[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by guptad42

Here's the Question/ point to consider -
a.) will Honda make two versions of this 1.2L diesel engine. A lower-spec/power version for the brio-jazz, and a higher spec, full power version for the city.
The engine family clearly has torque to spare. That could mean a competitively priced City diesel. Unlikely to be an absolute scorcher, but could still be better than the Corolla Altis D that's doing very good numbers. (better = higher torque and lower gross weight leading to better performance)..

My (wild) guesses..

1.2L FGT on Brio
1.2L VGT on Jazz
1.6L 120 bhp FGT on City
1.6L 150bhp(?) VGT on Civic
2.2L on CRV

But, considering that Honda went ahead with the same tune 1.2L petrol engines for Jazz & Brio, it could happen that they use the same 1.2L Diesel engines in Brio & Jazz as well.

And in the same way, they could get a 2.2L Diesel engine in both Civic as well as CRV.

And frankly, I don't think using the 1.6L will make the City "pricey". Since the new price of City starts at 6.99L ex showroom [like most other C Segment sedans], if they price the Diesel with a 1L premium, they will slot right between other cars and customers won't feel the car as odd one out.

Again for the questions on "who will buy a Diesel Brio", well ONLY time can tell; if they price the car well with a good spec 1.2L Diesel engine. I for one will surely be in the queue over the Swift. But to start, they need to price the diesel Brio a good 30K lesser than Swift to shake the market & gradually build & raise prices [if required]! Am sure there are LOTs of people who consider Honda to be a bigger & better brand than Maruti, and NOT without a reason too [just like Toyota]!

[Altocumulus]

This is indeed good news. I just took the test drive of the Jazz last week. Even the base model has ABS and Airbags and all the goodies. But since it had a wait period of 7 months minimum, I took the TD for Brio. Was cribbing about a diesel engine even to the salesman and moved on to test TD the Punto, Polo, etc but am sure would have booked the Jazz at the end and waited.

I would definitely postpone all plans and wait for this now.

[venks]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I hope they bring the i-DTEC with AT.

A Diesel Auto hatch makes immense sense in our cities. And I wonder why everyone is waiting for someone to open the flood gates. Honda, please be that someone.

If priced correctly, this would be a definite super hit. I would be in queue scrapping my XUV dreams !

[arvi86]

It's better late than never for Honda in India. 2011 has been a terrible year for the company with natural calamities in Japan and Thailand crippling their production for most part of the year. Going forward, things could only become better for Honda. There are already reports that Honda will be back in full production from March-April 2012. So, its good news for all those who are waiting to get a Brio and City. If the diesel versions are launched for these two models, then there would be no stopping Honda if they get the pricing spot-on.

Having said that, Indian Government's policy decisions pertaining to diesel cars will have a major effect on the decisions of the auto manufacturers. If the Government decides to impose tax on all diesel engines (irrespective of cubic capacity), then companies might as well survive on petrol variants only.

[mayankjha1806]

This is much awaited good news, now its time to wait for the Diesel CRV, to give some fight to existing leaders in SUV/Softroader segment.

Its good to see Honda developing its own Diesel engines instead of buying it from some established player. I am hoping the Diesel engines from Honda to be as smooth, fun to drive, long lasting as the petrol ones.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

I really don't know how to react. Given the current scenario where govt. is mulling over extra duty(tax) for diesel vehicles, the petrol vehicles but be good enough. Pricing would be important, but tell me who would buy a 7 lakh(OTR) fully loaded BRIO???

but then if price of diesel cars increase because of increased taxes, that would hold for all cars isint it ??? a swift diesel zdi might cost upwards of 8 lacs in that case!

honda will just have to make sure the car is still appealing to the customer at whatever price compared to the competition.

[iTNerd]

I really don't know how to react. Given the current scenario where govt. is mulling over extra duty(tax) for diesel vehicles, the petrol vehicles but be good enough. Pricing would be important, but tell me who would buy a 7 lakh(OTR) fully loaded BRIO???

I would buy a 7 lac OTR BRIO diesel, if SWIFT Zdi cost 9 lac OTR

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by joslicx

but then if price of diesel cars increase because of increased taxes, that would hold for all cars isint it ??? a swift diesel zdi might cost upwards of 8 lacs in that case!

honda will just have to make sure the car is still appealing to the customer at whatever price compared to the competition.

No, I'm quoting against the entire diesel range not just diesel Brio. My sense is that PETROL would be more viable even for monthly usage of around 1500Kms. In that scenario a diesel launch by Honda in such price sensitive category would / may not pay rich dividends for the company.

OTR investing the difference amount into say SIP's will give much more returns during the five year cycle. Added to that you get a product which has less maintenance issues,more comfort(silent) and environment friendly product

[ahuja365]

Instead of the diesel i would love to have an automatic transmission on the brio and a 1.5 litre petrol for the jazz along with at as an option.There are choices for diesel cars but not much for automatic cars.Honda being the best in smooth petrols and transmission it would be good for us.

[altius]

Honda should consider getting Jazz and City with diesel engines first. I feel Jazz with its passenger and luggage space with the diesel engine would be a great highway car and better bet than Brio.

[vinod332002]

If they do decide to plonk a diesel engine in the City (which i'm sure they'll do looking at sales of other Diesel sedans), it would be interesting to see which one they choose.

A 1.2L iDtec is almost a certainty on the Brio/ Jazz but that would be a misfit on the City, which in its petrol avatar, is best known for the performance it offers. The 1.6L iDtec being put in the City would make the Civic look underspecced since the Civic would also carry the same engine. Thoughts?

[Maverick1977]

I am super doubtful if the City will also get the 1.6, if the Civic gets it first. This would hold true even if the engines are tuned differently and even if different turbos are fitted in the cars. There is a very high chance that a normal Civic customer might just not like the feeling that the City also has the same engine.
I have actually seen this sometime back at a Tata Showroom. An elderly couple was looking at the Punto & Linea & when told that both cars have same engine, the gentleman felt that the Linea would most definitely be super under powered. He even asked the SA if the car would even move with such a small engine. I know this might sound truly funny to us but then these are the people who make up the majority.
However if Honda does this then it will be a bold step that they would take.

Wait & Watch is all that I can do!

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by theMAG

I am rather curious to know about the engine, since theu have nothing for this segment in their internal engine lineup. The 3-cylinder Bosch CRDi doing duty in the Beat perhaps?

IIRC, the Beat's engine is made only by Chevy and they wont sell it to others. Damn noisy too.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by theMAG

I am rather curious to know about the engine, since theu have nothing for this segment in their internal engine lineup. The 3-cylinder Bosch CRDi doing duty in the Beat perhaps?

Isn't the diesel engine in Beat a derivative of the MJD from Fiat?

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

I don't think Indian diesel is more adulterated or not good enough for Honda engines, the problem is that the Japs are not leaders in diesel tech, Honda being a slow mover and Suzuki doesn't have a diesel engine.

If the German trio can have their cars run on ordinary diesel(most euro cars have a sticker that instructs you to fill only ordinary diesel), and we are talking about cars that cost 10-15x what a Jazz/Brio/City cost. The problem is not with fuel in India, even Hyundai offered a CRDI around 7 years ago and they are considered upstarts in comparison to the Japanese. Honda has to price the diesels correctly and if there is a surge in sales, I doubt their service infrastructure can keep up, Toyota owners are already complaining about the difficulty in getting a service appointment after the launch of the ETIOS twins.

The engines that Honda has are sensitive to Indian diesel. They are not making it up. They need to work on making it work. I think they have already looking at i-CTDi that has been in testing on the CRV and may be others.