Everyone Said Honda City Prices Unchanged: They Are Wrong
Honda launched the City facelift in India on May 22, 2026. It comes with a host of visual upgrades and several meaningful feature additions. There is a sense of freshness to the new car. The new City’s pricing instantly got a lot of attention. It starts at Rs 11.99 lakh, ex-showroom. This is, in fact, the same starting price as the pre-facelift model. Honda explicitly mentioned this in its presentation as well. Soon, many started saying ‘Oh wow, Honda City prices remain unchanged even after the facelift.’ They are wrong! This article will explain why.
The new City’s pricing has an interesting story to tell. The entry price has remained the same as before, despite some features (like the projector LED headlamps) now being offered as standard. However, ex-showroom prices have increased across the board.
The facelifted City comes in four trims- SV, V, ZX and ZX+, and is offered with the same two powertrain options- 1.5L naturally aspirated petrol and 1.5L strong hybrid petrol. Let’s first compare the old and new prices of the regular City.
The base-spec SV trim comes at Rs 11.99 lakh, ex-showroom. The V trim now has a starting price of Rs 13.30 lakh, ex-showroom, for the manual variant. Previously, this used to be Rs 13 lakh. That’s an increase of Rs 30,000. The V CVT variant has seen an increase of Rs 20,000, and is now priced at Rs 14.30 lakh. Previously, it used to sell at Rs 14.10 lakh.
The VX trim, which used to be available in both manual and automatic forms, with ex-showroom prices of Rs 13.73 lakh and Rs 14.94 lakh, is no longer on sale.
The ZX manual now has a price of Rs 15.26 lakh. Previously it used to sell at Rs 15 lakh. That shows an increase of Rs 26,000. The ZX CVT used to be priced at Rs 16.07 lakh, but now commands Rs 16.26 lakh- an increase of Rs 19,000. And finally, the ZX+ trim itself is new. The manual variant is priced at Rs 16.15 lakh and automatic at Rs 17.15 lakh!
Yes, a fully loaded City now costs Rs 17.15 lakh. The pre-facelift with the non-hybrid engine used to top out at Rs 16.05 lakh. Even though the reason is the addition of a new trim, a fully loaded City (non-hybrid) is now more expensive by Rs 1.1 lakh! Of course, you get a significantly better cabin with more features, but the money math remains an unpleasant reality.
Now, let’s take the case of the City e:HEV ( City hybrid). It comes with the same 1.5L strong hybrid (Atkinson cycle) engine as before. The output figures remain unchanged as well. The strong hybrid variant was previously priced at Rs 19.99 lakh, ex-showroom.
Just a single strong hybrid variant is offered even on the facelifted sedan. It comes with a hefty price tag of Rs 20.99 lakh- an increase of one lakh rupees over the previous model! And what does the premium bring to the table? A larger touchscreen, ventilated front seats, and a 360-degree camera. The rest of the feature list remains the same as before.
In short, the Honda City has become significantly more expensive than before. Honda has tried to cover up the hike with the ‘unchanged base price’. The V manual variant has had the biggest price hike among variants. The top-end and e:HEV prices have had sizeable leaps up.
*All prices mentioned here are ex-showroon figures