(Updated Gallery Inside) 4th Generation Honda City Unveiled - Roomier, 1.5L Petrol & Diesel

The all new Honda City has arrived!!Happened in India just a couple of moment ago, the fourth generation Honda City has been previewed to the media. Is very, very clear to see the new model is actually a gentle evolution of the current one. Critics will labelled it as a facelift, but it is actually a deeper improvement than that.

From the photos above, the side profile looks just like the current one, especially around the A-pillar. The front end adopts the new radiator grille concept seen on the new Honda Jazz/Fit, with the angular nose made an appearance, accentuated at the front bumper edge.

The rear end is however looks like the current one with the new tail light slapped on. The new tail light is much wider than before as it extends more into the trunk lid instead of sitting at the side structure panel like the current one.

The car has changed slightly in terms of dimensions. Overall length is only retained for facelifted Honda City at 4,440mm, the wheelbase has been extended by 50mm, making it 2,600mm. The car is a bit taller by at 1,495mm, while width is retained at 1,695mm. The interior is said to be roomier, with leg room and knee room on the up by 60-70mm, with 40mm more shoulder space. Boot space grows slightly to 510L.

In India, the 4th-gen Honda City will be offered with two 1.5L engine, one is petrol powered while the other one is diesel lump, similar to what found underneath of Honda Brio Amaze. Chassis architecture is similar to before with McPherson strut at the front and torsion beam at the back.

The interior design has been inspired by the larger Honda Civic, particularly the facelifted US Civic. The fascia has a flat surface, trimmed with silver lining, with silver bar running across the front passenger area. The centre console has been modernize with LCD touch screen and touch screen aircond control like the recently introduced in latest Honda Jazz/Fit and Honda Odyssey. The meter binnacle is blue surround. There's also bluetooth connectivity and aircond outlet for the rear passenger.

The dashboard is upright just like any small Honda. With the details as explained in the paragraph above, Honda has attempted to raise the interior perceived quality compared to the barebones of the current one. The slab panel with silver paint is now gone, and in comes a more sophisticated looking fascia. The audio unit blends well with the glossy black panel although one might feel a vast empty space overthere due to the lack of switches in the low end car like this. Naturally, the steering wheel comes from Honda Jazz/Fit, in fact the whole centre console screams the hatchback sibling. The main differentiators between the two are the fascia in front of the driver and passenger.

The rear cabin space is visibly spacious, with a completely flat rear floor as an added bonus. There is also rear air conditioning outlet as seen above. This could be in response to the move by Hyundai who is one of the earliest to put this premium feature in a mainstream car. The door trim features large chunk of fabric insert, embedded in one-piece moulded trim part.

More photos can be found after the jump.

Hottest Mercedes-Benz S Class Arrived : S65 AMG

The hottest Mercedes-Benz S Class has arrived, the S65 AMG. Packing a rather significant 1000Nm of torque under the hood from a lowly 2,300rpm, the new S65 AMG is capable to sprint to 100km/h in 4.3s despite weighting more than 2 tonnes.

Powering the high performance super saloon is 5,980cc V12 forced fed with twin turbo produced by AMG. The engine produces 630bhp available from 4,800 - 5,400 rpm and the aforementioned 1000Nm of torque from 2,300 - 4,300rpm. Drive is channeled to the rear wheel via AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic. The gearbox has 3 driving modes on offer; Controlled Efficiency (C), Sport (S) and Manual (M) which offers a thrilling mood especially on the latter two when there is a cutback in injection and ignition during the upshift under full load which in turns shorten the gear change and change the audible tones. Switching to C meanwhile initiate the ECO start/stop function. 

Despite the scorching performance, S65 AMG is most fuel efficient V12 saloon, returning 11.9L/100km and fulfilling EU6, which is not yet enforced until 2015. In terms of visual aura, S65 AMG takes the kit from S63 and then some more. The addition comes in chrome piece, which is sprinkled across the grille, side grille and sills. Driving aids on board include Magic Body Control, speed sensitive variable ratio steering, 20' forged alloy wheel and optional composite brake system. It will the most expensive S Class on sale at EUR232,050 and will be showcased at Los Angeles and Tokyo Motor Show.

Spyshots: Proton Rebadged Honda Accord

Proton Perdana replacement has had a very turbulence gestation period. The replacement model has been in the planning since the days of Proton MSX when the replacement was intended to look like a sedan version of the aluminium crossover. Of course it never happen. Then we started seeing a Mitsubishi 380 with Proton badge, and even the latest Mitsubishi Galant in 2006. Then came the Nissan Fuga thing and finally the freshest of them all is the rebadged Honda Accord. 

So, based on this sighting at Paultan, the government officials are set to drive the recycled Honda Accord. Proton has added their badge the normal place - front grille, steering wheel boss, and the rear fascia. We don't know yet if there's any restyling, but it should be very minor. What do you think? Is it worth it to design the car only to serve government officials? Two more photos after the jump.

New Honda HR-V Coming Soon

Back in the mid-90s, there was a small Honda SUV which slot into the segment smaller then Honda CR-V. Powered by 1.6L engine, Honda HR-V sits on Honda Logo platform. Honda discontinued this model in 2006. Seems that it will back!

Previewed by Honda Urban SUV concept, the production version has been leaked through the patent website. The design stays quite faithful to the concept version, with the details turn down for more cost efficient. Some more photos after the jump.

Lexus RC350 & RC300h sets to rival BMW 4 Series

You can't blame Lexus stylist for not trying to make their car looks good and different. The upcoming Lexus RC is the most extreme application of the new design language yet, characterized by the mega spindle grille with madly stretched compared to any model before this.

Lexus RC is the coupe derived from the Lexus IS, and set to challenge the likes of BMW 4 Series and Mercedes C-Class coupe to name a few. Compared to the sedan brethren, Lexus RC measures 4,695mm long, 1,840mm wide, 1,395mm tall and rides on 2,730mm wheelbase, which is 30mm longer, 30mm wider, 35mm lower and 70mm shorter wheelbase.

At the front, the "implied" headlight concept pioneered by Lexus IS has been refined further, and it looks a bit better and less haphazard looking with smoother headlight lower section. The LED infused looks jewel inspired, a theme further adopted by the fog lamp  which is akin to the diamond encrusted into the grille frame.

While the side profile is fairly conventional looking, with none of upswept rear bumper profile like the IS sedan, the same can't be said with the rear fascia. Lexus designers has played the surfacing really a lot, with different planes intersecting each other all over the place, all tied up together to create the hugging stance which is really sporty looking. I am not sure if the rear vents are functioning, but it better be or else it is just like the one on the Perodua Myvi SE rear bumper.

The model line up comprises of Lexus RC350 and RC300h. The former is powered by the familiar 3.5L V6 while the latter is 2.5L gasoline paired to hybrid system. The powertrain should be similar with the unit in other Lexuses, so we are looking at  312bhp and 378Nm for the RC350 and 220bhp and 300Nm for the RC300h.

Similar in BMW 3 and 4 Series, the interior is carried over from the sedan donor. The only new addition is the newly develop Remote Touch Interface which controls the car functionality via a centralized command system. Several more photos can be found after the jump.