It may not feel like it, but the Honda City has been around for 20 years. Two decades. Let that sink in. Yes, it was in 1998 that India got its first taste of accessible performance cars when the first-generation City was launched at the Auto Expo – way back in 1998.
Since then, several cars have come and gone but the City has soldiered on. It has evolved into different shapes, but has held its own in the face of growing competition. India accounts for nearly a quarter of Honda City sales, globally; and it was only in October, last year that it crossed the milestone of 7 lakh units in the country. Now, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, we're going on a 6,000km drive along the Golden Quadrilateral and each of the four generations of the City will be a part of this drive.
You see, the Golden Quadrilateral – which links India's biggest metros – was thrown open a few years after the arrival of the City. This highway network changed the way India looked at inter-city travel – much like the Honda changed the way people looked at sedans.
The journey starts in New Delhi, and heads to Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, before culminating at the Honda factory in Greater Noida. Over the next two and a half weeks, we will explore cultural and historic places of interest, and experience India in all its glory from inside the various iterations of the City.
Follow our journey on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts using the hashtag #20YearsofCity.
Suraj Viswanathan
Glenn Noronha
Dhruv Dhaka
Dipan Sur
Uday Singh
