Let’s get the important figures out of the way first – the Honda City costs RM 3,669 to maintain over a 5-year/100,00-km period, while the Nissan Almera costs RM 1,766 to maintain over a 5-year/70,000-km period.

Yes, 70,000 km over a 5-year period, but we'll get into that below.

Wait, why is the Almera so much cheaper to maintain?

Simple – Nissan is currently offering free alternate servicing for the Almera, meaning that you'll only need to pay for servicing once every year. The free servicing is limited up to the 63,000-km/54-month mark, after which every service is payable.

It is also worth noting that Nissan is sticking to a shorter 6-month/7,000-km service interval for the Almera, as opposed to the industry standard 10,000-km service interval.

As such, by the 60^th-month, the Almera would have only covered 70,000 km, as opposed to the Honda City’s 100,000 km.

Honda only offers free labour charges for every alternate service up to the 100,000-km/60-month mark.

If we compare them apples-to-apples, pulling the Almera to the 100,000-km mark, it would then cost RM 3,889 to maintain this B-segment sedan, marginally more than the City’s RM 3,669 figure.

Keep in mind that it takes an additional 24 months, according to Nissan’s maintenance schedule, for the Almera to hit the 100,000 km mark, as opposed to the City’s 60-month timeframe.

Even more interesting is the CVT fluid change.

In the case of the Nissan Almera, ETCM says that the CVT fluid needs to be replaced every 84,000 km or 48 months, whichever comes first.

As for the Honda City, it requires a CVT fluid replacement every 40,000 km or 24 months, shorter than the Almera’s.

So is the Almera or City a better buy?

It depends on you, really.

If you are looking for a downsized turbocharged engine, then the Nissan Almera ticks all the right boxes, but if you prefer something bit more traditional, perhaps the City would be a better fit.

Out of the two cars, the Nissan Almera, surprisingly, offers a more comfortable ride than the City, but the City claws back with a more practical interior and the inclusion of Android Auto - something the Almera sorely lacks.

After all, both cars offer near-identical safety equipment – both cars offer six airbags, stability control, and a host of ADAS features. The City 1.5 V offers Honda’s LaneWatch camera and rear air vents while the Almera counters that with360-degree camera, blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert, and autonomous emergency braking. The full Honda Sensing ADAS suite is only available on the range-topping City RS.