This second facelift for Honda’s City brings with it a sharper face and a larger 10-inch central screen.
Now to those who do not know, Honda is celebrating its 78th birthday today (24th Sept). And the Japanese automaker has decided to mark the occasion locally with the launch of its new(ly facelifted) City, which brings with it a sleek new face… as well as a rather less sleek dashboard redesign.
This second facelift for the City comes after the first update in 2023, and has dropped the base S variant in the process. The range thus now consists of only four variants, with prices as follows:
- 1.5L E: RM 89,900
- 1.5L V: RM 94,900
- 1.5L RS: RM 99,900
- 1.5L e:HEV RS: RM 111,900
As for what’s new, the most eye-catching change from this latest update is undoubtedly its brasher new front fascia. A sharper ‘Blade-Eye’ light bar now visually connects the headlamp clusters, which are now Bi-LED units as standard across the range. Sitting beneath it is a near-full-width grille, paired with a slimmer, sportier-looking front bumper design.
The lower bumper design differs slightly depending on the model grade, and unique to the RS is a light bar running across the width of the grille. The sporty variant can further be distinguished by its new Berlina Black turbine-style 16-inch alloy wheels. The V in turn also gets 16-inch alloys (albeit in a less fancy design), while the base E trim continues to roll on the existing 15-inchers.
Round the back, the only notable revision from this facelift is a redesigned rear bumper featuring a large mesh centre section to continue the sportier look introduced up front. The existing trapezoidal tail light design has been carried over, though the units on the RS have gained a rather Altezza-esque black-tinted frosted look.
Moving along inside meanwhile, those who go for the higher-end V and RS variants will be treated to a new 10-inch central display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, (rather crudely) stuffed into the hole where the original 8-inch infotainment screen used to sit (Or still sits, if opting for the E variant). These higher-end Citys also gain ambient lighting, with red for the RS and blue for the V, along with auto-retractable wing mirrors.
On the powertrain front, things remain unchanged from the pre-facelift model. This means the City continues with the usual 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine across most of the range, with it sending 121 PS and 145 Nm of torque to the front wheels via a CVT.
The e:HEV RS likewise still sticks with the same hybrid powertrain, consisting of a primary electric traction motor producing 109 PS and 253 Nm, providing drive through a single-speed transmission. The 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle engine acts primarily as a generator to recharge the battery, though it can also clutch in to provide mechanical drive at higher running speeds. The engine itself produces 98 PS and 127 Nm.
Safety-wise, the City facelift continues to come equipped with Honda Sensing as standard. The driver assistance suite includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane centring assist, road departure mitigation, front departure alert and auto high beam (with low-speed follow available on the e:HEV RS).
New to the 2026 facelift is blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, with the system working alongside the existing LaneWatch camera to provide alerts to the driver on both sides. A 360-degree camera system is also now available, with its feed displayed on the new 10-inch central screen.
As with all Honda models sold in Malaysia from September 1, the City facelift now comes with an eight-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, with the e getting an additional 10-year warranty for its hybrid components.
The exterior colour palette has also incidentally been scaled down from six colours on the old car to four now, with the range consisting of Blazing Red Pearl, which takes over from Ignite Red Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic, Platinum White Pearl and Stellar Diamond Pearl. The latter is only available on the V and petrol RS variants.
