The City Hatchback will be sold alongside the Honda City Sedan in the Philippines - an arrangement we'll follow, since the City Hatchback replaces the Honda Jazz in ASEAN markets.
The PH-spec City Hatchback is expected to feature the same engine as their City Sedan - a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder DOHC petrol engine.
It's a different engine than the 1.0-litre, turbocharged mill offered in Thailand. Here's how they compare:
Honda City HB TH vs PH specs
Thai-spec
1.0-litre, turbocharged three-cylinder
122 PS, 173 Nm
CVT
Philippines-spec
1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder
121 PS, 145 Nm
CVT
But this difference is expected - Thailand has to comply to stringent EcoCar rules, which other markets don't exactly mirror.
Coming to Malaysia too
If you've been following our posts, you'll be aware that the City Hatchback will most likely be Honda Malaysia's biggest launch here this year, coming alongside several other models including the facelifted 2021 Honda Odyssey.
The question remains then is when? Signs point towards late-2021, after taking into account lead-times for local production (CKD).
Specs should pretty much mirror our City Sedan - same 1.5-litre engine as mentioned above, and possibly even the i-MMD powertrain that's on our as-yet-unpriced City RS.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.