The space is simply luxurious for a pint-sized car, as long as you keep the total passenger count to four, counting Jar Jar Binks.  There’s an irritating tendency to hit the knee on the power window switches upfront, but at least you won’t end up brushing shoulders with your wookie companion.  The rear bench can take three if pushed to the limit, but it will feel like a sardine can—though at least not a value pack.  Ingress is excellent upfront, less so at the back where perfectly gelled hair can end up a bit ruffled with the City’s less than ample rear doorway opening angle.

Then there’s the ULT seat—a feature that works magic by increasing the City’s lugging capacity to near MPV levels.  I won’t bore you with Mr. Spock’s version of how it works, but simply put, with the touch of a lever, the seats fold to accommodate the goat, the tiger and the grass all in one go, with none of the three eating up the others.  I surely liked this feature when I had to transport take-out Chinese food and newly pressed clothes at the same time—the food in the trunk and the clothes at the back.  Result? No wrinkles and no sweet-and-sour pork smell on the clothes.

Frank:
But don’t change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is Valentine’s Day

Uly:
There have been countless preconceptions on the less than ample power of the City’s 1.3-liter engine.  Rubbish.  Despite having just a single overhead cam and two valves per cylinder, it delivers the right goods, making the 82 bhp feel more like 112 bhp.  Sparing you from needless techno-babble, the i-DSI (Intelligent Dual Sequential Ignition) simply uses an advanced computer brain to control the twin spark plug configuration of each cylinder from economy to sport depending on how much the driver suffers from the lead-foot syndrome.  Unlike VTEC, the i-DSI engine can deliver its peak power and torque at low engine speeds.  This, along with a characteristic rorty exhaust give a very sporty impression to the City’s driving. 

Though Honda could have offered the 1.5-liter VTEC unit, it doesn’t give the same amount of returns per added displacement as the 1.3-liter i-DSI could.  In fairness, the latter is more than enough to push the City to a level considerably beyond the legal speed limit without having to take a week to get there.

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