Newtechfresh | Consumer Electronics Guide: HONDA CONCEPTS

Remember last year's impressive Honda C-Concept saloon? Well, here's what happens when reality kicks in for designers, engineers and managers: the production-ready CRIDER, which made its world premiere at this weekend's Auto China 2013 in Shanghai.

To say that Honda water downed the styling of the C-Concept would be the understatement of the year, though, if you try hard enough, you might find some common ground between the two cars (see gallery after the break).

Developed in cooperation with Honda's local joint venture Guangqi Honda Automobile, the CRIDERtargets the very competitive mid-sized segment in China, and is said to fuse an international design language with Chinese cultural elements, and in particular, "an image of a dragon".

According to Honda, the sedan model features an "energetic exterior design and dynamic performance that exceeds other vehicles in its class".

The CRIDER will go on sale in China this June with a selection of four-cylinder gasoline engines, with further details to be released closer to launch.

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Honda has just pulled the wraps off its sub-Accord sedan for the Chinese market, dubbed the Crider concept – the name is apparently a combination of the words “Criteria” and “Dreams”, which must have made sense at the time... The car looks like a pre-production model, to our eyes, so this is pretty much what buyers will be getting when it goes on sale by the end of June.

Powering the Crider, which shares its underpinnings with the Civic (torsion beam rear suspension setup included), is a 1.8-liter VTEC petrol engine, which can be coupled to either a manual or automatic gearbox, both of which get five gears, and power should be around the 140hp mark.

Design-wise, it looks a bit like some Acura models, with the headlights leaving no room for suppositions as to their inspiration. It is simply-styled and has good proportions for a sedan of this size, but the wheels do look a bit too small sitting underneath it.

The car may also be sold outside of China, but only after it establishes itself in its intended region first. Pricing will reportedly start at 130,000 yuan and top out at 170,000 yuan ($21,000 to $27,500).

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