Head to Head

Subcompact or B-Segment sedans are no longer the basic and bare means of transport they were over a decade ago. Now packing features and amenities reserved for luxury cars of the past, this segment offers technologies now within reach to the average consumer.

Now in its 20th year in production, it could be said that the Honda City is the pioneer of the subcompact sedan in the Philippines. 4 generations have since passed and the City continues to be a top-seller for Honda.  Wanting a share of the subcompact sedan market is the Volkswagen Polo Notch. The company's long running subcompact car that has long been a popular choice in Europe both in hatchback and sedan form.

Subcompact sedans from Volkswagen and Honda are the highlight of this edition of our head to head. Raising the flag for Honda is the City while representing Volkswagen is the Polo Notch. Let's see how the two match up.

The Honda City is powered by a 1.5 liter, four cylinder engine packing Honda's signature i-VTEC technology. this helps the City put out 120 PS and 145 Nm of torque. In the Volkswagen Polo, it is available in both gas and diesel variants. The Polo Notch gas engine is a 1.6 liter, inline four engine with Multi-Point Injection. It then produces a figure of 105 PS and 153 Nm of torque. The diesel on the other hand is a 1.6 liter turbodiesel with 105 PS and 175 Nm of torque.

As for transmissions, the Honda is available with either a five-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission with paddle shifters on higher trim levels. The transmission options in the Volkswagen Polo Notch are a six-speed dual clutch gearbox with manual mode in the gas models or a five-speed manual in the TDI. Both the Polo Notch and City are front wheel drive and ride on MacPherson struts in front and a torsion beam at the rear.

Volkswagen Polo Notch has an interior that boasts high quality materials. Inside, it is mostly black with silver highlights on the center console, air con surrounds and door panels. The dash is made from soft-touch materials, as well as the top half of the door panel. The steering wheel on the other hand has a flat bottom and gets black accents on the spokes and is adjustable for both reach and rake. Seats are trimmed in fabric and the driver's side gets height adjustments as well. As for its instrument panel, it gets two large round dials and in between is the multi-information display.

Over to the Honda City, it gets a sportier interior with soft-touch dash with leather inserts. The cabin is also livened up by silver trim as well as piano black highlights. The range-topping VX and VX+ get leather seats and steering wheel plus the instrument cluster sticks to the traditional three-dial layout. It shows trip meter, average fuel economy, real time fuel economy and range. When Econ Mode is engaged, the dials turn green when the car is driven efficiently and blue during acceleration and idling.

In the Honda City, the entry-level 1.5 E gets a 2-DIN stereo system standard that includes  AUX-in, USB-in, and Bluetooth connectivity. Moving up to the City VX and VX + variants, it now gets Honda's 7-inch Audio-Visual Navigation system powered by Garmin. This variant also adds a more detailed multi-information display that can be accessed via the vehicle's touchscreen. In the speaker count, the VX and VX+ models get 8 while the 1.5E M/T and 1.5E CVT make do with 4.

Over to the Volkswagen Polo Notch, only one infotainment system is available. The standard 2-DIN stereo includes  CD, MP3, USB, SD Card, Bluetooth functions and, like the Jazz, comes with four speakers.

The Volkswagen Polo Notch's exterior follows a more angular shape with its long hood and upright design. The Polo Hatch's front fascia is is defined by large wraparound headlights, slim grill and rounded off bumper. A bold character line defines the sides of the Polo Notch and a pair of trapezoidal tail lights sums up the car's rear end. Finishing off the Polo Hatch's exterior is a set of 15-inch alloy wheels.

Meanwhile, the Honda City features a wedge-like body with its raked windshield and curved roof line and defined by a strong center character line that merges into the tail lights. The front fascia on the other hand boasts wide wraparound headlights, defined bumper corners and finished off with a bold single bar chrome grill. The lower half of the fascia meanwhile features a honeycomb finish to the foglight housings. In higher trim levels, the City gets chrome detailing on the door handles and rides on larger 16 inch wheels. The 1.5 E M/T gets 15-inch steel rims with wheel covers while the 1.5 E CVT rolls on 15-inch alloys.

On to safety equipment and both get airbags and ABS with EBD standard across the whole range. The top of the line models add traction control and stability control and the Honda City VX + gets side curtain airbags and emergency stop signal.

As for the Volkswagen Polo Notch, it too ABS with EBD. In addition, the Polo Notch also has parking sensors for the rear and dual airbags.

The Honda City is available in four variants, namely the 1.5 E M/T, 1.5 E CVT, 1.5 VX and 1.5 VX +. Prices for the City starts at Php 759,000 and tops out at Php 998,000. For the Volkswagen Polo, is comes in two variants with different engines, the Trendline 1.6 MPI A/T gas and the 1.6 TDI M/T diesel. The Trendline 1.6 MPI A/T starts at Php 840,000 while the 1.6 TDI M/T starts at Php 888,000.

As the Honda City and Volkswagen Polo Notch have shown, one does not have to spend over a million to get the latest technologies, efficiently engineered engines and generous safety equipment. Needless to say, this segment has grown up rather significantly and, with the Honda City and Volkswagen Polo Notch, we like the way it's going.