Despite all the bad press around diesel in Europe, Honda has announced that it will add a new 1,6 litre i-DTEC oil-burner to its Honda Civic range on the continent from March 2018.
The Japanese automaker promises that the diesel mill will offer “an outstanding combination of performance and efficiency”. It produces 88 kW at 4 000 r/min and 300 N.m at 2 000 r/min, moving the Civic from standstill to 100 km/h in a claimed 10,4 seconds.
Honda says the new engine is one of the first units to be officially tested under the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) fuel consumption and emissions cycle, which is designed to produce results closer to a real-world driving experience and comes into force this year.
In the Civic 1,6 i-DTEC derivative, Honda claims a fuel economy of just 3,7 L/100 km under the new WLTP cycle.
Furthermore, Honda says the new i-DTEC mill is one of the first engines to be officially tested through the Real Driving Emission (RDE) procedure to validate NOx and particulate emission levels. The diesel powertrain has a new NOx Storage Converter system with larger catalysts and a higher content of noble metals that store nitrogen oxide gas until the regeneration cycle.
The brand says the new diesel engine – which employs a small turbocharger, low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation system and a high-intake flow – benefits from a reduction in cylinder friction, thanks to pistons made from chromium-molybdenum steel alloy, as well as “super plateau honing” of the bores to enable smoother piston movement.
Will it come to South Africa? Well, there has been no official word from Honda Motor Southern Africa, but considering that the local range currently features no diesel powertrains, it seems unlikely at this stage.
[UPDATE: Honda SA told CARmag.co.za that there are “currently no plans to bring the 1,6-litre i-DTEC engine for the Civic to South Africa”, adding that “we don’t see the diesel powertrain being the solution for the future, thus diesel development is very limited”.]
