[vsk2009]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

With the i-DTEC, no driver/owner will be unhappy. AA neat engine for the City. Just that it needs refinement i certain areas to be a decent performer.

Since the engine is relatively new, the further models (upgrades) will have a refined one.

I had test driven it twice. On an open highway road it was pulling nicely. The noise level was almost nil. On the other hand when I test driven in a rough roads on the outskirts of panjim I found the noise level more. Overall I agree that it is a neat engine.

[RavenAvi]

How the tides have turned for Honda in India!

From lagging far behind in the Indian market in terms of sales, and with no clear direction back in 2011-12, now Honda is taking giant strides forward after tasting immense success with it's i-DTEC powerplant, it's two superhit offerings in the Amaze and the 2014 City, and plans of opening a 3rd factory in India.

Rushlane reports that now Honda is planning to make India it's manufacturing and export hub for manual transmissions worldwide. Exports will be mainly to the Asian & Latin American countries, and for which Honda is planning to increase it's capacities to manufacture the manual transmissions at it's Tapukara and Greater Noida plants.

Honda Motors announced these extensive export plans at the recent launch of Honda Mobilio MPV where the company desires to take advantage of India’s lower cost of manufacturing and sourcing.

Honda Motors will be using their plant in Rajasthan for manufacture of manual gears for exports and have also identified other critical parts which will be exported from India. An amount of INR 3,500 crores has been invested in the second plant in Tapukara to boost manufacture of engines, axles and other components to cater to these extensive export plans.

[anilagdr]

Rumors are afloat that Honda City production is being stopped temporarily to push up the sales of Mobilio (and maybe create a shortage and further market demand for the City). How true could this be?

[ajay_satpute]

Kudos to Honda!

Not nitpicking, but their metal sheet quality is really disappointing, especially on Brio and Amaze. When will they get to the build quality of VW and Fiat?

If they can achieve this one task, Honda will be almost invincible.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

When will they get to the build quality of VW and Fiat?

They wont. Its the pan-continental design philosophy: Japanese cars are designed to be light and economical to run while lasting 5 years (my Swift's coil packs packed up exactly when she turned 5!), while Euro cars are acknowledged to have superior build quality.

Its very rare a car has the best of both these worlds- superior build and economical to maintain.

[damager21]

Interesting article on Zigwheels which says that Honda might launch Jazz RS. It seems Honda has acknowledged that this is under consideration.

Another important piece as per the article is that 60% of the Honda City’s customers have opted for the top-end variant. It seems Honda was not expecting this as generally the mid-spec variants are the highest selling ones.

I am not sure if Honda will try to cash on this mad rush by increasing the price of City. Ideally they will wait till end of the year when new Verna gets launched and then take a call.

http://www.zigwheels.com/news-featur...ibility/19228/

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Its very rare a car has the best of both these worlds- superior build and economical to maintain.

Not to divert this Honda thread but you are forgetting 3 brands, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Ford.

[coolkurt]

I think the issue is with the current generation of cars. The sheet metal in my civic is adequate, nowhere as epic as my Punto, which is built like a tank, but it's good enough. The Amaze, brio and now the Mobilio, all have flimsy sheet metal, not confidence inspiring. But for the mileage conscious customers in India, it'll serve well.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

But for the mileage conscious customers in India, it'll serve well.

That is the whole and sole reason why Maruti, Honda sell well compared to Fiat. Heavier the car lower is the FE so lesser it sells. This attitude would take time to go from India where safety is not bothered hence the tank like build isn't seen in the Japanese products.

Anurag.

[damager21]

I think 2017 or 2018 could be an exciting phase for Honda car's in India when most likely they will introduce their Turbo charged petrol engines in India.

Honda has already announced that they are working on 1.0L, 1.5L and 2.0L direct injection turbo engines. The 2.0L engine is expected to make debut mid of next year followed by 1.0L and 1.5L engines in 2016. I believe these engines will first get launched in Japan, US and European markets followed by Asian markets including India in 2017/18.

The 1.0L engine will be a 3 cylinder turbo charged engine producing 130 PS and 200 Nm torque. These numbers beat Ford's Ecoboost engine which produces 125 PS and 170 Nm torque.


The 1.5L engine will produce a whopping 205 PS and 260 Nm.


The 2.0L engine will produce 284 PS and an unbelievable 396 Nm torque.


These are some mind boggling numbers!

Also, Honda is developing a 8 speed dual clutch gearbox. CVT (Continuously variable transmissions) will become Honda's mainstay and will be used in all its small to mid sized vehicles, replacing the existing 5-speed automatic transmissions. The new 8 speed dual clutch gearbox will be used with 2.0L and bigger engines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk76ES2T0oQ

Source: Honda.com and Autocolumn.com

[coolkurt]

@damager

Everything will depend on 2 things. Fuel pricing and customer preferences. If the current 'kitna deti hai' attitude continues, without more emphasis on safety etc, it'll be a long time till we see more powerful engines being introduced. They will probably get the 1.6 diesel motor. More apt for the civic than the accord though.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by damager21

I think 2017 or 2018 could be an exciting phase for Honda car's in India when most likely they will introduce their Turbo charged petrol engines in India.

Honda has already announced that they are working on 1.0L, 1.5L and 2.0L direct injection turbo engines. The 2.0L engine is expected to make debut mid of next year followed by 1.0L and 1.5L engines in 2016. I believe these engines will first get launched in Japan, US and European markets followed by Asian markets including India in 2017/18.

The 1.0L engine will be a 3 cylinder turbo charged engine producing 130 PS and 200 Nm torque. These numbers beat Ford's Ecoboost engine which produces 125 PS and 170 Nm torque.

The 1.5L engine will produce a whopping 205 PS and 260 Nm.

The 2.0L engine will produce 284 PS and an unbelievable 396 Nm torque.

These are some mind boggling numbers!

Also, Honda is developing a 8 speed dual clutch gearbox. CVT (Continuously variable transmissions) will become Honda's mainstay and will be used in all its small to mid sized vehicles, replacing the existing 5-speed automatic transmissions. The new 8 speed dual clutch gearbox will be used with 2.0L and bigger engines.

There is a shift in Honda's attitude towards the Indian market. Price is paramount and so old technology is acceptable - case in point, the 2014 City. This is not the way they used to operate but it is now. So I don't see any of this technology coming to India anytime soon. They have a new 1.5 liter direct injection, non-turbo engine but the City didn't get that.

[RavenAvi]

Honda is developing an exclusive 3-cylinder, 1.0L i-VTEC engine for the sub-Brio compact car which might score a record in fuel efficiency, reports the Financial Express.

The carmaker is developing a 1-litre petrol engine, the smallest in its car range globally, which, it hopes, will help it gain a foothold in the small car segment, which includes the country's top-selling models — Maruti Alto, WagonR, Celerio and Hyundai Eon.

Sources told FE that the new 1-litre petrol engine, which will be available in both turbocharged (higher power version) and normally aspirated form, will likely be first used on a new small car expected to be launched in 2017, below Honda's current entry model Brio. For this high-volume model, Honda is planning a third domestic car plant in Gujarat, as first reported by FE in October last year.

“Honda will look to set new records in petrol engine fuel efficiency. The development work for the new 1-litre petrol engine is going on in Japan. The engine will be fitted in its mini/small car range, while the highly fuel-efficient turbocharged versions could go into bigger cars like the Jazz or even City,” a source said.

DETAILS - Financial Express (via IAB)

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Honda is developing an exclusive 3-cylinder, 1.0L i-VTEC engine for the sub-Brio compact car which might score a record in fuel efficiency, reports the Financial Express

A sub-Brio platform would be even smaller in size and won't that be an issue?

But why 3-cylinder engine?

Anurag.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

A sub-Brio platform would be even smaller in size and won't that be an issue?

I think the underpinnings and wheelbase will remain the same. The Brio is already quite compact and it would be easier for Honda to base their smaller car on it, now that the platform is being used for 4 of their other cars - Brio, Amaze, Mobilio & the Brio-based SUV (in development).

Originally Posted by a4anurag

But why 3-cylinder engine?

I bet it's the turbo-charged unit currently in development at Honda Japan, which produces 130 PS. A derivative of that, tested extensively with current-gen petrol (3-10% ethanol), might be ideal for the smallest Honda. The Brio's i-VTEC powerplant produces 88 PS, so even a reduced bore of the 1.0L producing anything between 80-90 PS should be good enough.