Honda’s latest offering, the next-generation Honda Fit, promises something which will surely blow your mind away – a mileage of 86 mpg! The subcompact model, Fit 2014 (also called the Honda Jazz in some countries) will be launched this fall. The car will start selling in the US markets in the early 2014. The new model is a hybrid version of the Honda Fit that boasts of an unbelievable improvement of 35% in the fuel efficiency of the car . Currently, only the gasoline engine version of the Honda Fit and the Honda EV Fit are available in the market.
According to the test conducted by the Japanese automaker, the fuel economy of the Fit Hybrid will be 2.7 litres per 100 kms or a 85.6 mpg (US). Presently, Toyota Prius and Toyota Prius C are considered to be the most efficient cars available in the US market under the non-EV category. Even these gives just 50 mpg of combined EPA, while the city rating for the two are 51 mpg and 53 mpg for the Prius and Prius C, respectively.
The Honda Fit 2013 received a combined rating of 29-31 mpg, while 33 to 35 mpg on highway. On the other hand, EV version of the Honda Fit received a rating of 118 mpg-e or mpg-equivalent – the best-in-class of the small station cars.
Under the aegis of the Earth Dreams Technology program of the Honda, the new Hybrid Honda Fit will be the primeval to introduce the Intelligent Dual Clutch Drive system (I-DCD) into the market. The car is powered by a 1.5 litre, four cylinders Petrol engine of Atkinson cycle type. The car has one electric motor fitted with a dual clutch seven-speed transmission. This motor is linked to a lithium-ion rechargeable storage battery through an IPU (or intelligent power unit).
At the start-up, the I-DCD disengages the gasoline engine, while the car starts using the battery power. Consequently, the gearbox and the gas engine are engaged with the clutches under high acceleration and at high speeds. The gasoline engine gets automatically disengaged again when the car loses its speed.
Honda now asserts that the new Hybrid Fit gives an increased mileage by a good 35% when compared to the IMA configuration currently used in the Fit Hybrid. Moreover, similar to a turbocharger, an IMA configured electric motor can work only in parallel with the gasoline engine.
The IMA is a cost-effective technology, but many hybrid owners would like to have a car that can be driven on electric motor only for a few miles together. Honda has always believed that the need for an engine with more than six cylinders is non-existence which is in fact not wrong.
Along with this, Honda has maintained more than four or five forward gears transmission in their cars, urging the buyers to look at the mileage rather than the transmission. But the company has finally succumbed to the current market demand and is now proving as high as seven-speed transmission in its cars. Similarly, the IMA configured hybrid is now being replaced by the I-DCD hybrid.
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