2022 Honda City Hatchback Malaysian Launch Soon, Bye Bye Jazz

Honda Malaysia has just posted a brief teaser confirming the imminent arrival of the much anticipated City Hatchback. Though they remain silent on the details, we suspect there won’t be much waiting around to keep this car away from showrooms.

The Japanese automaker had previously launched the City Hatchback in other ASEAN markets, starting with Thailand in November 2020 and followed closely by Indonesia, indicating that a Malaysian debut wasn’t far off.

Clearly, with the final Honda Jazz rolling off the assembly line in Pegoh, Melaka last week, the red carpet was being figuratively rolled out for the City Hatch to take its place.

Since much is still not confirmed about the new car’s specifications, there is still room for Honda Malaysia to surprise us. However, we suspect the Hatch will follow the City sedan’s example in both trim level and powertrain selection, including e e:HEV hybrid if the teaser is to be believed.

This means that, just like the sedan, the City Hatch range will start with a trio of variants: S, E, and V, all powered by a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine producing 121PS and 145Nm.

At the top of the range will be the CIty Hatchback RS e:HEV with Honda’s impressive i-MMD hybrid powertrain. It uses the same 1.5-litre engine but uses a powerful electric motor (called the Traction Motor) to drive the front wheels, delivering 109PS and a class-leading 253Nm of torque.

However, what’s unclear is if Honda Malaysia will be launching the RS variant in tandem with the rest of the range. Of course, we hope this to be the case but wouldn’t be surprised if that’s coming a little further down the road.

In terms of design, the City Hatchback reserves any differences to the rear exclusively. With the traditional boot omitted, the hatch is around 208mm shorter from nose to tail. Curiously, it’s 21mm taller than the sedan while remaining just as wide at 1,748mm.

A lot of us will definitely miss the trusty Honda Jazz but with the newest 4th-generation version taking things down a much more futuristic route, the City Hatchback makes the most sense for a number of strong volume markets, such as those in Southeast Asia.

We’re looking forward to seeing it in person and comparing it to the outgoing Jazz. The newcomer certainly has some big shoes to fill.