The fifth-gen Honda City is fresh off its second facelift, which aims to make the midsize sedan more compelling against rivals like the Skoda Slavia. Where the Slavia is available with turbo-petrol engines only, the City gets a sole naturally aspirated motor in its petrol variants. We put the petrol automatic versions of the City and Slavia through our real-world test

Honda City vs Skoda Slavia petrol automatic: Price and specs

As noted previously, the City gets a 1.5-litre 4-cyl naturally aspirated petrol engine, whereas the Slavia can be had with either a 1.0-litre 3-cyl or 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo-petrol mill – both are direct-injection engines. The City’s i-VTEC engine makes slightly more power than the Slavia’s 1.0 TSI, but falls much short of the 1.5 TSI. Torque output, fuel tank capacity, and ARAI-claimed mileage figures are clear victories for the Skoda sedan too.

Slavia 1.5 TSI offers cylinder deactivation feature

The City also comes with a CVT transmission, which is more cost-effective, but not as smooth or responsive as the Slavia 1.0 TSI’s 6-speed torque converter and the 1.5 TSI’s 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. It’s also worth noting that the Slavia 1.5 TSI gets cylinder deactivation tech, which can shut off two cylinders at cruising speeds to save fuel.

In terms of pricing, the City CVT slightly undercuts the Slavia 1.0 TSI AT at the base level, though the latter’s top-spec version is more affordable than the Honda sedan’s fully-loaded variant. Compared to the Slavia 1.5 TSI, the City CVT is cheaper by up to Rs 1.04 lakh.

Honda City vs Skoda Slavia petrol automatic: Real-world mileage

City vs Slavia 1.0 TSI AT

Despite being a cylinder down compared to the City, the Slavia 1.0 TSI yielded lower mileage figures in our real-world testing. In urban conditions, the City eked out a 1.5kpl victory over the Slavia 1.0 TSI, while on the highway, the Honda sedan’s lead widened to a full 3kpl. Looking at their average fuel efficiency figures, the City was 2.25kpl ahead of the Slavia 1.0 TSI.

City vs Slavia 1.5 TSI DCT

Unsurprisingly, the Slavia 1.5 TSI sipped more fuel than the 1.0 TSI in urban conditions, resulting in a 2.7kpl delta between the City. Thanks to its cylinder deactivation function, though, the Slavia 1.5 TSI majorly closed the mileage gap on the highway, but still fell short of the City by 0.8kpl. All told, the Slavia 1.5 TSI’s average fuel efficiency worked out to 0.5kpl higher than the 1.0 TSI, and 1.75kpl lower than that of the City.

City’s smaller fuel tank lets it down a bit

While the City undeniably offers better real-world mileage, its smaller fuel tank somewhat detracts from the victory. Per the average fuel efficiency numbers, the Honda sedan can travel 568km on a full tank of petrol, while the Slavia 1.0 TSI AT and 1.5 TSI DCT manage real-world range figures of 538km and 560km, respectively. That’s a difference of 8-30km in the City’s favour, which isn’t all that substantial, especially when comparing the 4-cyl versions of each sedan.

Autocar India’s fuel efficiency testing

Before our real-world fuel efficiency tests, we fill our test cars’ tanks to the brim and maintain tyre pressures based on the manufacturer’s recommendations. These cars are driven in fixed city and highway loops in and around Navi Mumbai, and we maintain certain average speeds. Throughout the tests, there is only one person in each car, running the air conditioner and other electricals, such as the audio system, indicators and wipers, when required, just like a regular user would. Periodic driver swaps further neutralise variations in driver patterns. At the end of each cycle, we calculate efficiency by filling the tanks to full again.

All prices are ex-showroom, India.