Honda leans toward 2 motors for the next Civic Hybrid

Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has developed a new and a much enhanced one-motor-hybrid system for compact cars. However, engineers working on the next generation Civic are leading ahead towards a fuel-efficient and immensely powerful two-motor system that was first spotted in the mid-sized Accord Hybrid which was made available for sale previous fall.

Honda has not yet revealed what type of gasoline-electric Drivetrain the next generation Civic Hybrid will get. It is expected to be launched by the year 2016. However, chief engineer for one-motor system at Honda R&D, Hiromitsu Ishibashi added that engineers are mulling over two-motor layout. Honda is still apprehensive how the dual-clutch transmission from one-motor system will be received by buyers in America. This concern was put forward by Ishibashi during Automotive World, an annually held technical conference in America. It is also likely that the two-motor system would be delivering improved fuel economy. The one-motor system, a newly developed one, is found in Fit hatch as well as in Vezel, a subcompact crossover based on Fit design. It couples the 1.5-litre Powertrain with a dual-clutch transmission and an electric motor.

Hybrid editions of the both the cars are already on sale in Honda’s home country, Japan. However, there are no concrete plans for launching their gasoline-electric versions in the United States. The Accord Hybrid, a two-motor vehicle makes use of a continuously variable transmission.

Ishibashi added that customers in the United States are not much concerned about what system they get in the car, as long as drivability and fuel economy is good. He further added DCTs were not well received in the United States. The two-motor system developed Honda is capable to deliver enhanced fuel economy as compared to the one-motor system since it enables prolonged electric –only driving. The Accord Hybrid has got a 50 mpg ratings for city roads, much better than other mid-sized sedan in the market and the only downside being added costs. Ishibashi also added that engineers are still analyzing which system can work optimally in Civic but he personally preferred the two motor system.

In November, Honda had commented that it will be replacing step-geared automatic transmission with the CVTs in all the automatic Civics at the beginning of the year 2014. There is no official statement from the company about the launch date of the re-engineered hybrid. The present version utilizes Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist system. This is a one-motor advanced technology criticized often for delivering unimpressive power and fuel economy. It gets a combined highway-city 44 mpg ratings.

For a long time now, Honda has wrestled with which Powertrain should its use in the Civic Hybrid, partially to launch it as a stronger competitor for the Toyota Prius. The Prius gets a combined highway-city 50 mpg ratings. The engineers at Honda have commented in the past that another alternative could be two kinds of two-motor systems. One would be the most expensive one for Accord while the Civic would get a cost-efficient version.