since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
THE automotive hybrid market is ‘heating’ up as more car brands, the Chinese in particular, are introducing their respective versions to capture market share. Honda entered the hybrid segment in Malaysia in 2020 with the City e:HEV and has since gained a strong foothold with the introduction of successive e:HEV model variants.
There is an e:HEV variant among the four main models – City (sedan and hatchback), Civic, HR-V and CR-V – to offer the respective Honda customer a choice to enjoy electric power, albeit at a premium price. The benefits are in spending a lot less on petrol purchases, which is becoming a relevant point with the impending disposal of subsidy on fuel price for those who do not qualify to receive it.
Today, one in four or five Hondas sold is a hybrid, which suggests a reasonably good demand for hybrid ownership. Honda Malaysia says its strong e:HEV sales contributed to 30 per cent of total hybrid vehicle sales here in 2024. The company also says that it sold more than 60,000 hybrid vehicles here since 2004 (Honda started with the IMA – Integrated Motor Assist – that year and followed up in 2017 with the i-DCD - intelligent Dual Clutch Drive).
We have always understood the hybrid principle as the use of electric power to assist in vehicle acceleration, either from a standing start to quick overtaking on the highway. To generate the sort of immediate torque to aid in vehicle propulsion, the capacity of the battery and output of the electric motor/s play a key role.
For sure, the battery that is normally fitted in a car to start it and power the car’s electronic equipment isn’t strong enough to do the job. The stronger the battery, measured in kWh (kilowatt hour), the greater is its capacity to power the electric motors that drive the wheels. It is the output of these electric motors that determine the vehicle’s acceleration performance. Thus, the higher the electric motor output, the greater the demand on the battery to supply electricity.
The electric motor in the City and HR-V, which have 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle engines, delivers 80kW (109PS) and 253Nm torque, while that in the Civic and CR-V, which have 2.0-litre Atkinson engines, are more powerful at 135kW (184PS) and 315Nm. However, all the e:HEV variants are equipped with a 1kWh lithium-ion battery located below the boot area.
Many types of batteries are currently being developed though the initial unit was a lithium-ion battery, which is still being largely used now. There are also different ways in which the hybrid system is being employed. Some use the battery and electric motor as a primary source of propulsion, like an EV (electric vehicle), with the engine serving purely as a battery generator.
The more common system is to use electric power for initial acceleration and overtaking. The battery capacity would determine how far the vehicle could run on electric power; the higher the kWh reading, the longer the vehicle could run on electric power before the engine comes into play. The mild hybrid describes those with less powerful batteries and lower electric range while plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) class those with greater capacity batteries and higher electric range (some with more than 100km).
And because the batteries in PHEVs are of a higher capacity, battery regeneration through braking or while going down gradients isn’t enough. You need to recharge the battery via the recharging station or a house recharging unit regularly to keep battery capacity at the recommended 80-per cent level.
The Honda e:HEV system works more like the normal mild hybrid design. What makes it different is that it is engineered to have greater electric range despite having only a one kilowatt/hour battery. Firstly, the Honda system features a generator motor and traction motor (electric motor that powers the wheels).
The engine is activated to generate the battery via the generator motor and once the battery achieves full capacity, the electricity that the generator motor produces is diverted to the traction (power) motor. In short, the engine generates electricity to drive the vehicle before the battery takes over.
It operates in a continuous cycle in which the engine is activated to charge the battery via the generator motor when its capacity falls below a certain level. And when the battery capacity is full, the electricity produced via the generator motor is then diverted to the traction (drive) motor before the battery resumes electricity supply.
However, the Atkinson engine employed in the e:HEV could also be used to drive the wheels directly by engaging Sports mode. In doing so, the engine power is channelled to a lock-up clutch for some robust driving on the highway. This could only take place above 70km/h and the system would still supply electric power assist for quick overtaking when the need arises,
The whole idea of hybrid motoring is to provide quick initial acceleration with the strong immediate torque available from the electric motor (a more powerful electric motor means better acceleration but it consumes a lot of electricity too, thus requiring a bigger and higher capacity battery).
And of course, with electric propulsion, the car’s engine consumes a lot less fuel and good mileage is gained. The only trade-off is a lower top speed as the engine is not designed to drive the wheels primarily. As such, it delivers a lower power output compared to the engines that are applied in non-hybrid cars.
Take the example of the City e:HEV RS that we had a pleasant weekend with recently. It is faster in 0-100km/h acceleration at 9.9 seconds against 10.2 to 10.4 for the non-hybrid variants. In fuel consumption, Honda says it would easily achieve 27.8km/l against 17.8km/l. That is a gain of 10km/l, which means significant savings in petrol bills. It is said that a City e:HEV owner could easily cover two weeks of city driving before refuelling! This scenario is the same for the other e:HEV models.
To drive home the e:HEV advantage, Honda Malaysia organised a media drive to Penang with the Civic e:HEV RS and CR-V e:HEV RS. Both have 2.0-litre Atkinson Cycle engines while the City and HR-V come with 1.5-litre power units. The CR-V and HR-V e:HEV RS are said to be among the more popular hybrid models with Honda customers.
We continued to revel in the quiet motoring that electric power provided. It helped too that the Civic and CR-V are aerodynamically efficient in body styling to reduce air turbulence while the suspension and body insulation systems have adequate noise buffers to keep road and tyre noise at very tolerable and comfortable levels.
There is no tachometer in the Honda e:HEV vehicles as the idea is not to monitor engine speed but rather the flow of electric power to drive the front wheels. We could do so via the power flow dial or a graphic image nearby on the instrument panel. We could also select the power flow graphic image on the centre info display for everyone’s benefit.
The power flow dial also shows you the level of regeneration (in green) that takes place when you hit the brakes or slow down, which happens often in city traffic. Unlike EVs, there is no range anxiety and the fuel level indicator didn’t go down quickly during our drive to Penang as was often experienced in non-hybrid vehicles.
Our average fuel consumption for the KL-Penang drive was above 17km/l due to our robust pace, which activated the engine more often to charge the depleting battery. Honda says the 1kWh battery is designed to last the vehicle’s operating life span. The vehicle service interval is the same as that for non-hybrid vehicles as the engine is used frequently to charge the battery.
At the end of the day, we could see why more Honda customers are opting for the e:HEV variants. You enjoy the pleasure of EV driving without range anxiety and your wallet is not drained by heavy petrol bills. Initial and overtaking acceleration is strong, and you could continue to revel in the appreciable dynamics and enjoyable ride comfort of the respective Honda model.
