
The first time I sat in the Ciaz, I was blown away by how classy it felt. Here I am talking about the Delta variant that has tactile buttons and not the the touchscreen. I do not like to operate my car controls with a touchscreen to begin with. It makes things tedious to begin with. And then most of them do not look too great. Neither the Honda or Suzuki touchscreen looks great.It’s a different story with the tactile dashboard on the Ciaz. You get in and the car looks decidedly European and classy. Honda has also decide to make their dashboard asymmetrical. Some might like this, but there really is too much happening. It’s also pretty high. But so is the Ciaz. I think this has something to do with all the things that there are fitting in there as well as the low seating height of the cars.
I got into a Brio a few days after a long time. I was so surprised at the perfect height of the dash, steering and the driving seat, that does not have height adjustment. I had a great view from the front windscreen. So yeah, that is one thing that I miss in both the cars. The visibility feels restricted.
Ease Of Ownership
I live in a capital, one of the fastest growing cities of the country. And yet, there are just 2 Honda service stations, one with a dubious reputation. So that leaves just one. And both of them are miles away. Now I guess everyone knows that people buy into Suzuki not just for the cars but for the peace of mind they feel owning these cars.There are dozens of service station in the city, although they are all terribly crowded. NEXA cars do not get serviced at the service stations, but only select ones. But then they get priority service, with dedicated NEXA mechanics and machines. Also, it’s in the grapevine that they are working on starting exclusive NEXA service centers for NEXA cars exclusively.
The services for the 1st year are done at your home at no extra charges. After that the scope of the jobs required to be performed for the servicing cannot be handled by the service van, so there after the car has to go to the service centers.
The Bottom Line
Aside from the above points I think Honda City is a very good car with a great, very refined engine. If I was buying a manual transmission car, and the back seat experience was better, I might have just bought the Honda City. But I still kind of doubt it. As time goes by, I am happy with the service and treatment I am getting from the NEXA people.If I do have to buy an Honda it will because I want to buy one their more iconic cars like the Honda Accord or the Honda CR-V.
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