Honda City Hybrid: All You Need To Know About The City eHEV

Speaking about the Honda City, the mid-size sedan is in its fifth generation in India. Moreover, the executive sedan laid the foundation for Honda Cars in India. In addition to all this, Honda City still continues to be one of the best-selling models for the Japanese automaker in the country.

Design

In terms of the design, the Indian spec of the Honda City e:HEV features a hefty dose of chrome at the front. Moreover, the Honda logo at the front now features a blue accent to help distinguish the model from the regular model.

Other distinguishable elements on the new Honda City e:HEV include a revised front bumper, a new front grille design with honeycomb finish instead of horizontal slats, a revised rear bumper with a diffuser like element, and a new lip spoiler on the boot.

Features

Speaking about the features of the Honda City e:HEV, the hybrid sedan comes loaded with features such as an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a surround sound speaker system, full LED headlamps, climate control, 7-inch full-colour TFT instrument display, Walk Away Auto Lock, Connected Car tech using Honda's Smart Connect App and a lot more.

Safety

In terms of safety features, the upcoming Honda City e:HEV is equipped with Honda Sensing technology that comes with a whole list of active safety features such as auto high beam assist, emergency braking, Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), agile handling assist, TPMS, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and front collision warning system.

In addition to all these safety features, the new Honda City e:HEV also comes equipped with 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, electronic parking brake, auto brake hold, lane watch camera, multi-angle rearview camera and much more.

Powertrain

The Honda City e:HEV is powered by a proper hybrid powertrain unlike many 'Hybrid' cars in India equipped with a simpler ISG (Integrated Starter Generator). This hybrid powertrain on the new Honda City e:HEV consists of a 1.5-litre petrol engine, two electric motors and a new battery pack.

The 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine in the Honda City e:HEV is an Atkinson cycle internal combustion engine. However, thanks to the Atkinson cycle, this engine produces just 97bhp of peak power at 5,600 to 6,400rpm and 127Nm of peak torque at 4,500 to 5,000rpm - Both of these figures are lower than the standard model.

However, thanks to the hybrid powertrain, a 108bhp electric motor sits on the front axle with 253Nm of peak torque to provide added boost and also propel the car in pure electric mode.

Charging

To charge the Lithium-ion battery pack, the user does not need to plug in the Honda City e:HEV to a power source, the hybrid sedan will charge on its own using the brake energy regeneration technique. Thanks to this system, the Honda City e:HEV doesn't need any external charging station to replenish the battery pack.

In addition to that, users of the Honda City e:HEV can tweak the intensity of brake energy regeneration using the paddles behind the steering wheel.

Fuel Efficiency

Thanks to the hybrid powertrain and the Atkinson cycle engine, the Honda claims the new Honda City e:HEV can deliver 26.5km/l mileage.

In addition to that, the Honda City e:HEV can be driven in pure electric mode at speeds up to 40km/h.

Price

The upcoming Honda City e:HEV will be available in just one variant and we expect this model to be priced anywhere between Rs 18lakh to Rs 19lakh in India.

Thoughts About Honda City e:HEV

The launch of the hybrid version of the Honda City e:HEV will not only help boost the image of the Japanese automaker in the country but is likely to boost the sales for Honda in India as it will attract more buyers to the showroom.