Honda City e:HEV hybrid debuts in India: Most fuel-efficient sedan also packs first-in-class ADAS

The Honda City Hybrid will soon become one of the most fuel-efficient cars on sale in India. (Image credit: Honda)

Bookings for the Honda City e:HEV hybrid are now open in India, with the price announcement and deliveries set to commence early in May

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Introducing its first electrified model for India in quite some time,HondaCars India has taken the wraps off theHonda City e:HEV, which is set to be launched next month. Bookings for the City e:HEV are now open, and the company has confirmed the price announcement and deliveries of the strong hybrid sedan will begin early inMay. To start, the Honda City e:HEV will only be offered in fully-loaded ZX trim featuring first-in-class advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and a more affordable 'V' trim – with some top-of-the-line equipment deleted – is expected to join the line-up at a later date.

With the City Hybrid, Honda says it wants to eliminate two factors viewed as major hurdles by prospective electric vehicle buyers – a lack of charging infrastructure and range anxiety. The former is taken care of by the fact that the City e:HEV is a self-charging vehicle and does not need to be plugged in like a full-fledged battery electric vehicle. As for the latter, Honda says the City e:HEV has an ARAI-certified fuel efficiency figure of 26.5 kpl, a figure that not only blesses the car with a theoretical range of over 1,000 kilometres and makes the City e:HEV the most efficient sedan in its segment, but also ensures it is second only to the Maruti Suzuki Celerio hatchback on the list of India's most fuel-efficient petrol cars.

A total of three drive modes for the City e:HEV, with the traction motor sending power to the front wheels in two of them; eight-year warranty for lithium-ion battery. (Image credit: Honda)

The City Hybrid comes with the intelligent multi-mode drive (i-MMD) powertrain, which pairs the 1.5-litre, Atkinson cycle i-VTEC petrol engine (with 40.5 percent claimed thermal efficiency) with two electric motors. The first of these is an integrated motor that acts as a starter generator, while the main motor serves to primarily send drive to the front wheels. As a result, the City Hybrid is expected to have three drive modes – electric-only (for city driving), petrol-only (for high-speed cruising) and the third is a combination of both the engine as well as the motors when the user wants to access full performance. In electric-only mode, the petrol engine essentially works as a generator, recharging the lithium-ion battery, which in turn powers the main electric motor.

The City e:HEV's 1.5-litre petrol engine produces a peak 98 hp and 127 Nm of torque. The size of the lithium-ion battery (weighing 14.5 kg) in the City e:HEV is 0.73 kWh, which powers an electric motor with a peak output of 109 hp and 253 Nm of torque. Combined system output is rated at 126 hp, and the City e:HEV has a claimed top speed of 176 kph. The City e:HEV's 40-litre petrol tank – the same size as on the standard City – will enable a theoretical range of over 1,050 kilometres on a full tank.

With its 'Sensing' suite, the City e:HEV will be the first car in its segment to offer ADAS. (Image credit: Honda)

The segment-first Honda 'Sensing' ADAS suite that will be available on the City e:HEV at launchincludes adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking and forward collision warning.

Distinguishing the City e:HEV from the standard car on the outside are blue-hued Honda badges, e:HEV emblems, a subtle rear diffuser and a lip spoiler. The rest of the City e:HEV remains nearly identical to the standard City in terms of dimensions. That said, the City e:HEV is a full 127 kg heavier than the heaviest version of the standard City petrol, owing to the presence of the strong hybrid system and related components.

Thanks to all these additions, the Honda City Hybrid is unlikely to come in cheap. Expect the top-spec City e:HEV to cost upwards of Rs 20 lakh (ex-showroom). The launch of the City Hybrid – likely to take place around May – is expected to precede the arrival of the Volkswagen Virtus, which is set to be launched in India on June 9, and along with the mechanically-related Skoda Slavia, is aiming to wrest away market share from the segment leader.