Honda is finally (yay, finally!) ditching its IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) hybrid system and coming out with several new versions that should siginficantly improve efficiency AND finally challenge Toyota's dominance of the hybrid segment.
Green Car Reports posted today about driving a development version of Honda's new "small car" hybrid system (they're also developing different hybrid systems for bigger vehicles). They drove a Fit mule fitted with it.
Main features:
- single motor
- 7-speed dual-clutch automated transmission, with "a very wide gear-ratio span"
- which means: better acceleration, sharper throttle response, and "normal" gear change experience
- the engine can be de-coupled from the transmission while under way, meaning:
- (1) this new system is a "full" hybrid - capable of "EV mode" since the e-motor can drive the gearbox/wheels while the engine (ICE) is completely shut down
- (2) this de-coupling means "pure" coasting/freewheeling is available
- 30 percent better MPG compared to Honda's existing IMA hybrid system
I think Honda is being very shrewd with its choice of using the dual-clutch 7-spd automatic, even if the engineers know it's probably not the most efficient approach.
Why? Because mainstream auto journalists generaly HATE the CVT driving experience and always whine about it. I predict that based mainly on this, Honda is going to start overwhelmingly winning the "magazine shootout" comparisons against Toyota. Good marketing move.
I also think Honda underestimated the quiet appeal of "EV mode" driving to hybrid owners (even if most owners don't know how to use it to best effect to improve MPG). They lost sales to Toyota as a result. This fixes that.
More details:
Honda Details Future Small-Car Hybrid System; We Drive It