It takes a pair of sizable ball… bearings to ditch a popular nameplate in place of an all-new model in a market but that’s precisely what Honda Malaysia has done with the All-New Honda City Hatchback and given their track record, it’s a foregone conclusion that it’ll shut the hatch on any competition.

Once the previous Honda Jazz left the building; and showrooms in the region, the City Hatchback was set to take its place. The latter has some huge shoes to fill seeing that the Jazz called it a day as the best-selling non-national hatchback in the country.

Nonetheless, it ticks all the right boxes as required by local buyers and in typical Honda fashion, raises the bar in its segment once again.

There’ll be 4 variants available with 2 engine options. To quickly recap, that’s a S, E, V and Honda SENSING trim with the flagship RS atop the food chain. The first three are powered by a 1.5L DOHC i-VTEC engine while the highest RS variant gets the full shebang with 1.5-litre SPORTS i-MMD e:HEV powertrain. That combo sends an impressive 109 PS and 253 Nm of torque to the front wheels.

By now, that torque figure is probably permanently embedded in your memory given how Honda rambunctiously pitted the City against a Toyota Camry to demonstrate the torque.

Compared with previous generation hybrid powertrains from the carmaker, this new setup is capable of running purely on electric propulsion below 80kph. As for the internal combustion engine, it kicks in between 80kph-120kph as that’s when it performs at maximum efficiency.

You’ll find that gives you the best of both worlds; good fuel consumption and generous performance. If you’re sceptical at the fuel consumption part, the City Hatchback returned 19.2km/l, making it the most fuel-efficient hatchback in its segment ever tested by WapCar.

It’s no slouch either; it dusted the 0-100kph sprint in 10.2-seconds to claim the title of fastest B-segment hatchback tested by us.

Given all that performance, the City Hatchback RS is understandably going to cost you some extra coin. However, once you give the spec sheet a onceover, you’ll discover that it’s worth every cent.

Physically, the RS sets a distinctively sportier façade with a body kit and gloss black finishing for the grille and side-view mirror housings. Even the grille itself gets a honeycomb insert that’s different from the regular City. Lastly, the foglight housings are much more prominent as well. Not stopping at that, the front lip and rear diffuser get a carbon finish.

The wheels are 16-inch alloys but more importantly, a huge giveaway that this the RS version lies behind the two rear wheels. You see, only the RS gets disc brakes for its derriere.

Honda has also gone the extra mile to denote its electrified models with a blue hue on the main emblems. You’ll find the City Hatchback RS is no different.

Inside, it doesn’t drop the ball. That rear hatch boasts a 289-litre capacity and will easily swallow up anything you can throw at it. Further flexibility lies with Honda’s genius ULTRA Seats and its many configurations for tall, wide or both objects.

A well-equipped cabin that projects an image of sophistication leads with the multifunction steering wheel. Paddle shifters add to the sense of sportiness the RS badge denotes. Info is relayed to the driver via the 7" TFT meter within the instrument cluster.

Infotainment is handled from a larger 8" Display Audio that feeds into an 8-speaker system. Keeping up with modern connectivity needs means Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is supported.

Safety gets as much prominence as any other aspect of the City Hatchback RS; which is plenty. Honda LaneWatch lends drivers a raised sense of awareness on their left side while Honda SENSING; which is the Most Complete active safety suite in its segment, keeps you on the straight and narrow.

Honda SENSING comprises:

• Lane departure warning
• Road departure mitigation
• Lane keep assist system
• Auto high beam
• Forward collision warning
• Collision mitigation braking system
• Adaptive cruise control

Unique to the City Hatchback RS is an electronic parking brake as well as the auto brake hold feature.

It’s plenty of car for the money and you can find out more about it as Adrian gives you a walkaround of the Honda City Hatchback RS below.