The 2010 Honda Hybrid (which will have a new name) will take its styling
cues from Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell car, shown here.
Consumer Guide Is Impressions of the 2010 Honda Hybrid
The green-car race is on, and Honda is readying three new entries. First up: a small, low-cost dedicated hybrid that could give the Toyota Prius a run for your money at purchase time and at the gas pump.
What We Know About the 2010 Honda Hybrid
It doesn not have a name yet, but Honda is promised low-cost “dedicated hybrid” car is coming into focus. The company confirmed the new model’s broad outlines in a late-May press briefing that gives us just enough detail to make good guesses about the specifics that are due to be released later this year.
What we are calling the Honda Hybrid is due to start production early in calendar 2009 and should reach dealers a few months later with a hoped-for starting price of around $20,000. That compares with $22,600 for the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid sedan, now the only gasoline/electric vehicle in the brand is portfolio. The new Hybrid will be built alongside the Civic at Honda is Suzuka plant in Japan, but on a specific (dedicated) platform shared with no other current Honda vehicle. In this way--and perhaps others, too--the 2010 Honda Hybrid mimics the top-selling Toyota Prius. However, Honda says it will also add a hybrid patterned on the sporty 2007 CR-Z concept coupe, as well as a gas/electric version of its Fit subcompact. Timing on these has not been announced, but sources forecast the CR-Z by model-year 2012, the hybrid Fit by 2015.
Company officials say the Honda Hybrid will be a 5-passenger 4-door hatchback looking somewhat like the wedge-shaped FCX Clarity, the hydrogen-fuel-cell midsize sedan that is now being leased to a handful of select Southern California consumers. The front-wheel-drive Hybrid will be smaller than Clarity, likely falling in the compact-car class. Our estimated dimensions are based in part on sightings of test prototypes based on the Honda Airwave, a compact high-body wagon not sold in the U.S.
The Honda Hybrid will use a lighter, simpler new version of the Civic Hybrid’s basic Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) drive system. Unlike other hybrid setups, notably Toyota is, IMA uses a battery-powered electric motor only to assist the gasoline engine; the car does not run on electricity alone except in certain low-speed situations. Company talk of significant weight and cost reductions suggests the Hybrid is IMA will have either a 3-cylinder engine or a small 4-cylinder with displacement of 1.0-1.3 liters. The engine, like the platform hosting it, should also be specific to the Honda Hybrid. Ditto the expected continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The motor and battery pack should also be exclusive, Honda-engineered components designed for maximum efficiency with minimum space, weight, and cost. The batteries, which reportedly tuck beneath the cargo floor, will be conventional nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH), not the more-advanced lithium-ion (LI) type. Honda believes LI batteries are not yet ready for mass-market cars because of their cost and concerns about overheating. That means the Honda Hybrid will not have plug-in capability like the 2011 Chevrolet Volt or the LI-powered Prius expected by 2012.
Demand for hybrids and other green vehicles is fast gaining momentum, especially in the U.S., and Honda clearly wants a big piece of this expanding pie. That explains reported heavy investment in the Honda Hybrid project, which includes expansion of the Suzuka plant (from 70,000 vehicles a year to around 250,000) and setting up new facilities to produce the electric motor and related components. Though Toyota is likely to remain far ahead of Honda in hybrid-vehicle sales, Japan is number-two says it is not in a race, only continuing its drive to make cars more environmentally responsible. In that regard, Honda touts its many years of pioneering low-emissions technology--and for being named greenest automaker by the Union of Concerned Scientists four years in a row (2004-07).
Still, the 2010 Honda Hybrid is no mere image-polishing exercise. As financial analyst Koichi Ogawa pointed out in a recent Reuters report: “When you say hybrid, the image that really comes to mind is Prius. Honda is very dependent on the U.S. market, which is shifting towards things like hybrids, and for survival having a hybrid (model) is essential.” So, despite all the high-minded spin that will doubtless surround it, the Honda Hybrid is as much about earning greenbacks as greening-up the planet.
The green-car race is on, and Honda is readying three new entries. First up: a small, low-cost dedicated hybrid that could give the Toyota Prius a run for your money at purchase time and at the gas pump.
What We Know About the 2010 Honda Hybrid
It doesn not have a name yet, but Honda is promised low-cost “dedicated hybrid” car is coming into focus. The company confirmed the new model’s broad outlines in a late-May press briefing that gives us just enough detail to make good guesses about the specifics that are due to be released later this year.
What we are calling the Honda Hybrid is due to start production early in calendar 2009 and should reach dealers a few months later with a hoped-for starting price of around $20,000. That compares with $22,600 for the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid sedan, now the only gasoline/electric vehicle in the brand is portfolio. The new Hybrid will be built alongside the Civic at Honda is Suzuka plant in Japan, but on a specific (dedicated) platform shared with no other current Honda vehicle. In this way--and perhaps others, too--the 2010 Honda Hybrid mimics the top-selling Toyota Prius. However, Honda says it will also add a hybrid patterned on the sporty 2007 CR-Z concept coupe, as well as a gas/electric version of its Fit subcompact. Timing on these has not been announced, but sources forecast the CR-Z by model-year 2012, the hybrid Fit by 2015.
Company officials say the Honda Hybrid will be a 5-passenger 4-door hatchback looking somewhat like the wedge-shaped FCX Clarity, the hydrogen-fuel-cell midsize sedan that is now being leased to a handful of select Southern California consumers. The front-wheel-drive Hybrid will be smaller than Clarity, likely falling in the compact-car class. Our estimated dimensions are based in part on sightings of test prototypes based on the Honda Airwave, a compact high-body wagon not sold in the U.S.
The Honda Hybrid will use a lighter, simpler new version of the Civic Hybrid’s basic Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) drive system. Unlike other hybrid setups, notably Toyota is, IMA uses a battery-powered electric motor only to assist the gasoline engine; the car does not run on electricity alone except in certain low-speed situations. Company talk of significant weight and cost reductions suggests the Hybrid is IMA will have either a 3-cylinder engine or a small 4-cylinder with displacement of 1.0-1.3 liters. The engine, like the platform hosting it, should also be specific to the Honda Hybrid. Ditto the expected continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The motor and battery pack should also be exclusive, Honda-engineered components designed for maximum efficiency with minimum space, weight, and cost. The batteries, which reportedly tuck beneath the cargo floor, will be conventional nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH), not the more-advanced lithium-ion (LI) type. Honda believes LI batteries are not yet ready for mass-market cars because of their cost and concerns about overheating. That means the Honda Hybrid will not have plug-in capability like the 2011 Chevrolet Volt or the LI-powered Prius expected by 2012.
Demand for hybrids and other green vehicles is fast gaining momentum, especially in the U.S., and Honda clearly wants a big piece of this expanding pie. That explains reported heavy investment in the Honda Hybrid project, which includes expansion of the Suzuka plant (from 70,000 vehicles a year to around 250,000) and setting up new facilities to produce the electric motor and related components. Though Toyota is likely to remain far ahead of Honda in hybrid-vehicle sales, Japan is number-two says it is not in a race, only continuing its drive to make cars more environmentally responsible. In that regard, Honda touts its many years of pioneering low-emissions technology--and for being named greenest automaker by the Union of Concerned Scientists four years in a row (2004-07).
Still, the 2010 Honda Hybrid is no mere image-polishing exercise. As financial analyst Koichi Ogawa pointed out in a recent Reuters report: “When you say hybrid, the image that really comes to mind is Prius. Honda is very dependent on the U.S. market, which is shifting towards things like hybrids, and for survival having a hybrid (model) is essential.” So, despite all the high-minded spin that will doubtless surround it, the Honda Hybrid is as much about earning greenbacks as greening-up the planet.
The 2010 Honda Hybrid will compete against the Toyota Prius. Like Honda's FCX Clarity, which is shown here, the Hybrid is another attempt
from Honda to gain a foothold in the "green" car market.
A Notable Feature of the 2010 Honda Hybrid
Despite its probable $20,000 base price, the 2010 Honda Hybrid should not skimp on essential features like antilock brakes and curtain side airbags. Other standard equipment remains to be seen, but we’d expect at least air conditioning, a multi-position rear magic seat a la Fit, and simple but attractive cabin appointments. Pricing would probably preclude fancy Prius-style options like keyless starting or a navigation system with rearview camera, but Honda marketers may have other ideas. As for fuel economy, it’s bound to be good, but just how good is impossible to say until we have specifics on vehicle weight, engine and motor outputs, battery capacity, and other essentials.
Buying Advice for the 2010 Honda Hybrid
The 2010 Honda Hybrid should appeal for affordability, high mpg, and Honda is reputation for quality and strong resale value. Unfortunately, Honda’s answer to the Toyota Prius will have to take on a brand-new Prius that should beat it to market by several months. Expected next January as an early 2010 model, it’s said to be somewhat larger yet lighter than today is version, with better performance, higher fuel economy, and a longer electric-only driving range despite retaining NiMH batteries. Moreover, Toyota has a knack for removing cost in ways customers don not usually notice, so the next Prius may well be priced very close to the new Honda. Still, the U.S. market has plenty of room for both cars, and Honda plans on sending over 100,000 of its dedicated hybrids each year, fully one-half the model’s planned worldwide production. With all this, the Honda Hybrid should be readily available, but should also be in high demand with gas prices what they are, so be prepared to pay full sticker price and probably more.
2010 Honda Hybrid Release Date: There is nothing firm at the moment, but the announced early-2009 production start implies sales would begin in the third or fourth quarter of next year.
Honda Hybrid First Test Drive: If the above timing holds, the 2010 Honda Hybrid would likely meet the press in the spring or early summer of 2009.
Honda Hybrid Prices: The $20,000 price is not official, only a well-founded expectation based on statements by Honda officials. Though we don’t doubt Honda can meet that target at the current dollar/yen exchange rate, any further major weakening in the greenback could push the announcement-day price above $20K. So could more big rises in raw-materials costs, a major headache for all automakers these days.
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