Details of Cars

Honda City: from Tallboy hatchback to global subcompact sedan

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Honda City GM2 in China
A Honda City of the GM2 generation in China. Photo by Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Honda City is a subcompact car produced by Honda since 1981. It was originally a three-door hatchback for Japan, Europe and Australasia, was revived in 1996 as a four-door sedan for developing markets, and has since become a global subcompact sedan.

Honda City at a glance

Honda City key facts
Maker Honda
Production since 1981
First generation November 1981, three-door hatchback
First design Tallboy, under 3.4 m long
First-generation companion Motocompo 50 cc folding scooter
Three-door retired 1995, replaced by the Logo
Name revived 1996 as a four-door sedan
Platform Honda Global Small Car
Platform partners Fit/Jazz, Airwave/Partner, first Mobilio
Japanese names Fit Aria (2002–2008), Grace (2014–2020)
South African name Ballade, since 2011
Seventh generation 2019, with a five-door hatchback from 2020

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the City.

History of the Honda City

The Tallboy

Honda City GM2 rear view
The same generation from the rear. Photo by Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The first Honda City was introduced in November 1981 with an innovative Tallboy design: unusually tall, so that four adults could fit comfortably in a car under 3.4 m long. It was produced as a three-door hatchback in various trims, and was also sold with the Motocompo, a 50 cc foldaway scooter with 2.5 PS designed to fit in the boot. The three-door City was retired in 1995 after the second generation and replaced by the Logo.

Revival as a sedan

The nameplate returned in 1996 on a series of subcompact four-door sedans aimed mainly at developing markets, first in Asia and later in Latin America and Australia. Since then the City has been a subcompact sedan on Honda’s Global Small Car platform, shared with the Fit/Jazz hatchback, the Airwave/Partner and the first-generation Mobilio, all of which place the fuel tank under the front seats.

Many names

From 2002 to 2008 the City was sold in Japan as the Fit Aria, and from 2014 to 2020 it returned there as the Grace. Since 2011 it has been sold in South Africa as the Ballade. Between 2015 and 2019 Dongfeng Honda sold a remodelled version as the Greiz, with a five-door liftback called the Gienia. The seventh-generation City of 2019 grew significantly, matching the exterior size of the ninth-generation Civic sedan, and gained a five-door hatchback in 2020.

Design and features

  • Tallboy packaging: the original 1981 car’s defining idea.
  • Global Small Car platform: shared with the Fit and Mobilio.
  • Fuel tank under the front seats: a packaging trait of the platform.
  • Many market names: Fit Aria, Grace, Ballade, Greiz and Gienia.

Honda City versions

  • First generation (1981): three-door Tallboy hatchback.
  • Second generation: the last three-door City before the Logo.
  • Sedan generations (1996 onward): the revived four-door line.
  • Grace (2014–2020): the Japanese sedan version.
  • Seventh generation (2019): larger car with a hatchback from 2020.

The City shares its platform with the Honda Fit and sits below the Civic in the range. More Hondas are in the Honda collection.

Sources

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