Introduction
It’s the latest thing to be seen as green and eco-friendly. With so much going on in the world every little move in this regard is being observed and watched and this is quite prominent in the world of automobiles. Driving hybrids and electrics is the new in thing and everyone wants to be a part of the boom even in a country like India where the vehicle penetration is quite low. The latest entry here will be Honda with its Accord Hybrid which will be launched next month. This is not Honda’s first attempt at bringing a hybrid as it tried this before with the Civic in the last decade. However, this was not meant to be and Honda was only able to finish its stock of hybrid Civics when it slashed the price massively. Now though, it looks like a top down approach as Honda will bring the hybrid Accord and if it is successful may just get more of such vehicles into the country. They already have an example to follow, which is Toyota who have a locally made model of the Camry Hybrid as well as the Prius which is a CBU.
The tech
This new Accord Hybrid is being offered with Honda’s latest two-motor hybrid system. This comprises two electric motors and a petrol engine working in a series hybrid system. The petrol engine is a 2.0-litre i-VTEC unit producing145bhp/175Nm. The electric motor adds another 50bhp/125Nm taking the total output to 196bhp/300Nm.
At speeds under 60kmph, the car runs in full electric mode with power going to the front wheels and when juice runs low, the petrol motor comes on and recharges the lithium-ion battery set sitting in the middle of the underbody. At speeds above 60kmph, the car goes into hybrid drive mode where the petrol engine and electric motor work together to power the car while also recharging the batteries. Finally in engine drive mode, the petrol engine becomes the star of the show as it mates to the wheels using a clutch and becomes the primary source of motivation while also recharging the batteries.
How is it beneficial?
The most obvious answer is that this car has a fuel efficiency of 47mpg which when translates to 20kmpl, an impressive figure when you consider the size and weight of the vehicle. In our heavy stop and go traffic the Accord Hybrid is likely to be more impressive as it will reduce running costs and be relatively simple to use as there is no need to connect the car to a wall charger at all.
When will it launch?
The Honda Accord Hybrid will be brought to the Indian market on October 25. It will be brought here via the CBU route from Thailand and is expected to be priced around Rs 45 lakh. Stay tuned to CarTrade for all the details!
