This New Year brought many excitements in Indian automobile industry with the entry of several wonderful models which were eagerly awaited by the customers. From this list, we are here with two such models in sedan category. These are 2014 versions of Honda City and Fiat Linea. While all-new Honda City was launched in the very starting of year, Fiat revealed its new Linea in the 12th Auto Expo held in February.
If we look at the brand image of both Honda and Fiat in country then it has no doubt that Honda is the king over other, and when it’s about Honda’s most appreciated sedan City then its launch wait by its admirers seems obvious but here, the point to be noted is that customers were waiting for Fiat Linea as well. Yes and not only this even Linea is giving a rub shoulder fight to City and it can only be possible by Fiat’s hard work in increasing its network and improving post buying servicing than before.
Let’s have a look what different these both sedans serve to their respective customers.
Price:
The very first thing to be noticed by the customers when planning to buy a car is its price and undoubtedly Fiat takes the cake away here by launching Linea at lesser price than City in both diesel as well as petrol models.
In petrol variants, while Linea gets price tags between 6.99-9.01 lakhs, the City is much expensive and comes between ranges of 7.42-10.98 lakhs.
Contrary, talking about diesel trims, here again Linea is available at cheaper price range between 8.15-9.72 lakhs over the City’s tags of 8.62-11.10 lakhs.
Engine details:
Coming to their mechanical powers, both cars are powered by diesel and petrol trims. Though if compare size wise then City seems to have more powerful engines than Linea. Honda’s this sedan is armed with 1.5 liter engine in both petrol and diesel trims over the Linea’s 1.4 liter petrol and 1.3 liter diesel.
But sometimes what seems from outside is not the reality and same happens here. Despite having smaller engines, Linea still pleases us by offering an impressive torque of 209Nm at 2000rpm (in diesel) over the 200Nm at 1750rpm of City diesel. On the other hand, Linea petrol offers 207Nm of torque which seems far better than City petrol’s 145Nm.
As far as their produced power is concern, bigger engines offer better power here. Honda’s sedan is responsible to develop the max output of 117.3bhp in petrol and 98.6bhp in diesel while Linea on the other side offers comparatively less power of 112.4bhp and 91.7bhp in its petrol and diesel trims respectively.
However, Honda does a great job by gearing up its trendy sedan with an automatic transmission as well along with manual. This auto gearbox is available only in its petrol unit though while diesel unit gets a 5-speed manual transmission. While there is no auto gearbox is available in Linea, it’s both petrol as well as diesel mated to 5-speed manual.
Next important thing in any comparison is car’s mileage and City is unbeatable here. Honda City becomes more fuel efficient by giving impressive claimed mileage figures of 17.8-18.0 km/l in petrol over the 15.7 km/l of Linea petrol and 25.1-26.0 km/l in diesel over the 20.4 km/l of Linea diesel.
Overall, both cars are good enough with their mechanical powers but Honda City definitely scores more than Fiat Linea with some ups and downs.
Performance:
When it comes to on-road performance, it’s really difficult by any other same segment to beat Honda’s Sedan City. While Honda has done some wonderful changes in its City, Fiat brings same Linea under hood. Everyone is aware of the fact that City petrol is not only Honda’s but India’s most popular sedan in same segment, one of the main reasons behind this tag is car’s drivability and excellent handling along with impressive its fuel economy. As Honda has brought same City in petrol version, same wonderful performance is also repeating itself. However, Linea petrol also gives a tough fight here to its rival by offering segment-best handling and drivability but still couldn’t beat City. The first and main reason is its poor fuel efficiency which could be improved by a big leap. Linea petrol offers mileage of just 15.7 km/l.
Coming to diesel version, Honda has equipped the diesel fuel very first time in its City and must say a wonderful step has done by company. Though, Linea diesel also performs very well on road and has very low NVH level which makes the engine quite and vibration less but same qualities are available in City diesel as well. So what’s the difference in these two diesel models? It’s again the fuel economy which makes City better once again. Honda offers very much exciting figure of mileage in its Diesel City which is much better than Linea’s diesel.
Space & Dimension:
Now it’s time to measure these two models. Well, Fiat seems to win here coz it has given its sedan longer length and width than its rival. Linea is 4596mm long, 1730mm wide and 1487mm (petrol) & 1494mm (diesel) tall which is more than City’s 4440mm length, 1695mm width, though its 1495mm of height is more than Linea’s.
Both the sedans share almost equal wheelbase and car boot which are 2603mm, 500 liters in Linea and 2600mm, 510 liters in City, respectively. And here again Linea scores more by having wonderful ground clearance of 185/190 (depending upon variants) while City just gets 165mm of ground clearance which could be improved for sure. This impressive figure of Linea helps the car to ride with comfort on rough and bumpy areas.
Both sedans are five seaters, though Linea’s more length and width gives it comparatively better legroom and headroom and makes it spacious than its rival.
Interior:
Needless to say, both the companies have raised their bars by offering top-notch interior features in their respective sedans. While City is now featuring many exciting comfort devices, Linea is also not sitting back here in any terms.
On the name of impressive interior n comfort devices, Linea is designed with auto climate control, cruise control, rear AC vents, music system with four/six speakers, CD, MP3, USB, Bluetooth and Aux-in compatibility, multi-functioning steering wheel, reverse parking sensors, seats wrapped in leather, Microsoft’s Blue & Me software able to pair 5 mobile phones, rain sensing wipers, rear defogger with timer, remote keyless entry and many more.
And when we sit in Honda’s trendy sedan, we find that same story is being repeated there as well. Honda also has equipped many features in its car with this renovation. These include music system with four speakers, CD, USB, Aux-in, Bluetooth connectivity, tweeters, hands free telephone having control on steering, power steering wheel also having audio controls on it, rear view camera having three view options- wide, normal and a top-down view, an electric sunroof making the car’s glimpse trendier than ever, leather upholstery, auto AC with touch screen panel, cruise control, keyless entry and many more.
In this list, few are available as standard features in these cars while few as optional. Overall, both the sedans share almost every requisite features in it and hence we give here equal scores to both.
Exterior:
Fiat Linea has gone under renovation and comes out as an attractive looking, sleek and slim model which has enough tendencies to attract its customers. The changes done in this facelift model includes newly equipped two bar grilles, refined front bumpers, chromed ORVMs, redesigned rear bumper etc.
While City on the other side doesn’t get much change in its exterior profile but still looks stunning and classy. Though if we have to chose one among these two on the behalf of their exterior glance then our vote goes to Fiat Linea as there are some renovations happen at its outside and it also has comparatively stronger build quality while City is same as before.
Safety:
Regular features like dual airbags, Anti-lock braking system (ABS), immobilizer, driver seat belt reminder, auto door lock etc are marking their presence in both the sedans, though EBD (electronic brake-force distribution) (which detects critical situations and help the driver to maintain full control over the vehicle) is missing in Linea but available in City.
Verdict:
New Fiat Linea:
Pros
- Affordable price
- Longer and wider than City
- More Spacious
- Impressive ground clearance
- Rich in interior & comfort features
- Attractive outside glimpse
Cons
- Poor fuel economy, especially in petrol trim
- Fiat is improving its after sale service but post maintenance is still much costly
All-new Honda City:
Pros
- Honda badge and its reliability
- Wonderful after sale services
- Powerful engine with impressive output & availability of auto transmission
- Excellent fuel efficiency
- Applauding on-road performance
- Rich in interior features
Cons
- Costlier than Fiat Linea
Less spacious comparatively
