The seventh-gen Honda City (GN) may have entered its eighth production year in 2026, but it appears Honda won’t be killing off its beloved B-segment model soon, as the GN-gen model has gotten a second facelift treatment earlier this month, first unveiled in India and followed by Thailand last week.
Available for both the sedan and hatchback versions of the City, the 2026 facelift treatment grants the B-segment duo a heavily refreshed front face plus an upgraded cabin to make them more relevant and fresh as they are about to enter their twilight days.
Sharper Front Face, Same Rear End
At one glance, the facelifted City looks much more aggressive than both the first facelift and the pre-facelift versions, thanks to its heavily refreshed front face.
It rocks a pair of sleek LED headlights that Honda named ‘Blade-Eye,’ which are then supplemented by a full-width DRL bar that is integrated into its new and slimmer honeycomb front grille. Also new here is the redesigned front bumper that now features a wider central air intake and a pair of vertical air curtains at the edges.
The changes are more subtle at the rear, where both the sedan and hatch versions gain a new rear bumper design with a large mesh centre section and a pair of vertical reflectors at the corners, while the taillight design remains unchanged.
And given this is yet another facelift treatment, both the new City sedan and City Hatchback retain the same side profile as before, albeit now rolling on new 16-inch aero-blade wheels for the higher-spec variants.
Upgraded Interior with More Modern Amenities
The second facelift treatment continues inside the car, where the 2026 City gets a slew of new equipment to go with its sportier front face.
This includes the larger 10.1-inch central touchscreen that now floats above the front dash while featuring wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as a 360-degree camera-view system.
Depending on the variant, buyers can also get the new City with ambient lights, a wireless charger, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and a unique two-tone interior colourway, while the top-spec RS version retains its signature black-and-red theme.
Regardless of variants, however, the 2026 City in Thailand all get the same Honda Sensing safety suite, featuring basic ADAS functions like Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow, Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) with Lane Departure Warning (LDW), and many more.
Unchanged Powertrain Options for the Thai Market
Predictably, no powertrain changes took place for the second facelift version of the City, at least for the Thai market, where it continues to be offered in two powertrain flavours spread across four variants.
Unlike Malaysia and India, the Thai-spec City powertrain lineup starts with a 1.0-litre 3-cyl VTEC Turbo engine for the entry-level 1.0 Turbo S CVT variant, which is then mated to a CVT automatic gearbox to deliver 122 PS and 173 Nm to the front wheels (FWD).
The three remaining variants—e:HEV V, e:HEV SV, and e:HEV RS—are all powered by the same Honda e:HEV parallel hybrid system, featuring a 1.5-litre 4-cyl nat-asp Atkinson Cycle engine that makes 98 PS and 127 Nm by itself, which is then mated to a 109 PS and 253 Nm-rated electric motor, an e-CVT gearbox, and a small 1.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
July 2026 Official Debut, Malaysia Next?
As of now, Honda Thailand has begun to take pre-orders for the 2026 Honda City and 2026 Honda City Hatchback, with their official market entry and price announcement set to be made later in July this year.
For reference, the 2026 City starts at INR 1.199 million (RM49,834) in India for the baseline 1.5L NA 6MT SV variant, while the range-topping ZX+ e:HEV tops the lineup at INR 2.099 million (RM87,241).
Following its arrival in both India and Thailand, it is safe to say that Malaysia could be the next generation for the new 2026 City, and this refreshed B-segment duo could be part of Honda Malaysia’s aggressive plan to launch six new models this year.
But what do you guys think of the second facelift version for the Honda City? Could this second coming provide a lifeline to this ageing platform, as well as provide a saving grace to Honda’s sales volume this year?
