India-bound Honda City Hybrid: In images 

Honda’s next launch for the Indian market will be the City Hybrid. It will be the first mid-size sedan that will come with hybrid technology. Honda recently showcased the City Hybrid at the Thailand Motor Show. Here, are a few images of the upcoming mid-size sedan.

In the images, we can see that the City Hybrid is finished in black colour. The overall design of the City Hybrid is very similar to the regular City. It does get a different looking front grille with a piano black insert and RS badging. There are no changes to the interior of the City Hybrid. At the rear, the only chance we get is a rear diffuser and RS badging.

Where Honda has made changes is in the powertrain. It comes with the same 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine but Honda has now added two electric motors. The engine produces 97 bhp of max power and 127 Nm of peak torque. One electric motor acts as an integrated starter generator also known as ISG, the motor is also integrated with the petrol engine.

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Then there is the second electric motor that drives the front wheels. It uses a fixed ratio gearbox. The electric motor alone produces a max power of 108 bhp. The total torque output from the engine and electric motor is rated at 253 Nm. Having said that the total power output is not known and we simply cannot add the power output from the engine and electric motor.

There would be only one transmission option on offer, it would be an e-CVT automatic transmission. There would be no manual gearbox on offer. Because of the additional torque and power, the City Hybrid is a good half a second faster than the regular City when it comes to 0-100 kmph acceleration times.

More fuel efficiency

Because of the hybrid system, the City Hybrid delivers more fuel economy. Honda is claiming a fuel economy of  27.5 kmpl in countries like Malaysia and Thailand where the City Hybrid is already on sale. When compared, the regular City with CVT automatic transmission returns 18.4 kmpl as per ARAI. However, in real-world conditions, the fuel efficiency is close to 12 kmpl.

Boot space reduced

A hybrid system works on larger capacity batteries. To fit in such batteries, Honda had to reduce the boot space because the batteries are now placed in the boot. Because of this, the boot space has been reduced from 506 litres to 410 litres.

Safety kit

Honda has to remove the spare tyre in order to maintain a usable boot space. So, the sedan would come with some kind of puncture repair kit. Honda has also added rear disc brakes to add to the stopping power and handle the additional weight of around 110 kgs. The City Hybrid would also come with an electronic parking brake.

Honda will soon launch City Hybrid

According to media reports, Honda is very eager to launch the City Hybrid in the Indian market. It has already passed the prototype stage and is almost production-ready. The launch of the hybrid sedan is expected to happen in the next quarter.

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