Auto Shanghai 2013 - Old Honda City's brother Everus S1 gets a facelift

Exactly two years after launching its first production car, the S1,  the Chinese car maker has unveiled the facelifted version at the Auto Shanghai 2013.

Given birth by the Guangzhou-Honda joint venture, Everus is the first ever sub-brand of a sino-foreign joint venture. The S1 in nothing but a badge-engineered fourth-generation Honda City which is made in China by parent group.

The mid-life facelift has a completely revamped front and rear end but it fails to distinguish itself from the unique roof profile of the original Honda City. The headlamps and the grill have been tweaked to look more like the current generation City while the rear is overdone with excess chrome and an ill looking taillight extension on the boot lid.

No major changes under the hood though as the 1.3L  L i-DSi and 1.5L VTEC petrol engines are to be retained. The two engine variants churn out 80hp and 103hp respectively and are coupled to either a  5-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic gearbox. The facelifted mid-size sedan is expected to be launched in the Chinese market soon.

The top end variant is expected to cost as same as the outgoing model,  100,000 Yuan (around Rs. 8.76 lakhs), as the engine and body parts are largely going to remain the same. Guangzhou-Honda is reportedly in the process of establishing own dealerships for Everus brand but the plan probably won't come into fruition before two years from now.