Do We Really Need A Hatchback Version Of The Honda City?

• It is highly unlikely to come to India.
• The 2020 Honda City sedan is all set for India debut on March 16.
• Honda already has a City hatchback for the Chinese market.

The 2020 Honda City is all set to debut in India on March 16. The sedan undergoes a major revamp for 2020 with BS6-compliant powertrain options and updated features. Since Honda has the Jazz/Fit, a hatchback based on the City was the last thing we expected. But from what appears now, Honda is, in fact, readying a City hatchback. A couple of patent images of the hatchback have been leaked online.

The images reveal all the design details of the City hatchback. At the front, it gets all the design elements as the India-bound 2020 City. The obvious changes are at the rear, which now features a hatch instead of a boot. It gets a clean looking rear-end design with slim taillamps. The overall proportions don't seem very interesting to us from the sketches. But then, these are patent drawings. 

Moving on to the powertrain options, it might use the same 122PS 1.0-litre VTEC turbo-petrol engine from the City RS. Apart from that, it might also get a 1.5-litre petrol engine, possibly with the hybrid tech from the 2020 Jazz. The India-bound City is expected to retain the same 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines with BS6 updates.

Meanwhile, there exists a City hatchback (more like a notchback), dubbed the Genia, exclusively for Chinese markets. So, this could be a successor to that. Closer home, Honda had confirmed that the 2020 Jazz won’t make it to India. Honda’s lineup in India features the Brio, Jazz, City, WR-V, BR-V, Civic, Amaze, CR-V, and the Accord. Meanwhile, Honda is also cooking a sub-4m SUV to rival the likes of the Venue.