It seems everyone is going the diesel way. Before we go into announcing the latest member of this ever growing diesel club, we would like to point out the reasons behind the switchovers. The diesel car is by far superior to that of their petrol counterpart. Primarily, diesel prices haven’t escalated at the rate petrol prices have spiked. Fuel prices are always on the rise, but comparatively diesel fairs better than petrol in terms of fuel consumption. As fuel is becoming a big determinate in the car buying process, the fuel economy is being given more priority. Secondly, the torque generated by the diesel engine of similar specifications and same capacity is substantially higher than that of the petrol variants of the same car.
So Honda brings in a diesel variant to their highly popular Honda Civic model. Its petrol cousin hasn’t been faring too well in the recent times, given the change in trends. Hence the Honda manufacturers churned out a diesel Civic to give their competition a tough time out there.
This small capacity diesel engine car is set for its unveiling at the Auto Expo in Geneva to be taking place during March. The car is set for a spring launch but would take some time before it comes to flaunt itself at our Indian Civic saloon. We are expecting this 1.6 liter turbo diesel engine to make its Indian entry during June-July. The car once launched would be carrying the banner of ‘Earth Dreams’, becoming the first among the Honda cars to tag itself with this new technology.
Honda is keeping a tight lid on the ergonomics of the car. The car manufacturers haven’t revealed any detail on the mileage per liter of fuel consumption. But the Honda spokesperson has announced that the company has taken great measures to ensure that the carbon dioxide emissions are kept to an extremely small level of 100g/km. The power generated by the Civic is a mean 120 PS at 4000 rpm. The diesel variant notches up the torque production to that of 300 Nm. Moreover, the engine’s biggest advantage in the race is that it is fabricated with a light weight material, which makes it lighter than the other 1.6 liter diesel and petrol engine cars out there. With all the pluses, it’s going to be a car to watch out for once it’s released.
Honda has plans to launch a few of their other diesel variants to their existing models here in India. The next in line to join the Honda Civic is the Honda Brio set for a late 2012 launch. With India’s booming market for the auto industry Honda might just extend its list of cars to be introduced in the upcoming months here, bringing in the likes of Honda Jazz and Honda City. The team also has plans to lower the capacity of the 1.6 liter diesel power train to bring in a 1.2 liter version, introducing hatchback versions of the Brio and the Jazz.
