All new Honda Fit hybrid

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I actually don't hate the Prius' design so badly, its aerodynamic profile is interesting, but I think I'd rather get another driveline layout into a Prius bodyshell. What I like in the Peugeot Hybrid4 system more than in any other hybrid setup is that the electric traction doesn't have any parasitic loss from a gearbox as the ICE has...

[minispeed]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I actually don't hate the Prius' design so badly, its aerodynamic profile is interesting, but I think I'd rather get another driveline layout into a Prius bodyshell. What I like in the Peugeot Hybrid4 system more than in any other hybrid setup is that the electric traction doesn't have any parasitic loss from a gearbox as the ICE has...

I'm no expert on the power split device but I'm pretty sure the large prius electric motor (MC2 I think it's refered to as) is directly linked to the driveline as there is no transmission even though they call it an eCVT it is closer in operation to a differential.



Also the rumours are that the next prius will offer 4wd with a rear unit similar to the Highlander/RX hybrid with an electric only drive for sub 40km/hr speeds directly driving the rear wheels.

The Honda system (at least as I've looked into it on the accord) does look to be very efficient with the larger electric motor driving the wheels and even though they still say there is an "eCVT" it sounds like it really is a single speed unit.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by minispeed

The Honda system (at least as I've looked into it on the accord) does look to be very efficient with the larger electric motor driving the wheels and even though they still say there is an "eCVT" it sounds like it really is a single speed unit.

If they would be honest enought to label it a single-speed unit they would probably not be able to charge more for it as they do badging it as "e-CVT" or whatever else...

[minispeed]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

If they would be honest enought to label it a single-speed unit they would probably not be able to charge more for it as they do badging it as "e-CVT" or whatever else...

It's a single speed as far as the larger electric drive motor is concerned but what the device does with the ICE is what customers expect a transmission to do, it allows the ICE to work over a range of RPM and a range of road speed so that at low speed and high power request the ICE will rev high and at high speed and low power requests the ICE will rev low.

It's not misleading because it is a device that transmits energy, so calling it a transmission is correct. It's just a way simpler version since there are so few moving parts. My first intrepretion of what eCVT meant when I got my first prius was "electronicly controlled typical CVT". I now interpret the e-CVT to mean a device that Transmits energy over a Constantly Varriable range. Some of the energy is electrical that passes from the small Motor Generator (MG) to the larger MG that drives the wheels and some of the time it is mechanical that ends up directly driving the wheels through a single speed.

However to get back on track to the original post with the fit it will use Honda integrated motor assist (IMA) which is different, like the insights, civic hybrid, old accord hybrid. They use just one electic motor before a traditional transmission. The fit hybrid will use an updated version of IMA which is now being refered to as a mild hybrid. A term that GM once used for it's cars and has since even dropped for e-assist as that was even more mild than IMA. In that case you are right, the electrical energy will pass through a traditional transmission.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by minispeed

The fit hybrid will use an updated version of IMA which is now being refered to as a mild hybrid. A term that GM once used for it's cars and has since even dropped for e-assist as that was even more mild than IMA.

The IMA is not actually what I would consider a "mild" hybrid, but anyway I'm not even sure if it would be available in my country...

[sendler]

The new Honda hybrid system is a full hybrid. The car can move without the engine turning.

[PaleMelanesian]

Wayne at CleanMPG is currently testing the new Accord hybrid and getting better results than a Prius. He's doing some back-to-back comparisons and the Accord is ahead. Finally Honda did what they always could but backed away from.

[minispeed]

Originally Posted by sendler

The new Honda hybrid system is a full hybrid. The car can move without the engine turning.

Yes but Honda isn't stopping the use of the old IMA system, they are updating it and using it in smaller cars like the fit.

[Compaq888]

The new Honda Accord Hybrid is the real deal. I went on Honda.com and they want $29-30k for the car. That is absolutely outrageous. Why not sell it for $25-26k??

Honda said that the fit hybrid costs $3k more than the Honda Fit. So if they sell the regular one at $15.4 then the Honda Fit Hybrid would be $18.4k. Last time I checked the Prius C was $19k

[sendler]

Originally Posted by minispeed

Yes but Honda isn't stopping the use of the old IMA system, they are updating it and using it in smaller cars like the fit.

Not sure what you mean but the new system with the electric motor out on the far end of a dual clutch transmission shaft is nothing like the earlier systems that had the motor right on the fly wheel of the engine.