You’ve probably seen our previous review on the 2025 Honda City 1.5 S, and we appreciated it for its comfortable, practical, but fun-to-drive character within a good price point in the subcompact range. This time, however, we’re back in a sportier, more luxurious tone with the 2026 Honda City 1.5 RS in its full-spec form. How does it compare to the base variant, and is it also worth the premium? Let’s find out.
Exterior Styling
Outside, you’ll find similar exterior styling as our previous 1.5 S test car, albeit this time, the City comes with a more aggressive exterior flair consistent with the RS trim level. The kit includes sportier front and rear bumpers, high gloss black door mirrors, body-color door handles, stylish-looking side sill garnishing, as well as an RS-exclusive high gloss black front grille with RS badging, surrounded by full LED headlights and foglights with sport garnishing.
Side skirts are also present in this trim, and to top it all off, you also get “aero” bits with the RS package: a larger and sharper looking front chin spoiler, along with a trunk spoiler and “shark fin” antenna, both in a high gloss black finish, leaving the Honda City 1.5 RS with a look that emphasizes a more sporting and serious character rather than just plain functionality.
The kit of the 2026 Honda City 1.5 RS is complemented by the addition of 16-inch black-cut alloy wheels rather than silver cut and silver alloy paint finishes found on the City V and S trims; the wheels on the 1.5 RS are also wrapped in lower-profile 185/55 87H tires, which boosts the sleeker look of the car overall.
Other than the stated items which gives the City 1.5 RS a more “boy-racer” theme, you get the same general shape and usability from other trim levels; wide-opening doors for ease of access, and a trunk lid that’s easy to operate thanks to its sill being set at a nice height as well as its light nature despite the addition of the spoiler.
Interior Styling, Space, and Creature Comforts
And while the inside of the Honda City 1.5 RS retains once more the shape of the previous 1.5 S unit we tested, you shouldn’t let the first glance fool you, as what once was already an interior that was nice to be in now comes with a significant upgrade; The interior of the RS is significantly more plush and refined looking than its S counterpart, with a leather-wrapped seats and a sportier looking dash and steering wheel being the first things to greet you as the driver.
The gauge cluster looks largely the same except the surrounding mood lights now set at a red color for the RS trim level to emphasize the “aggressive” styling this trim conveys, and the steering wheel, which had a more basic leather-esque pattern, now has a sportier, stitched leather finish with paddle shifters, and a black accent to give it a finer appearance and touch feel. And glancing just below that, aftermarket-looking silver and black sport pedals replace the standard pedals on the RS trim.
And speaking on the topic of accents, the rest of the dashboard reflects the same sporty vibe; the interior color as a whole is a combination of black leather and plastic with red trim, and some of the accents, such as the AC vent garnish, now replaced with a black tone rather than the silver trim found on the 1.5 S. A red plastic piece replaces the former silver plastic accent which extends across the dashboard onto the passenger side, which helps add contrast to the darkened interior space of the RS.
On the same dashboard space, you’ll also find a familiar 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system display with the same controls and standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, albeit the infotainment system’s sound is now outputted through a combination of 4 speakers and an additional 4 tweeters, which bumps the sound output quality of the City RS by a significant amount from the 1.5 S trim, with a much cleaner and nicer sound despite limited adjustments.
The previous manual air conditioning system has been replaced with an automatic system, albeit with a similar control display to that found in the 1.5 S. The RS trim now includes AC vents for the rear passenger seats. And. towards the back of the car, you get the same 519 liters of trunk space as found in all City trim levels, albeit with still no folding rear seats even on the RS trim level, a slight drawback which we pointed out even in the 1.5 S trim.
Powertrain & Performance
The Honda City 1.5 RS gets the same engine and transmission set as all current City trim offerings, with that being a 1.5 Liter Dual-Cam 16-valve 4-cylinder i-VTEC engine that puts out 121 horsepower and 145 Nm of torque, mated to a CVT; in which case, the 1.5 RS CVT performs with the same responsive and peppy feel as the previous 1.5 S, with the same smooth performance and excellent low to midrange torque output feel.
Although it is worth noting that the addition of paddle shifters on the 1.5 RS makes driving the car a little more enjoyable, thanks to the simulated gear feel, which can enhance the experience during spirited drives. The other difference on the 1.5 RS compared to other City trims is that it also comes with a remote engine start feature that lets you get things started inside the car that need the engine, such as the AC, for the trip, even before the occupants take their seats.
Handling Performance, Tires, Suspension, and Braking
Just like in the 1.5 S, the City 1.5 RS rocks the same suspension and braking equipment, that being anti-roll bar-equipped MacPherson struts up front, and a torsion beam rear axle, along with ventilated front disk brakes and rear drums.
And while the tires are now of a lower profile, the Honda City 1.5 RS handled just about the same as our previous 1.5 S test car even through our Tagaytay-Talisay test loop; the car once again handled with a good amount of grip and a slight but controlled amount of body-lean during cornering, and the brakes, while slightly touchy, kept the car stable and expressed good amounts of braking force for normal and spirited drives.
Everyday Driving Comfort and Fuel Consumption
The 2026 Honda City 1.5 RS also boasts the same driving comforts and conveniences that all trims of the City offer, which include a decently quiet and plush ride with just the right amount of firmness, which maintains comfort even through roads of poor quality.
Fuel consumption was also roughly the same amount as the 1.5 S, and although we don’t have any solid figures, our Tagaytay-Talisay and back to Laguna test loop once again barely managed to take the upper half of the bars off on the fuel display, even when we threw more spirited driving into the mix of our test loop. Although with that, another thing that also stays the same for the Honda City RS would be the slight road and wind noise and buzzy engine, especially during highway speeds and merging, respectively.
Safety
Being that Honda’s Sensing takes the spotlight as standard equipment across all City trim levels, the same remains unchanged on the 1.5 RS with the same combination of features, as well as standard safety items such as three point seatbelts, ABS, an Electronic Brake-force distribution system, and Vehicle Stability Assist among other items to once more help keep the occupants of the vehicle out of trouble.
One difference within the array of safety features on the City 1.5 RS is that it now comes with side-curtain airbags as an additional safety item. Moreover, the G-CON body structure also remains standard on the RS, as it is for all City trims. The City 1.5 RS now also comes with Smart Entry and Walk-away door locks for added convenience when locking and unlocking the car.
Conclusion
While the previous test car, the Honda City 1.5 S showed us the style and appeal of the Honda City line in a way that showed us our entry point into the said make and model series, the Honda City 1.5 RS takes things up a notch in a sporty and fun way; this time reintroducing itself as a more sport-compact-esque runabout rather than a bread-and-butter family sedan. And while most, if not all, engine and drivetrain components remain the same within the entirety of the Honda City trim lineup, the 1.5 RS CVT nonetheless serves as a sleek and youthful styling offering package to what is already a fun, reliable, and practical subcompact car.
Price: P1,138,000*
*Correct as of this article’s writing
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