The Honda Grace sold in Japan from December 2014 to August 2020 as a compact hybrid sedan built on the same platform as the third-generation Honda Fit. The GM4 (Sport Hybrid i-DCD, FWD) is overwhelmingly the chassis Sri Lankan buyers encounter, with live PriceMart.lk data showing GM4-tagged units averaging Rs. 9.07M in 2014 and climbing to Rs. 11.17M by 2019. Overall market: average Rs. 9.77M, median Rs. 9.60M.
Full live data at pricemart.lk/dashboard/by-year/honda/grace.
Chassis Overview
| Chassis | Drivetrain | Powertrain | Engine | System Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM4 | FWD | Sport Hybrid i-DCD | L15B 1,496cc + electric motor | 132 PS combined |
| GM5 | 4WD | Sport Hybrid i-DCD | L15B 1,496cc + electric motor | 132 PS combined |
| GM6 | FWD | Petrol, CVT | L15Z1 1,496cc i-VTEC | 130 PS |
| GM9 | 4WD | Petrol, CVT | L15Z1 1,496cc i-VTEC | 130 PS |
In Sri Lanka, the GM4 hybrid accounts for the clear majority of Grace listings with a distinct chassis tag in PriceMart's data. The remaining share of the market carries no granular chassis tag in the live dataset, but market knowledge and forum activity in Sri Lanka confirm these are overwhelmingly further GM4 hybrid units — the Grace was imported into Sri Lanka almost exclusively as a taxi/ride-hailing-friendly hybrid, and the petrol GM6/GM9 and 4WD GM5 variants are rarely seen on Sri Lankan roads. If you find a Grace advertised as "petrol" or "GM6," verify the badge and logbook carefully — it is an unusual find in this market and worth independent confirmation.
GM4 (Sport Hybrid i-DCD, FWD) — Price by Year of Manufacture
The GM4 pairs a 1.5L L15B Atkinson-cycle i-VTEC engine with a compact electric motor and Honda's Blue Energy lithium-ion battery pack (0.86 kWh) — a fundamentally different chemistry from Toyota's NiMH hybrid batteries covered elsewhere in this guide series. Combined system output is 132 PS and 178 Nm, routed through a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) rather than a conventional e-CVT.
GM4 AVERAGE PRICE BY YEAR — PRICEMART.LK LIVE DATA
▮ GM4 Sport Hybrid i-DCD, FWD Avg prices in Rs. millions
| YOM | Avg Price | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Rs. 9.07M | Rs. 8.00M | Rs. 10.20M |
| 2015 | Rs. 9.47M | Rs. 8.20M | Rs. 10.75M |
| 2016 | Rs. 9.75M | Rs. 8.60M | Rs. 11.50M |
| 2017 | Rs. 10.56M | Rs. 9.20M | Rs. 19.75M |
| 2018 | Rs. 10.78M | Rs. 9.75M | Rs. 11.90M |
| 2019 | Rs. 11.17M | Rs. 10.55M | Rs. 12.35M |
The 2015 GM4 has the deepest pool in the Sri Lankan Grace market, followed closely by 2014 — together these two years form the market's anchor tier. The Rs. 19.75M maximum listed against 2017 is a clear data outlier (likely a mislabeled or heavily modified unit); ignore it when budgeting and treat the realistic 2017 ceiling as closer to Rs. 12M. Price climbs steadily and predictably from 2014 to 2019 — a Rs. 2.10M spread across five years of production age, reflecting genuine condition and mileage differences rather than any grade or spec discontinuity within the GM4 line.
Check live Grace prices year-by-year on the dashboard →
Is the DCT Overheating Risk Real, or Just Forum Talk?
The GM4 and GM5 use Honda's 7-speed dual-clutch transmission — mechanically related to the same i-DCD system fitted to the Honda Vezel RU3/RU4 Gen 1 hybrid, Honda Fit Hybrid, and Honda Shuttle Hybrid of the same era. Sri Lankan AutoLanka forum members have independently and repeatedly documented a specific failure mode: a "Transmission High Temperature, Please stop in a Safe Place" warning appearing during extended stop-go traffic, most commonly reported in Colombo and Kandy gridlock. The repair — a DCT clutch pack replacement — runs approximately Rs. 350,000–450,000.
This is not an isolated report. Multiple independent owners describe the same warning message and the same underlying cause: the DCT's clutch packs were engineered around Japanese traffic patterns with far less continuous idling than Colombo's daily gridlock produces. Treat this as a genuine, well-documented risk factor rather than internet rumour — it is the single most important thing to investigate before buying any GM4 or GM5 Grace.
Practical mitigation: ask any seller to demonstrate a cold start followed by at least 15–20 minutes of stop-go driving, watching specifically for the transmission temperature warning. A Honda dealer diagnostic scan (checking DCT clutch wear parameters) before purchase is a worthwhile Rs. 5,000–10,000 spend relative to a potential Rs. 400,000 repair.
Hybrid Battery Health — What to Check Before Buying
The GM4's Blue Energy lithium-ion battery pack is smaller and chemically different from Toyota's NiMH hybrid packs — it stores less total energy (0.86 kWh) but is purpose-built for the brief, frequent charge/discharge cycles of a mild-hybrid system rather than sustained electric-only driving.
- IPU (Intelligent Power Unit) warning light: any illuminated hybrid system warning on the dash should be treated as a dealer-inspection requirement before purchase, not a minor issue to negotiate around.
- Regenerative braking feel: the brake pedal should feel progressive, not grabby or inconsistent — inconsistent regen braking feel can indicate battery or control-module issues.
- Fuel economy consistency: a GM4 in good health should return noticeably better in-town fuel economy than the equivalent petrol GM6/GM9. A hybrid Grace returning petrol-like fuel economy is a red flag for either battery degradation or a DCT operating in a protective "limp" mode.
Battery pack replacement or reconditioning for the GM4's Blue Energy pack in Sri Lanka is a less common repair than the DCT issue, and pricing varies by supplier — always get a written quote from a Honda hybrid specialist rather than a general workshop before committing to a purchase based on assumed repair costs.
What Happened to the Grace Nameplate After 2020?
Honda discontinued the Grace in Japan in August 2020 without a direct successor carrying the same name — the global Honda City nameplate (built on a related but distinct platform) continued in other markets, but Japan's domestic small-hybrid-sedan segment moved toward the Honda Fit/Freed hybrid range instead. There is no "Gen 2 Grace" to wait for or compare against — every Grace in Sri Lanka's used market, regardless of registration year, is drawn from this single six-year production run.
Which Year Should You Buy?
- Budget Rs. 9.0M–9.5M: 2014–2015 GM4. The deepest, most liquid years in the entire Grace market — but budget for a pre-purchase DCT diagnostic scan given the age of these units.
- Budget Rs. 9.5M–10.8M: 2016–2018 GM4. Newer condition and typically lower mileage, at a moderate premium over the 2014–2015 tier.
- Budget Rs. 11M+: 2019 GM4. The newest year with reasonable supply — the safest choice if your budget stretches this far and you want to minimise DCT wear risk from age alone.
- Any budget: if you cannot get a Honda dealer DCT scan before purchase, weigh the Toyota Axio Hybrid instead — its planetary-gear hybrid system has no equivalent clutch-overheating risk.
