I’ve done the Delhi-Jaipur run many a time and it has always been in a nice comfortable three-box saloon. But recently I had to do the trip in a Korean hatchback and while I have nothing to complain about the car, by the time I was back in Delhi, I was quite exhausted. Mind you, I did have an early start, it was a day trip and traffic on the return leg was horrendous, particularly near the Gurgaon area. The only good thing about the trip was the fact that I had Marzia Gandini with me, the charming daughter of Marcello Gandini, the man who designed several Lamborghinis including the timeless Miura.

So it was with a sense of relief that I took delivery of a new Honda City ZX VTEC with registration number UP 16K 3962. It was to be mine for a whole week and I had already made plans of taking it out of Delhi at the first opportunity. For a quick recap, here is what we Indians had before and have got now. Honda engines are beautifully balanced and smooth and thanks to the earlier City, Indians had got a taste of three of these ? the 1.3-litre unit which was a jewel of an engine, the 1.5-litre and later, the 1.5-litre VTEC.

The earlier City was an enthusiast’s car and these still make decent second-hand buys. When that model was phased out, people had come to expect a very high standard from Honda, but its successor looked like a cross between a car and an MPV, which on the face of it was a complete turn off. To rub salt into the wound as it were, the new cars developed just 77bhp ? that was down by 28bhp compared to the 1.5-litre VTEC. What Honda has incorporated into the successor, as if in compensation, is more space, better air-conditioning and more headroom. So, from an enthusiast’s car, it had been turned into a normal everyday car, good for taking people from A to B in comfort.

The new City ZX (yes, it is sufficiently different as far as engineering goes to be called that, but more on that later) looks like the earlier City from the front. But walk around it, which is what I always do before taking a car on for a driving impression, and the difference in length is immediately noticeable when viewed side-on. But this has been achieved by extending the body length and not the wheelbase, which now measures 4390mm.

In fact, the rear overhang is noticeably longer. The front overhang is more too, but does not strike the eye as much as the rear. The extension has increased the crush space both in front and at the rear and the boot space is now 500 litres. The good thing is that the extension has made the City ZX look more like a natural saloon though one did wonder how it would affect reversing into tight spaces.

Well, the proof of the pudding would be in the eating. Time to get into the car. Inside, the interiors are done up in two-tone beige, dark on the fascia and light elsewhere. Having settled into the driver’s seat, I have in front of me the instrumentation ? what Honda calls an Optitron display, consisting of three dials in their own pods ? tachometer on the left, speedometer in the centre and the fuel gauge and a digital odometer on the right.

The three-spoke steering wheel has a tilt adjustment and is electrically assisted. The centre console starts in the middle of the fascia with the AC vents and the hazard light switch and extends right back to just behind the front seats. A 2-DIN CD player cum amp head unit dominates the fascia.

Just below the pod-like AC controls, is all the storage space and a cigarette lighter that can also be used as a power source for mobile phone chargers. Ingeniously, once the cover has been slid back a touch releases a divider which allows two glasses to be kept.

It’s all about the VTEC engine in the new City, a 16-valver developing 100bhp at 5800rpm and 13.5kg-m at 4800rpm. It’s supposed to be a bit of a schizophrenic by being very fuel efficient at low rpm and a monster when the pedal hits the metal. So it’s naturally time to cut the talk and hit the road. But the Optitron takes up my attention as I insert the key into the ignition slot.

From inky blackness, the display comes on, very bright even in daylight. Turn the key and it darkens automatically. One can vary the brightness of the display and after playing around for a few seconds, I got it to a level I was comfortable with. Turning the key further starts the car and this is the moment I’d been waiting for. It is quiet but a blip of the throttle immediately sends the tachometer needle shooting up to 3000rpm.

The gearshift has a short throw and feels positive. To get acclimatised to the car, I take off ? slowly ? for the multi-lane, dual carriageway DND Flyway that connects Delhi to Noida. Once I’m at one with the car and as I turn back for Delhi, I’m ready for Delhi’s traffic.

In fact most of the week is spent poodling around town but the opportunity to take it out on the highway comes with the arrival of a cousin with his kids and the occasion of the Rajputana Delhi-Jaipur Heritage Run. It takes a bit of time getting to NH8, as I have to contend with Gurgaon’s awful traffic and I didn’t want to get even a scratch on ‘my new car’.

We decide to follow the old crocks to Behror, which is halfway to Jaipur. Once on the highway, it’s time to open up but unfortunately, one has to play a game ? how to overtake cleanly and quickly. The VTEC engine is very responsive and while the power is not brutish, it’s more than adequate for punching past slow, overloaded trucks and other slower cars.

The revs come easily and it’s easy to redline the engine with a bit of aggressive driving in first and second gears. Thankfully braking is sharp too as the odd person darts onto the road. It’s a cushy ride both on the highway and in the city and minor potholes leave the ZX unruffled.

I’m also secure in the knowledge that the tyres are tubeless, thus barring a disastrous incident I should be able to stay in control in case of a puncture. The good part about the steering is that as the speed climbs, the steering assist decreases thus increasing steering feel. At Behror, it’s quite interesting ? while we look at cars like the Jaguar Mark 2 and the Ford Mustang, we get asked questions about ‘our’ City ZX.

We watch the cars setting off for Jaipur and then it’s time to return to Delhi. On the straight sections, I let the ZX free and the VTEC responds well. Pulling strongly through the gears, very soon we are above the three-figure mark. The speedometer is calibrated till 220kph but I don’t get anywhere near that mark as the road runs out. However, the ZX behaves impeccably, holding the road well.

In fact over one particular banked bend, the ZX is only 20kph slower than an Accord I’d driven some time ago. Back through Gurgaon it’s the same story of traffic and we finally pull up outside my house, a little tired but not exhausted. The City ZX is a family car with more than just a hint of performance. At about Rs 8 lakh, it’s going up against some rather decent machinery already in the market. Bear in mind though that the ZX serves well for the person content with being driven around as well as for those who enjoy their driving. Then of course, there is the Honda name and the engine.