Honda's affordable hybrids

Honda Australia has fingers crossed that the Aussie dollar will remain strong for the next year and a half at least. That's how long it will take for the company to roll out its two important hybrid models, the Insight and CR-Z.

The Carsales Network flew to Frankfurt in Germany as guests of Honda Australia to drive the two new cars, which will help establish hybrid technology in the Australian market as a mass-market drive system, rather than an environmental philosophy alone.

The Insight, which looks like Honda's equivalent to the Toyota Prius but is smaller, will be launched locally at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, ahead of a retail launch in November. Assuming the Australian dollar doesn't collapse against the Japanese yen in the meantime, the Insight should be priced at around $30,000. Basically, that means the exchange rate must be around one Australian dollar equalling ¥75 to ¥80.

Honda has developed the Insight with affordability being a key element of the vehicle's design criteria.

"The aim was to produce a car that was affordable for everyone; so that was basically the development slogan of the Insight -- 'Hybrid for everyone'," said company spokesman and powertrain engineer at Honda R&D (Germany), Ko Yamamoto, during the introduction to the new hybrid.

"One secret of reducing price is parts commonality; I don't really remember how much parts commonality it has with the Jazz or other models, but that's the basic principle to keeping costs as low as possible -- to really have no dedicated new parts..."

Despite the platform the Insight shares with the light-car segment Jazz (and the City sedan), Honda Australia remains uncertain whether the hybrid car will be marketed in Australia as a light car or a small car, in accordance with VFACTS segmentation. The FCAI (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries) is understood to be grappling with issues such as whether hybrids and electric vehicles should have their own market segment(s), which would theoretically place Insight in direct competition with the Prius.

Due about twelve months later, the CR-Z is Honda's second attempt at a sporty hybrid, the first being the original Insight that went on sale in Australia in 2001. That car -- priced above $40,000 at a time when the Australian dollar was fetching just 56 yen -- sold in very small numbers. It was a car ahead of its time, according to some, but it was also focused more on environmental issues than driving enjoyment -- something which can't be said of the CR-Z.

With the CR-Z not scheduled for release here until around the end of next year, Honda Australia is yet to fix a model structure for the sporty hybrid hatch sold locally. The intention at this stage is to offer the car in two grades, with the base grade priced $5000 above the entry level for the Insight. While the car is sold in Europe with a six-speed manual transmission only, Honda hopes to be in a position to offer the car with a CVT option also.

Neither the CR-Z nor the Insight use the power-split hybrid-drive technology of Toyota's Prius and Camry Hybrid, instead relying on parallel hybrid systems in which the electric motor provides supplemental torque. The difference in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for the two drive types (as exemplified by the Prius on the one hand and the Insight on the other), is not enough to justify the added weight, complexity and price of the Toyota model, according to Honda.

Based on EC combined-cycle figures, the Insight uses 4.4L/100km of fuel and produces 101g/km of CO2 -- figures which Honda claims could be improved with low-rolling-resistance tyres and other devices to reduce drag.

Its 1.3-litre SOHC four-cylinder features i-VTEC valvetrain management, VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) and i-DSI (Dual and Sequential Ignition) to produce 65kW of power at 5800rpm, but with 95 RON premium unleaded as the minimum recommended. The peak torque figure of 121Nm arrives at 4500 and is supplemented at lower engine speeds by the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) electric motor, which develops 10kW of power and 78Nm of torque.

Combined, the petrol and electric drive systems generate a total of 72kW and 169Nm. The difference in combined output is due to the electric motor developing maximum power and torque at much lower rotational speeds than is the case for the petrol engine. Where, for example, the petrol engine develops maximum torque -- 4500rpm -- the electric motor is producing lower torque than at its peak, 1000rpm.

The VCM system in the Insight effectively disables all cylinders on the overrun, reducing pumping losses, but by virtue of the electric motor/generator recovering energy during deceleration, the Insight still provides what feels like conventional engine braking.

Both the petrol engine and the electric motor drive through a multi-plate wet clutch and continuously variable transmission (CVT) to the front wheels, which suspended by MacPherson struts and steered by an electrically-assisted rack-and-pinion system. At the rear, the Insight sits on torsion beam suspension system providing compact packaging to accommodate the car's battery. In addition to the regenerative braking energy supplied by the electric motor as the car decelerates, the Insight is also braked by ventilated discs at the front and solid discs at the rear. 15-inch wheels on the entry-level Insight come with 175/65 tyres and in a higher level of trim, the car rides on 16-inch wheels with 185/55 tyres.

Honda Australia is yet to announce the standard features for the Insight when it reaches local shores, but it's expected to feature six airbags (including side curtains) as standard and a spacesaver spare.

The CR-Z is powered by a 1.5-litre SOHC four-cylinder with i-VTEC and four valves per cylinder. Combined maximum power for the 84kW petrol engine and the 10kW electric motor is 91kW and combined torque peaks at 174Nm, with the petrol engine topping 145Nm and the electric motor attaining 78Nm. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, based on the six-speed manual variant in combined-cycle testing, equate to 5.0L/100km and 117g/km respectively.

Technically, the CR-Z, which sits on a modified version of the Insight platform, is specified as for the five-door model: Mac struts up front, torsion beam behind, electrically-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, plus ventilated front and solid rear discs. 16-inch wheels are fitted with 195/55 tyres.

Keep an eye out for our driving impressions of CR-Z in coming days and read our international review of the Insight in the meantime.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi