Honda introduces a 1.6 litre diesel engine for Euro Civic; upcoming Amaze to feature a toned down version

Honda Motor Company, the Japanese multinational automobile and motorcycle manufacturer, has unveiled a new 1.6 litre diesel engine for its Civic sedan retailed in auto markets of several European countries. The company's Research and Development (R&D) department has been working quite some time on its new 'Earth Dreams' diesel engine line up and the 1.6 litre i-DTEC power-mill is one of first to see commercial introduction.

Honda introduces a 1.6 litre diesel engine for Euro Civic; upcoming Amaze

Commenting on the latest development from company's stable, Tetsuya Miyake, Project Leader for the development of 1.6 litre i-DTEC diesel motor, said, “This is a new approach from the ground up. There were no benchmarks for us because those targets would have been too low. We were determined to establish a benchmark of our own that our competitors would have to follow.”

Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL), a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, has already announced to introduce a Brio hatch based compact sedan called 'Amaze' in domestic market somewhere in the first half of next 2012-13 fiscal. In a recent statement, the Japanese car maker affirmed that Indian car enthusiasts will witness launch of Honda Amaze compact sedan in both petrol and diesel guises. Thus, the upcoming model from stables of Honda Cars India is going to be its first diesel powered product on domestic turf, which may open further avenues and enhance market reach for the company.

Reportedly, the newly disclosed Honda's 1.6 litre i-DTEC diesel fuelled powertrain churns out a decent power output close to 120 bhp and a 300 Nm torque delivery as well. The company has claimed that its latest diesel engine is one of the lightest in its class and comes equipped with a number of state-of-the-art features, such as turbochargers with a variable nozzle to minimise turbo lag. Honda engineers have done great lengths in reducing the amount of friction in the engine that comes in handy towards making it deliver more fuel efficient fuel consumption.

The yet-to-be launched Honda Amaze compact sedan is expected to feature a toned down version (1.5 litre) of the 1.6 litre diesel engine announced for Euro Civic model, while the car's petrol variant will see a 1.2 litre motor under-the-hood. However, Indian car enthusiasts are losing patience with the Japanese auto maker's ineptitude of introducing a decent diesel powered fleet, which has cost the company in losing out a major fraction of market share. Top industry experts have pointed out that unless Honda introduces decent diesel variants of its products; its growth prospects appear meek in the country.

The upcoming Honda Amaze is expected to be offered to the Indian car lovers within a price bracket between Rs. 5.5 lacs and Rs. 8 lacs. The much hyped and Honda's first diesel model will be pitched against the likes of Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire and Tata Motors' Manza, upon its launch on domestic turf.