The 11th-generation Honda Civic showed its face in the US about two years ago. The public admired the new model for its enhanced styling both inside and out. The company now has released another model for the Civic and this time it comes with a hybrid powertrain. Named the Civic e:HEV, the car will be initially available in Europe and might not be available in the US.
2022 Honda Civic e-HEV Preview
Exterior
Honda offers the Civic Hybrid in only hatchback body style and it will be the entry-level version since Europe will also sell the Civic Type R. It is worth noting that Europe’s Civic model is different in the sense that its powertrain does not match with the US model. However, the design largely remains the same. For the Hybrid model, Honda has added hybrid-distinctive elements.
Interior
On the inside, the new Honda Civic e:HEV looks pretty much the same as the standard model. The cabin boasts a 9.0-inch infotainment screen with a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster as well as a Bose 12-speaker audio system.
Safety
Honda has made sure it employs all the latest safety tech as well, so they armed the hybrid hatch with the new Honda Sensing suite of advanced safety features. It includes a collision mitigation braking system, road departure mitigation system, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist systems, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic monitoring, auto high beam headlights, etc.
Powertrain
What really makes the Civic a hybrid is its new powertrain which uses a newly created 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle powerplant getting assistance from two compact electric motors. The hybrid powertrain collectively develops 181 horsepower (135 kilowatts) and 232 pound-feet (315 Newton-meters) of torque thanks to Honda’s fresh 72-cell lithium-ion battery pack. The company claims they tweaked the mill to enable the hybrid to get “one of the highest” thermal efficiency numbers for a production vehicle.
Other changes Honda made to e:HEV system is a new power control unit situated below the hood as well as the new iteration of Intelligent Power Unit. Here again, the Japanese automaker claims this unit is smaller and lighter with a boosted energy density.
Honda says it’s smaller and lighter, but it has increased energy density. The hybrid comes with four drive modes – Eco, Normal, Sport, and Individual. The latter lets you customize the mill, transmission, and instrument cluster display as per your desire. The engineers have employed the power control unit to run the Civic’s fixed-gear transmission.
Availability and Pricing
The 2022 Honda Civic e:HEV hybrid will hit the European roads before the end of this year. The pricing details aren’t out yet, so we have to wait for these a bit more. It is still not clear whether the Civic Hybrid will be available for the GCC markets or not.
Source and Images: Motor1