Honda City ZX : Manual (2025)vs CVT (2024)

I'm looking to pick a Honda City ZX and debating between the manual and CVT versions.

The on-road price for the manual one is 17.03 lakhs while the CVT is for 18.39 lakhs.

I am trading my 4+ yrs old Amaze VX manual and the dealer has quoted a price of 4.64 lakhs for the vehicle, with 26k additional discount for the manual version bringing the trade value for the Amaze at 4.90 lakhs in case going for the ZX Manual.

Considering further discounts and offers, the final extra value to pay on top is as under :

(i) Additional payment of Rs. 11.60 lakhs for the manual blue color Honda City ZX 2025 model;
(ii) Additional payment of Rs. 12.00 lakhs for the CVT brown color Honda City ZX 2024 (Sept-Oct) model.

These are vehicles ready in stock, and I am looking to buy one within this month to avoid the incremental 3-4% cost that comes into play from April.

Use case : Approx 65 kms everyday. 15 kms self drive, while 50 kms driven by the driver. This would be about 24-25 days per month.
I'm in a tier 1 (or 1.5) city if that helps, and there would be very little (major) traffic in the daily commute. It would take me 60 to 90 mins overall to complete the 65 kms during intermittent rides. For eg, 11 kms one way takes 16-18 mins in general.

Cause for apprehension : In general, I'll get good roads BUT there are bumpers, and the Amaze scrapes the bumpers occassionally in some places when fully occupied. We tend to take it very slow on the bumpers, cross it in an angle and all that.

I am not a fan of the suspension on the Amaze and recently had the clutch plate replaced - it had gotten hard probably due to improper engagement when driven or being treated as a foot rest!

I am sold on the mileage and the overall (lower) running cost on the City.
the one thing I don't honestly like is the driving seat being.. not the way I like it - it feels low in general, and when lifted up I have my head hitting the roof of the car.
I prefer having a view of the bonnet of the car, or at least its lower end when driving. I do feel I'll come to adapt and learn in 2-3 days' time and it's not a deal breaker, in all honesty.

Any help would be great in this regard, or any alternative that someone may suggest..

TIA!