Contrary to popular belief, Honda India is not cancelling the diesel variant of its entry level hatchback, Brio, though a one-year-long delay seems to be a surety. The manufacturer is also planning to bring the diesel-powered edition of its premium hatch back, Jazz, in the country. Both the cars will have a 1.2 L 3 cylinder diesel unit by 2013 because of the declining sales of passenger vehicles running on petrol in India.
Presently, the only hatchbacks offered by the car maker in India, are available with a 1.2 L i-VTEC engine that is fuelled by petrol. Their sales have been dwindling in recent times due to falling sales of petrol cars, while the company's production capacity itself has been curtailed by the Thailand floods.
The 1.6 L iDTEC engine will be used in Civic, though it cannot be said if the company will use it in the 2012 Civic model. It is a fuel efficient unit that renders maximum power of 120 bhp and peak torque of 300 Nm. Honda may be unable to use this motor in the 2012 Civic due to the delays caused by production problems at its Thailand plant, where crucial underbody components and electric parts are manufactured.
