Suzuki SX4 vs all new Honda City – it’s a court battle now!

Seems Honda was miffed about a Suzuki SX4 ad that went on to compare the two cars, and claimed that the SX4 was a better car in several aspects. Honda is understandably proud of their futuristic new Honda City which has even made some Civic owners regret their decisions to purchase it. So how dare Maruti Suzuki claim the SX4 is better?

Be that as it may, we know that the Suzuki SX4 sales are down in the pits now. And Maruti might be getting a tad desperate. The ‘Men are Back’ ads are not working, a great VFm proposition is not working, the huge SUV like tyres that can ride roughshod over any kind of terrain is not working, what’s a company to do?

Anyway, Honda SIEL cars have sent a legal notice to Maruti over SX4 ads claiming that the SX4 is a bigger car, and it is more loaded with features compared to the Honda City. Maruti has not reponded yet.

The Economic Times reported that the ad claims that the entry level model of the third generation Honda City does not have an integrated stereo as standard equipment, and that the car was shorter and smaller than the SX4.

Comparative ads are always a dangerous game – there is usually a bit of subterfuge in the way the comparison is done, and we have always told people never to go by the comparisons. But the legal notice from Honda has got us wondering – exactly how do the two cars compare?

For that, we rushed back to the recent edition of the Car magazine which had a longish comparison between 4 mid-size sedans in India. Both the new Honda City and the SX4 were part of that. Let’s see what they have to say about the issue.

Honda City vs Suzuki SX4 – Looks and design

Not much to talk about here. Compare the SX4 to any other mid-size sedan, and it can hold its own. Not everyone would like the slightly muscular, bulbous design – but frankly, you can come to like it for sure. It looks bigger than the Honda City, which is quite futuristic to look at, is sleek, much more modern.?

Honda City vs Suzuki SX4 – interiors

Things are not as easy to define here. No one at Car seemed to be particularly impressed by the quality of plastics and panels in the City – but wait, they were not impressed by the SX4 either! The Honda City has steering mounted audio controls, and so has the Suzuki SX4! As far as interior space is concerned, the SX4 while looking bigger, does not offer all that much inside. Headroom, yes, is better in the SX4 but legroom – not that great.

I think there may have been some mis-reporting in ET about the stereo system in the Honda City. The car does not offer a CD player, only a music unit with a USB connector to which you can attack your music players, thumb drives etc. The SX4 on the other hand, does offer a CD player and climate control. So what gives?

Considering everything, neither the Honda City nor the SX4 is a winner when it comes to interiors.?

Ride quality – Honda City vs Suzuki SX4

The Suzuki SX4 has great ground clearance. Are you living in a place where there are millions of bumps scatterd everywhere, or do you often have to drive on kuchcha roads? The SX4 is your car. But not so on the open roads and highways.?

The high ground clearance, tall body and high center of gravity of the Suzuki SX4 means that on the highways, it would not handle as good as the lower, flatter Honda City. According to Car, the all-new Honda City has got it just right – they its best over the occasional bad road, handles the best, and great on highways.

Engine

Is there any question? Its a VTEC that churns out 118 bhp that powers the Honda City? Winner, hands down.

Price

Ah. The Honda City is costlier; the top end manual version costs Rs 7.99 lakhs (ex-showroom, New Delhi) while the top end Auto version costs Rs 8.69 lakhs. The SX4 does not have an automatic version, so let’s look at the top end manual. It is priced at Rs 7.37 lakhs.

The cheapest SX4 costs 6.36 lakhs ex-showroom, while the cheapest Honda City ?costs 7.51 lakhs ex-showroom.

So the Honda City is costlier, but the price differential is not that large – and tempting enough to make you consider a Honda City instead of a Suzuki SX4.

Conclusion

Looks like the City is better, overall. Which makes me wonder – where was this mysterious ad by maruti claiming the SX4 is better published? I really would like to take a good look at that.

What is sad is that the SX4 is quite a good car in its own right. If I were living in a B-town, I would want to show off with a Honda City, but the practical side would tell me that when it comes to the regular trip to the countryside, the SX4 would serve me better. So the SX4 should sell better. But it does not. Why? The recession and slowdown are there as the culprits, but the other aspect would be the pricing. Maruti-Suzuki cannot afford to have the SX4 ?priced so close to the Honda City. It has to position it a rung down, price it a step below. When I started writing this, I was under the impression that the top end variant of the Honda SX4 ?would at least be a lakh cheaper than the Honda City. Not so. There is a price difference at the bottom, though.

Then there is the brand. I have never believed that those who buy class in this cars are more driven by the car as a status symbol, not by its VFM proposition. Guess I was wrong. For many, anything from Maruti – Suzuki cannot be a status-symbol. Sad, that.

And Suzuki, you can’t price a 102 bhp car so close to a 118 bhp car. Please do something about it.