The electric vehicle trend is gathering momentum rather quickly. In India, while some companies have taken the leap of faith early on and are pushing hard on that front, others, like Honda Cars India, are being more circumspect and cautious. The latest offering from the company, the City e:HEV hybrid, which was launched this month, is a step in this direction.

This one is a ‘strong’ hybrid, also known as a full hybrid, meaning it can run on electricity only, or hydrocarbon fuel only, or a combination of both. While that in itself isn’t unique, what is rather interesting is the way in which it does it.

So, this vehicle has a battery, a pair of electric motors and a 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle petrol engine. Now these work in tandem with an e-CVT (constantly variable transmission) and an engine-linked clutch. If it’s sounding a bit geeky, well, it is, but we’ll sort this out soon. The significance of the Atkinson cycle engine is that it is very efficient, but a little thin on power and torque, not a great engine to have standalone. But in the City it doesn’t drive the wheels at all most of the time.

The engine is where most of the action is

The job of the the engine is to run the electric motor which powers the wheels. From standstill to the point that the car is cruising at high speed, the engine works through the electric motor. Only during high-speed cruising does a clutch that allow the engine to turn the wheels directly engage. In every other situation, it is the electric motor driving the wheels.

There has been some give and take of parts in this shift to hybrid from petrol, but essentially it is now somewhat heavier and with the battery pack taking up some of the space of the luggage compartment. However, it isn’t too big since it is the engine that powers the motor most of the time.

There are a couple of other things that one needs to talk about here. Now the way this car works is in many ways very different from the petrol and diesel cars that we are used to. However, it tries to mask the differences and mimic the way the car would behave if it were running on hydrocarbon fuel so that there’s no discord for someone new to this technology. That said, however, it does take a bit of getting used to, more in terms of the ideas.

Think of this, for instance: When you are braking it is not the brakes that working to slow the car down initially but it is happening at the engine level. Then there is regeneration that is happening when the car is slowing down. The level of regeneration can be chosen and the higher it is the faster the car decelerates when one lifts off the accelerator. It would probably take a couple of hundred miles to get the hang of it, but it isn’t disconcerting to start with.

The drive system Honda has set up has made it a very fuel-efficient vehicle and even though it weighs in at 1,280kg unladen, it manages to come up with a certified fuel efficiency test figure of 26.5kmpl, which is quite impressive.

In profile, barring the alloys, the City e:HEV looks the same as the other versions

THE LOOK

This City e:HEV is a variant of the fifth-gen City and, therefore, looks much like it. But there are small cues that it’s a hybrid. The Honda badge has a blue surround. It says e:HEV on the bootlid, which also gets a spoiler. There’s a diffuser type finish to the rear bumper. The alloys are different. The front fogs get a strakey garnish. And the interiors get a new black and ivory colour trim that is only on the e:HEV version.

The interiors are a neat ivory and black

THE GOODIES

While most of the story of the Honda City e:HEV is about the powertrain, it is not all of it. Honda has equipped the vehicle with a wide angle camera that sees through the windshield and tries to mitigate the risk of accident. A caveat that one needs to mention here though, is that none of these are substitutes for the driver and can only assist to keep the car safe.

That said, here’s what’s on offer. The nicest and possibly the most used thing will be auto hold. In stop-go traffic one doesn’t need to hold the brake down when the car is static. It stays where it has been braked till the accelerator is pressed.

The City also comes with what Honda calls the Sensing package that essentially has five features. There are guides that keep the car in a lane indicating through the steering that it needs to be in the centre in the Lane Keep Assist System. Another, Road Departure Mitigation System, keeps the car from going off the road. Collision Mitigation Braking System warns of a risk of collision through beeps and lights and brakes the car to avoid a crash. Adaptive Cruise Control accelerates or brakes a the car on highways to maintain a safe distance to the vehicle in front. And Auto High Beam adjusts the headlamp beam automatically depending on the situation.

THE CALL

At Rs 19.50 lakh this car isn’t cheap and also quite a bit more expensive than its IC versions. But then, if one looks at its attributes and ease of use, it is still an attractive package.

Pictures by the author

One can tell it’s the e:HEV by the blue in the Honda logo, the badge, the spoiler and diffuser in the bumper

THE CITY e:HEV IN NUMBERS

Form: Strong hybrid sedan

LxBxH (mm): 4,549 x 1,748 x 1,489

Wheelbase (mm): 2,600

Kerb weight (kg): 1,280

Engine: 1,498cc, 4-cyl, iVTEC

Motor: AC Asynchronous

Peak power (ps): Electric drive: 109; Petrol engine: 98; Combined: 126

Peak torque (Nm): E: 253; P: 127; Combined: 253

Transmission: Electrically coupled constantly variable transmission with engine-linked clutch offering auto select electric, hybrid and engine drive modes.

Brakes: Disk brakes all around

Boot capacity (litres): 306

Price: Rs 19.50 lakh ex showroom in Kolkata