The 2026 Honda City facelift is now on sale in Malaysia, following a preview earlier this month. This is the second facelift for the fifth-generation sedan, which first arrived in October 2020 before receiving its first update in August 2023. The latest iteration was unveiled in India in May and made its Southeast Asian debut in Thailand a month later, bringing a new face and some minor cosmetic changes.
Trim Levels and Pricing
The current line-up largely mirrors the first facelift, with one key change. The base Grade S variant has been dropped for this new cycle. The City sedan range now consists of four variants: three petrol versions (E, V, and RS) and a sole hybrid option, the e:HEV RS.
The City facelift now comes with an eight-year unlimited mileage warranty and, for the e:HEV, an additional 10-year hybrid component warranty. Save for a change in length brought about by the front and rear end revisions, the exterior dimensions of the car are unchanged. The non-RS versions of the 2026 City stretch the tape at 4,577 mm long, three mm shorter than previously, while the new RS measures in at 4,594 mm, five mm longer than the 2023 version. Width remains at 1,748 mm and height at 1,467 mm. Likewise, boot space, which is 519 litres on the petrol versions and 410 litre on the e:HEV.
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Exterior Changes
The exterior rework for the GN2 introduces a sharper front end with slimmer headlights and a new bumper design. The honeycomb grille has been slimmed down, and the Honda logo is now relocated to the upper part of the body-coloured ‘unibrow’ element. The RS version features a light bar across the grille.
The refresh standardises LED projector headlights across the range. The E variant moves up from halogen projectors and gains body-coloured door handles, while the V and RS are equipped with 16-inch alloys. The RS gets turbine-style wheels finished in Berlina Black with a darkened machined face, wrapped in 185/55 Toyo Proxes R57 tyres.
The rear retains its familiar shape but features a redesigned bumper with a black grille-like “mesh” centre, a diffuser-like insert, twin “tusks,” and vertical reflectors. The trapezoidal tail lights carry over, with the RS version featuring an ‘albino’ look with a mix of clear and black elements.
The RS versions gain plenty of black elements, including a trunk spoiler extension, door handles, shark fin antenna, and side mirror covers. The interior layout and configuration are unchanged, though the dashboard trim on the RS moves to a more textured silver finish with a red accent line and gains ambient lighting.
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The E continues to use the same eight-inch Display Audio touchscreen with wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The V and RS move up to a new, larger 10-inch infotainment unit that brings wireless Apple CarPlay to the V and includes a 360-degree camera system with a switch on the steering stalk to cycle through angles.
Seat upholstery on the RS has been revised, with the central stitching ditched and the reddish contrast perforation relocated to the sides. As noted in the preview, the Malaysian-spec City does not get ventilated seats or a sunroof.
Under the hood, powertrains remain the same as before. All three petrol versions use the familiar L15Z 1.5-litre DOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder, producing 121 PS at 6,600 rpm and 145 Nm at 4,300 rpm, paired with an Earth Dreams CVT. The i-MMD system on the e:HEV hybrid is unchanged, consisting of a primary electric traction motor with 109 PS and 253 Nm, and an Atkinson-cycle 1.5-litre engine producing 98 PS and 127 Nm.
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Safety features include Honda Sensing as standard, covering autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane centring assist, road departure mitigation, front departure alert, and auto high beam. New to the 2026 car is blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, which works with the existing LaneWatch camera.
The exterior colour palette has been reduced from six to four options: Blazing Red Pearl, Meteoroid Gray Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, and Stellar Diamond Pearl (available only on the V and petrol RS).
Honda Malaysia is offering optional accessories, including two Modulo styling kit packages that consist of front/rear under spoilers and a front/rear black Honda emblem set. While the front under spoiler differs between the non-RS and RS packages, the rear unit is identical for both.
