Honda City! The only car to have ADAS with Manual Transmission
We all love Honda City, it has been there for more than 2 decades in India and it is one of the most loved Sedans in the country. First Gen Honda City was launched in 1998, which means this year Honda City completed 25 years in India. So let’s talk about the 5th Gen Honda City which sells as a petrol and a Hybrid in India. Both vehicles have ADAS (Advacne driver assistance system). Honda City is the only car in India that comes with ADAS features (Honda Sensing) like adaptive cruise control with a manual transmission.
ADAS in Manual Transmission
ADAS is a very useful safety feature. In India, we have a level 2 autonomous driving aid, and ADAS is part of this driving aid. Paired with manual means people who love driving Manual transmission can also enjoy these safety features. It is mostly helpful on highways and long drives. Because ADAS in Manual Transmission does not allow for low speed follow, the system cut-offs around 35 Kmph. So this safety feature is not useful in City driving conditions. It is a hassle actually if you turn on the system in the city at 50-55 kmph, and if the speed falls below 35 kmph you will hear a beep and the Adaptive cruise control will disengage, and you have to take over. Though changing the gear when adaptive cruise control is engaged does not disengage the system.
ADAS is available in Honda City V, VX and ZX variants for manual transmission. And all the Automatic (CVT transmission) and hybrid variants get ADAS level 2 features. Only the base model SV do not get these driver assistance features. The Honda City V starts at just 12.51 lakhs (15.22 lakhs on road Nagpur). It is the cheapest vehicle in India to have ADAS features.
List of Driver assistance features
- Adaptive Cruise Control (with no stop-and-go)
- Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)
- Lead Car Departure Notification System
- Road Departure Mitigation System
- Auto High-Beam
- Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
- Automatic Headlight Control with Light Sensor
- Blind spot monitor
All the other features work similarly to a vehicle with automatic transmission, but the adaptive cruise control is the one which works differently. Let’s understand how it works
How does Adaptive cruise control work in Manual transmission?
Let’s first understand how Adaptive cruise control works. Unlike normal cruise control in which you can only set the speed and take your foot off the accelrator pedal, as soon as you press the brake the cruise control disengages. Adaptive cruise control uses radar, lasers and senses to detect the speed of the vehicle in front and act according to the vehicle in the front. For example, you can set a speed of 80 kmph on a highway, now the car will automatically brake and accelerate according to the vehicle in the front and maintain the speed of 80 kmph. Your car will also come to a complete stop if the vehicle in front stops and start moving if the vehicle in the front starts moving. Though this stop-and-go feature is not present in all the vehicle that comes with adaptive cruise control. You can also set the distance from the vehicle in front of you to maintain a safe distance.
In a manual transmission, the Adaptive cruise control works similarly, the only notable difference is you will not have a stop-and-go feature, as in manual transmission the vehicle will disengage adaptive cruise control at lower speeds around 30-40 kmph, to avoid the car getting stalled. As in manual transmission, we have to shift down if the car speed is low. But you can change gears when at a higher speed, and the system would not be disengaged. In the case of Honda City, the cut-off speed is 35 kmph. You might see online it says 30 kmph, but when I drove it this system was cutting off around 35 kmph with a beep sound.
Conclusion
It is not as useful as automatic transmission, which allows you to drive in stop-and-go traffic, but it is useful to have adaptive cruise control if you drive on highways quite frequently. Anyways it is cool to have ADAS and adaptive cruise control in a manual transmission vehicle. As we know Manual transmission cars are dying this feature makes it a bit cool and distinctive to buy Manual vehicles. So would you buy the Honda City the only car in India to have ADAS with a manual transmission?
