Honda City Hybrid to likely be offered in two variants in India with segment-first ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) tech
Honda Cars India is gearing up to host the local debut of the hybridized City tomorrow in the market and it will more likely be made available in V and ZX trims. Besides having a unique hybrid powertrain, the Honda City Hybrid comes with a host of new features and technologies including first-in-segment ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System).
It will be offered as part of the Honda Sensing suite as autonomous emergency braking, automatic high beam, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and collision mitigation braking are expected. The City Hybrid is already on sale in global markets and unofficial bookings appear to have commenced at select dealerships as well.
The Honda City e:HEV is expected to be offered at a premium over the existing top-end trim of the regular petrol engine due to the inclusion of new tech and it will also have a higher fuel economy. The clever hybrid system uses a 1.5-litre four-cylinder Atkinson cycle naturally-aspirated petrol engine and a dual electric motor setup.
While it sounds like a typical hybrid, the working mechanism is slightly different. One of the motors is a propulsion motor while the other functions as an electric generator. The engine will operate at its peak efficiency of around 2,000 rpm for higher fuel economy and it drives the wheels only when the midsize sedan is driven at higher speeds and rpm levels.
To avoid transmission losses, Honda does not use a typical transmission with the City e:HEV as a single direct gear comes into the act for high-speed driving. The dual electric motors are paired with the NA powertrain as the combination produces electricity and stores the energy at the battery pack in the rear.
The 1.5-litre petrol mill makes 98 PS/127 Nm and the electric motor is capable of 109 PS but the combined power output is not known. We can expect the 2022 Honda City Hybrid to offer a driving range of more than 27 kmpl due to its hybrid technology. Moreover, the three different drive modes further help in improving efficiency along with the energy regenerative tech.