I have been driving 2013 Honda City 1.3 M/T and 2012 Corolla GLi for past two years. Recently I sold the City and bought a new Aspire 1.5 P/T. I would like to share my first impressions and experience so far.
Exterior: Not much different except for the rear lights and chrome grill. Rear Lights look good, but probably because they are a fresh look. There are subtle differences in Bumper too, but can be appreicated with both old and new models in front. Never cared for the side mirror lights.
Interior: Chromed Knobs don't add much to the previous simple ones. Leather interior is good but you don't get that luxurious feel when seated. Meter light theme change to blue(ish) is good on eyes. Multimedia and Navigation are OK, but the software looks like chinamobile set type and the touch screen response is not the best out there. Dashboard and other plastic is same as previous.Nevertheless interior looks and feels better compared to previous one.
Comfort: It has much improved comfort compared to 1.3 city i had, probably because it is heavier. It is also sturdy than 1.3 city and althought it still doesn't quite reach Corolla or Civic in terms of comfort, I found its drive pleasant and pleasureable, even without changing the stock tyres. My previous city had Yoko tyres.
Fuel Efficiecy: I made a round trip to Islamabad from Peshawar and found that fuel consumption was same as my previous City, if not better. ECO indicator is helpful, and RPM at 100 is around 2. This was a pleasant surprise and I am able to get 16kmpL on long drive and about 12 local... which isn't bad compared given it is 1498cc.
Engine response: I felt 1.3L struggled a bit on ascending slopes such as going to Murree or Pir Sohawa.Aspire 1.5L seems better suited for such situations and has good torque. Drive in Prosmatic is smooth and in traffic jam feels like a blessing.
Car arrived in about two weeks, as promised by the dealer.