Civic hybrid tests Honda's new strategy

Despite being the first to sell an electric-gasoline car in the United States and making hybrid technology a centerpiece of its fuel economy push, Honda Motor Co. has yet to have a hybrid hit.

But the redesigned Civic Hybrid, launched April 20, is the first test of whether Honda's new strategy of tapping lithium ion batteries and, later, two-motor systems can break the streak.

Past Honda hybrids have fallen short on fuel economy, as the Insight did against the Toyota Prius, or on power, as the short-lived Honda Accord hybrid fared against nonhybrid rivals.

Honda's new hybrid plan aims to fix both problems.

The first improvement is using lithium ion batteries, made by Blue Energy Co., a joint venture between Honda and GS Yuasa Corp. The goal is to save weight and space, while increasing fuel economy. But the new batteries are costly.

The new Civic's lithium battery weighs 48.5 pounds, compared with 69 pounds for its predecessor's nickel-metal hydride battery. That helps the new Civic Hybrid get 44 mpg in both city and highway driving , edging the previous generation's EPA rating of 40 city/43 highway.

The updated hybrid also gets a lighter, more powerful electric motor, with output increased to 17 kilowatts, from 15 kilowatts. It also offers more cabin space.

Its sticker starts at $24,800, including shipping, just $100 more than the earlier version's base price. But the Civic's sticker tops the Prius' base price of $22,880, including shipping.

So far sales have been sluggish. That is due in part to limited availability of the Japan-made hybrid because of earthquake-induced supply chain disruptions. Through May, Honda sold only 389 new Civic Hybrids in the United States, less than 1 percent of all Civics sold in that period. In 2010, hybrids accounted for 3 percent of the 260,218 Civics sold.

But slashing costs eventually will be key to driving sales higher.

"Toyota has already reduced the cost of its hybrid system over several years," says Toru Hatano, a powertrain analyst at IHS Global Insight in Tokyo. "But Honda is launching a whole new system, so we can expect their costs to be higher in the near term."

Honda also will install lithium ion batteries in a new two-motor hybrid system debuting next year in the United States for mid-sized plug-in hybrids.

Honda hasn't said what car gets it first. But engineers are testing the system in an Accord. A suitcase-sized lithium ion battery pack sits behind the back seat, eating trunk space.

An engineer involved with the project said testing is expected to continue through year end, and the company must decide if the 15-mile range in electric-only mode is sufficient. If user feedback suggests more range is needed, Honda will have to make the battery bigger or cut the car's weight, he said.

"We think a 15 mile range satisfies about 70 percent of the users," he said.

Already, Honda has tweaked the plug-in version of the Accord with an aluminum hood and other weight shavings. But the plug-in still weighs 330 pounds more than its gasoline counterpart.

Honda is rolling out the new hybrid system to counter criticism that its current technology is too weak to provide extended electric-only travel. The Integrated Motor Assist system used in the Insight, Civic and CR-Z hybrids uses the electric motor mostly to assist the gasoline engine.

The new system uses one traction motor to move the car and one generator motor to recharge the battery. The former, a 120-kilowatt motor, is combined with a 2.0-liter, four cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission.

The car has a top speed of 62 mph in electric-only mode, but a big question will be how far it can travel at that speed. The Accord plug-in hybrid can recharge in four hours from a 100-volt source or in 1.5 hours from a 200-volt source, the engineer said.

Honda President Takanobu Ito said last fall that the new hybrid system for larger vehicles will give electric-gasoline drivetrains a bigger slice of Honda's global sales -- pushing hybrids to around 10 percent of global sales by 2015, from less than 5 percent in 2009.

The electrified powertrains also will feature prominently in the Acura lineup, Ito said, reinforcing what he calls the "smart premium" image to which the brand aspires.
Source;
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110606/CARNEWS/110609917#ixzz1Ob4yjDH4

Popular Mechanics: 2012 Honda Civic vs. 2011 Toyota Prius: Hybrid Mileage Test

We pitted the all-new 2012 Civic Hybrid against the reining mpg champ, the Toyota Prius, in our own mileage test. Can a Honda hybrid finally beat Toyota?
By Ben Stewart

Over most of the last decade, there has been one benchmark when it comes to automotive fuel efficiency: the Toyota Prius. Its reputation is so strong, in fact, that Toyota decided to create an entire family of Prius vehicles, beginning this year with the Prius V. Since 1999, Honda has been producing its own line of hybrids. Its first, the Insight, was a fuel economy champ itself. But no Honda hybrid since has been able to match the Prius. That may change with the new 2012 Civic Hybrid, which is closer than ever to becoming "Honda's Prius." To find out how Honda's latest stacks up against Toyota, we devised a two-day, two-route, 550-mile test to challenge the two fuel economy all-stars. One route covered the city streets to approximate a week's worth of commuting; the other was an all-highway blast to replicate a road trip. We filled up both cars for each route at the same pump, at the same gas station. Can the Prius hold onto its top spot as the reining fuel economy champ?

The Specs

Toyota uses a pair of electric motors, and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) to join them, mounted to the 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. This system allows the Prius to use several combinations of electric and/or gasoline power—including an all-electric mode. There's even an EV switch that locks the Prius in battery mode until the range of the 6.5 amp hour nickel-metal hydride pack is used up. Toyota delivers a total system horsepower of 134. Honda's system, meanwhile, is very similar to the last Civic Hybrid and the current Insight. The electric motor sits in between the CVT and the gasoline engine. So, unlike the Prius, the gas engine in the Civic must always turn—when in electric cruise mode, the gas engine essentially freewheels. The Civic's four cylinder has grown to 1.5-liters from 1.3-liters. And when combined with the new, more powerful 23 hp electric motor, it delivers 110 system horsepower. But the big news is the lighter and more powerful 4.5 amp hour lithium-ion battery pack (still mounted behind the rear seats). The Prius can become expensive quickly as you add options like the self-parking system. It's not uncommon to see a fully loaded Prius sticker for close to $35,000. The new Civic Hybrid doesn't offer these options, so it is generally much less expensive. We opted to test a $24,369 Toyota Prius 2 model against a $27,500 Civic Hybrid Nav model. The EPA rates the Prius at 51mpg city and 48 mpg on the highway, while the 2012 Civic Hybrid is rated at 44 mpg for both city and highway. But how do they handle real world testing?

The Highway Drive

Beginning in Santa Monica, we cruised up the California coast to U.S. Route 101 and pressed onward, north of Santa Maria. To even out any differences in driving style between PM's testers, we switched cars often and locked the cruise control at or below 70 mph whenever possible. The Civic may have an all-new, more aerodynamic skin, but beneath it the chassis tuning feels quite similar to the last Civic Hybrid we tested. Actually, of any hybrid we've tested, this new Honda comes the closest to the ride quality of the Prius—partly because they ride on the same 196/65R15 Bridgestone Ecopia tires. The Civic's new dash and display look much like the Prius's, except they are located in front of the driver's sight line and easier to read. The Prius's futuristic dash lets everyone know that you've got plenty of advanced tech onboard. But the fresh, modern dash and center console of the Civic is more inviting if you prefer a conventional car, which we do. Both cars are far from luxurious, however. Hard plastic covers most of the interior. Slide into the backseats, and the two cars appear to have equal headroom. But there's a bit less legroom in the Honda, and its roofline requires that taller passengers duck as they exit the rear doors. In terms of cargo, the Civic's trunk holds 10.7 cubic feet—an increase from the previous model, but just half the capacity of the Prius. After 354 highway miles, we decided that the Civic was the more comfortable of the two—the Prius feels a bit more susceptible to crosswind and generally produces more freeway noise. But when we filled both cars up at the end of the day, the Prius was the highway fuel economy champ, returning 51.4 mpg. The Civic delivered a very respectable 47.1 mpg.

The City Drive

The next day, we headed east and hit the streets. For this test, we'd drive an all-city route from Santa Monica to San Bernardino, and back. We never put a tire on a freeway and never exceeded 45 mph—a true test of city fuel economy. On these roads, the Prius was nearly silent most of the time, creeping along in electric-only mode. The Civic always needed its gas motor to idle, but the smart and aggressive engine stop-start system would often cut power when we were coasting up to a light under light loads. As soon as the light turned green and our foot released the brake, the engine started quickly. And once under way, the Civic stays in electric mode longer than before. On a few of the backroads near Glendora, the Civic was the more engaging partner. Neither car will be mistaken for a sport sedan, but spirited driving just feels more natural in the Honda. After 198 miles and ten hours of traffic congestion, the Prius once again came out on top when we refueled back in Santa Monica. This time, the Toyota delivered 50.2 mpg to Honda's 43.7 mpg.

The Bottom Line

In out test, both hybrids exceeded their EPA ratings. Averaging our two loops, the Prius delivered 50.8 mpg while the Civic returned 45.4 mpg. The Prius remains the unequivocal hybrid fuel economy king, but the Civic is closing the gap. If gasoline prices continue to rise much beyond today's $4 per gallon national average, both Toyota and Honda should see sales of these two hybrids skyrocket. But if we could have just one of these cars to drive every day, our pick would be the slightly-more-fun Honda.

Source; 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid - 2011 Toyota Prius - Popular Mechanics