Future seems pretty promising for Honda Cars India. What with the diesel variant of the Honda Amaze generating a great response among the car buying lot? It may be noted that the Amaze D is the first diesel powered car from the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese auto giant and has been squarely aimed at the very popular Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire.
The 1.5 Liter i-DTEC turbocharged diesel engine that powers the Amaze has been developed alongside the much publicized 1.6 litre i-DTEC diesel engine that powers the diesel variant of the Civic and the CRV in UK car market. This 1.6 litre engine has won a lot of accolades for offering a perfect blend of performance and fuel economy. Talking about the 1.5 litres i-DTEC diesel engine of the Amaze, the oil burner is said to be among the lightest in its class and benefits from an all alumimum construction. The direct injection motor has a class leading power output of 100PS and a respectable torque figure of 200Nm. This engine is being touted as the most fuel efficient car engine in the country with a claimed fuel efficiency figure of 25.8 kmpl! Rumours are abounding that this engine will also find a home in the upcoming generation of City sedan and Jazz hatchback.
Now, it has emerged that Honda might be planning to come up with a diesel engine that would be smaller than the 1.5 litre i-DTEC motor. This engine might displace anything between 1-1.2 liters and would be used in small cars like the sub-Brio hatchback that Honda plans to launch in India.
Mr Atsushi Arisaka, Honda Asia Pacific R&D’s chief engineer, has said, “We are looking at developing a smaller diesel engine. We are looking at a diesel engine with engine capacity between 1-1.2 litre. Once developed, it can be used on small cars.”
It may be noted that Honda petrol engines have always received rave reviews from both the car buyers and the media. It will be really interesting to see if the car maker can repeat the success with its new age diesel engines.
Source SmartInvestor