Honda Motors will be upgrading their engine next year. Range of Honda engines that will be upgraded includes 660 cc, 1.3L, 1.6L, 1.8L 2.0L, 2.4L and 3.5L petrol engines and a 1.6L diesel engine. At the Tokyo Motor Show later this year, Honda will be officially revealing these new engines along with their technical specifications. All we got to hear from Honda as of now is that these engines will become the best in the industry within 3 years, in terms of fuel economy.
The technologies used in this new range of Honda engines are similar to the ones available in today’s Honda engines. New Honda engines will continue using technologies like i-VTEC, Lift Electronic Control System, and Variable Timing. The new Honda 1.5L petrol engine will power the new City sedan in India giving a maximum output of 127 bhp and 111 lb-ft torque while the 1.8L mill will power Civic sedan generating 148 bhp and 133 lb-ft torque.
Apart from this one engine is of particular interest to us. It is 1.6-liter i-DTEC turbo which is essentially a downsized 2.2-liter diesel engine, which produces 120 PS of power at 4000 RPM and 300 Nm of torque at 2000 RPM. This 1596cc motor is the lightest diesel engine in its class, weighing just 170 kgs. It is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and will do duty in the Honda Civic at first. The company will later plonk this engine into the Jazz for the European markets. The same engine can be detuned for use in the City as well, this will help Honda fight competition till a smaller sub-1.5-liter diesel engine makes its debut in 2013.
“We are aware of the petrol price increase in India but we consider that as a sign of growth in the Indian market, definitely we are currently developing diesel engine cars. Indian market is asking for more diesel engine cars and we are fully aware of that,” Yasuhisa Arai, Managing Officer and Chief Officer, Development Operations, Honda R&D said.
For the new Accord, which will be launched later next year, Honda has the new 2.4L generating 181 bhp and 177 lb-ft torque. While Honda Accord performance variant will get the 3.5L V6 generating 310 bhp and 265 bhp. Expect Honda to introduce the 1.6L diesel engine in their City and Civic sedans.
Also see – Honda City Diesel by 2013-14
