Within 3 narrow years, Honda announced that by 2022, it wanted to offer its customers at least a hybrid alternative to all of its European models. In the period since, the all-electric city car Honda e has come out, getting a hybrid engine called the E:HEV in the Jazz, HR-V, CR-V and the upcoming 11th generation Civic. The essence of the e:HEV system is that the resource does not require external charging, the car regenerates the energy released during braking and deceleration, among other things. In Honda’s system, the gasoline engine produces electricity only at low speeds, while actually helping to drive at higher speeds.
This time, the Japanese tried their new resource during a test drive of 116 kilometers. The track is designed to measure the strengths or weaknesses of the engine in the most diverse road and traffic conditions. In Honda’s own measurements, the HR-V consumes an average of 1.1 liters less, compared to up to 4.5 liters in urban environments, than hybrid competitors in a similar segment—although Honda did not provide details on the exact model compared. In addition, the Japanese described their operating system under the name e:HEV as more efficient than plug-in hybrid systems; It was measured to be 3% more efficient outside the city.