Thanks Khurram. I will pass on info to him, but he is stick-to-Honda-type guy for maintenance and will not switch from what Honda pours in due to warranty.
Actually I drove my friend's City and liked it too. In fact I advised him to get City as it offered abs+power windows which were missing from Xli and it was good value for money. But now with his knocking problems I feel guilty of giving him wrong advise.
In my age group, pick does not count, but a reliable comfy ride is priority. Without knocking issues, City is a nice package. I think Atlas could not configure the ECU according to Pakistan fuel octane ratings.
Despite all the negative comments my experience with both 2010 and 2011 Xlis had been great on all road conditions and weathers. The Xli which I took to Lahore had returned last week from Kaghan, Shogran and Naran after covering an international cyclist rally.
PS: No City-Corolla war please, just narrating my first hand experience with both cars.