Next Gen Verna launched in August 2017, is a third generation of Hyundai’s popular Verna in India. Mostly popular for its fluidic design and punchy diesel engine. This is build on K2 platform (the same that is being used in new Elantra) which is composed of 50% AHSS and supposed to be lighter than 100 kgs that the previous Verna (have more strength and deliver more mileage than previous versions due to lighter weight). Honda City launched in 2017 was a facelift and might be due for a generation upgrade next year
Before you buy first try to understand what is your type..?
This is specifically to see on what type of personality you are. This would help you making buying decision. As people say, Honda City is chauffeur driven car (more roominess at the back) and Verna is a drivers car (somebody who would love to drive it due to its punchier diesel engine and something not as roomy as Honda city in the rear seat)
Looking for Petrol Variant..?
If you are looking for petrol engine, both cars are neck to neck here.
- Engine: Honda has world renowned, very popular, refined and proven iVTEC 1.5 engine. Its super smooth, super refined and NVH levels are almost negligible. You wont even know if the engine is on or not. Hyundai petrol VTVT 1.6 is no behind here which is a punchier and super refined petrol engine. On paper, Hyundai delivers little more power compared to Honda.
- Mileage: Mileage is very much dependent on your driving habits. With a mannered driving, City will give you very consistent mileage compared to Verna. From what I have read about City, it gives 12–14 in city and 15–17 on highways (both with AC switched on and Manual variant) My Verna is giving 11–12.5 in city driving and 14-15 on highway (both with AC switched on for manual variant) and those numbers are with mannered driving.(These are MID nos and I am yet to do tank to tank calculations). We can calculate the petrol expenses for both the cars. Refer to below table for savings made by City over Verna due to superior mileage. (Source: My working sheet)
- Resale: If you are going to keep the car for more than 5 years, then you should not really worry about resale. Event though, your City is supposed to fetch more than Verna. But you need to consider the 1 lac premium that you would be paying for City over Verna
- Pricing: Now coming to the most important part, how much you are going to pay for it. Have a look at below table to see comparative pricing (Source: My working sheet) (Prices for petrol manual). As you can clearly see, Verna undercuts City by whopping 65k - 110k) Also keep in mind that many RTO’s in India charge 2–5% more as a registration charges (Maharashtra charges 5% more). So your City V & VX variants are going to cost 5% more adding to the price difference. Also, your insurance prices are going to be based on Ex showroom price. From the mileage table, It can clearly be made out that the initial pricing difference nullifies the loss made by Verna on account of lower mileage over City. (Honda is offering discounts upto 20k-30k on City to compensate this to some extent)
- Maintenance: Maintenance wise both should be same and should not be a problem for petrol cars and mannered driving
- Features and Looks: You can easily get a features list and comparison on the internet on any of the car sites. Verna definitely gives more features over City. Looks, I will leave it to your choice, however I personally like Verna.
- Verdict: Now coming to verdict, even though its a neck to neck between City and Verna in manual petrol segment, initial cost benefit can make you ignore and compensate loss you will have on account of mileage. That would even make more sense if you are financing your car. If you are mostly going to use it in the front seats or don’t have all 6 feet people in your family, you can definitely go for Verna.
If you are looking for Diesel variant
- Engine: On paper City’s iDTC 1.5L offfers 99bhp whereas Verna’s CRDI 1.6 offers 126bhp which is a significant difference. I test drove both and Verna’s diesel is undoubtedly the winner. It’s powerful, punchier and fun to drive. With the refined and tuned engine, the torque is very liner and feels very smooth. No lag was observed
- NVH levels: City’s engine is very much noisy and you can even feel it inside the cabin. Verna’s CRDI is super refined and NVH levels are very low. You will feel the cabin very quiet and smooth
- Mileage: Mileage is very much dependent on your driving habits. With a mannered driving, City will give you very consistent mileage compared to Verna. From what I have read about City if gives from 15–17 in city and 20–22 on highways. Verna on the other hand gives similar numbers but off course with mannered driving (both with AC switched on for manual variant)
- Resale: If you are going to keep the car for more than 5 years, then you should not really worry about resale. Event though, your City is supposed to fetch more than Verna. But you need to consider the 1.5–2 lac premium price that you would be paying for City over Verna
- Pricing: Now coming to the most important part, how much you are going to pay for it. Have a look at below table to see comparative pricing (Source: My working sheet) (Prices for diesel manual). As you can clearly see, Verna undercuts City by whopping 1.3 - 2 lac) RTO charges will not matter here as all variants are above 10 lac except Verna 1.6E. Also, your insurance prices are going to be based on Ex showroom price so higher price is higher insurance. Honda is offering discounts of around 20-40k on City to compensate this to some extent.
- Maintenance: Maintenance wise both should be same
- Features and Looks: You can easily get a features list and comparison on the internet on any of the car sites. Verna definitely gives more features like over City. Looks I will leave it to your choice, however I personally like Verna.
- Verdict: With a powerful, refined, punchier diesel engine and given the price advantage, Verna CRDI is a clear winner in this case. So if you are looking for diesel variant, you can definitely go for Verna.
As an inference below table can be drawn on which one to buy
I faced a lot of challenges when I had to make a choice. I myself did a lot of research and did above calculations to come to a conclusion.
Final advice on before you buy
- Do your own research. Read online. Sites like Team-BHP have really good info. Go on youtube and look for reviews of the cars you are looking for.
- Test drive is really important. Do test drive both. Test drive for a longer distance, test drive for higher speeds, on city roads as well as highways, on potholes, speed breakers. Leave no stone unturned
Huh… That’s too long I guess but was definitely needed.
Hope this will help you to make a good choice…… Overall both are great cars.. Have a safe driving….!
I have owned both the city which I still drive and a Verna which I sold last year.i drive the Petrol AT version of the city with pedal shifters whereas the Verna I drive was a Diesel Manual. Although both were different breed of cars I think there are a few points which both shared and others where they differentiate.
The Drive: City being a petrol car is way smoother than the verna Diesel, the power in the Verna is far greater than city. Any gear you might be in a verna, a little pressure on the pedal and you can feel the rush.
Fuel economy, same fuel engine return same economy my City petrol currently gives a mileage of 10 - 11 being an AT. Verna Diesel on the other hand drove over 15 km on a litre.
Top speed: I have driven the city on straight roads up to 140 kph where as the Verna went to 170. Both cars felt under control at the time and there’s an no issue whatsoever.
Brakes: the averna being a more powerful and heavier car should have better brakes than what it currently does, City on the other hand hasn’t no issues in the breaking departments.
Maintainance: the Per KM service cost isn’t similar of both cars ranging up to RS 1.5 per km. City has not needed any other repair apart fro the regular maintainance whereas the Verna needed a change of Clutch at 75K kms and AC condensor replacement due to some leaky coil.
So costwise I spent on repairs more on verna than a City. Overall the expense was more on the fuel in the City.
I also drove honda City Diesel from Pune to SOLAPUR and back. The Zoomcar city had restricted speed at 100kmph. The Honda’s City felt lighter than the Verna Diesel which feels more planted due to its wider tyres.
Safety features on both cars are of the latest standards including air bags, ABS, reinforced chassis. Build quality solid.
Verna has a lot more convenient features compared to city in fact Hyundai offers more features on their car than any other car in the market.
The big question then, which one should one buy? My answer is simple. If you want the petrol version go for the Honda city and if you want a diesel car Verna is a better choice than the City Diesel.