Honda Crider 2013, Honda City XL

Guangzhou Honda has launched the Honda Crider, a junior executive sedan that is aimed at the raising middle class target market which has become the most lucrative automotive market in China. The media dubbed the Crider as a premium vehicle specific to the Chinese Domestic Market (CDM), with accented upscale look supported by the the inclusion of LED adorned dual projector headlights, huge chrome grill, big engine and upscale interior.

The City XL

 

From design standpoint, the Crider sweats presence. One glance of its fascia and onlookers will take notice of the aggressive air dams, the compound LED dual projector headlights and the aggresive lines going backwards. It seems the double triangle design creed from the Brio managed to sneak into the Crider design, with stellar looking result.

 

The size of the Crider has been a much debated topic around the automotive net, it looks big, but the wheel size indicates a smaller vehicle per the spy pictures. With the official figures though, we can finally objectively measures the size of the Crider… And it’s quite a shocking revelation…

The Crider (length x width x height) measures at 4650 x 1750 x 1505 mm with a 2650 mm wheelbase which objectively makes it a bigger car than the Civic which measures at 4550 x 1755 x 1435 mm with a wheelbase of 2700 mm. Everybody is surprised, including yours truly, because the car was shown with a silhouette of the City, it is even based off the Fit/City platform, complete with McPherson strut and torsion beam suspension. The car used to be accepted as the next generation City, which is now in doubts because the car grew exponentially from the current generation City which measures at a measly 4410 x 1715 x 1470 mm with a wheelbase of 2550 mm.

 

Size wise, the car looks to be a dead ringer replacement for the Civic, even the engine crosses the Civic territory, as it is using the same engine, a 1.8L i-VTEC producing 138ps (102kW) @ 6500 RPM, and 172 Nm @ 4300 RPM, slightly less than the Civic, but only 2 ps less, it’s a no issue.

 

Price wise, the top of the line Crider is priced around RMB 160k and lower which again overlaps the Civic price especially the 1.8L because the 2.0L Civic Type-S is priced topping at RMB 180k.

All signs are pointing this car as a Civic successor in China, bearing the same price, same features, bigger size, same engine and a design catered specifically to the market. But is it worthy as a Civic successor? Honda is aiming high in China, predicted to be one of the biggest automotive market if not THE biggest, Honda is poised to lead the segment with the Crider. The Civic is the pinnacle of Honda history but the world is changing a new. There is one more thing that I haven’t point out that makes the Civic seems redundant in comparison to the Crider; the trunk space of the Crider is a massive 588 Liter or 20.7 Cubic Feet of space, compared to the measly 12.5 Cubic Feet or 354 Liter on the Civic. This is because the Crider uses torsion beam suspension on the rear that opens up the trunk space below, where the Civic uses multilink suspension which eats the space above it (the trunk).

 

An argument can be made that the Civic will drive better compared to the Crider, well, because it is. The multilink suspension allows independent movement of each wheels during rough roads, while the torsion beam doesn’t allow independent wheel movement. However, it can be countered with suitable spring/absorber combo and personal driving adjustment during rough roads. Also, on everyday drive, you will almost never get to know the difference between a car with multilink suspension and torsion beam unless you’re driving fast and furious style.

 

All in all, the Crider should be a hit in China, it hits all the right note in a country where its middle class is rising at a phenomenal rate. Luxurious and unique, it offers something the Civic starts to lack in recent years, character. The Civic is declining in characters and as a technology showcase, it used to be a technology demonstrator, the CVCC, the 3 stage VTEC, the K20 i-VTEC, and ultimately the Type-R. Currently the Civic has been degraded to a huge extend, a basic sedan, a lackluster hybrid, no Type-R, and bland models makes the car looks to be holding on to the past and quality only which the competition starting to catch up. The Crider looks like a fresh start, it’s a bling decked out functional car that’s not going to win (m)any underground racing scene, but it sure is going to win the market.

Source:

Guangzhou Honda Crider website

Honda Civic USDM website