The mind is a very powerful thing. It has a tactical advantage over you all the time.
And that is why it is the mind that always wins.
Train it, and you will have the most lethal tool mankind has ever seen, alter it,
and you'll be the strongest person alive. It's all about how you take up this fight with the matter
that sits between your ears. And just like that, there's this car from Honda, which has a
very strong mind, offering great tactical advantage over challenges that we motorists face.
Sounds intense, doesn't it? Just like this City eHEV. Now this is one of the very first electric
hybrids that is aimed for the mass market in India. And talking about those tactical mind
games, it is really very smart, heck, it even has a mind of its own and has its own ideologies,
works on the principles of Atkinson's cycle, have you heard of that?
Back in the days, the world was introduced to a new timing sequence that would delay
the closing of the intake valve during the compression stroke,
keeping the intake valve open slightly longer effectively reduced the engine's displacement
during the intake cycle, but retained the full ratio of the expansion in the combustion,
as a result, minimised use of fuel during the intake stroke for higher fuel efficiency.
Well, that is great philosophy Honda. But I'll tell you about the Atkinson's
cycle has been around for quite some time, a lot of time, actually. So let me take
this opportunity to tell you something more modern and more relevant. Like for instance,
the City eHEV uses two electric motors and this is quite a unique setup.
This is a setup that resembles what Honda uses with their Accord that is sold globally
and in conjunction with the 1.5-litre petrol engine, it all works very well, which I'll be
talking about in the coming minutes of the video. So stay tuned and be a little patient all right.
Every car engine undergoes a lot of stress in city driving,
particularly during warmup and in stop-start conditions, whether it is due to traffic
or short trips, ordinary car oils may not be enough to protect your car engine and that is
why we recommend fully synthetic Castrol Magnatec Stop-Start for nonstop protection.
Now, instead of telling you what both of these electric motors do,
let me take a different approach, let me tell you how the engine behaves
around these two motors and that should, I think, explain things slightly more uncomplicatedly
because this is a very smart car, but it can also be a little, just a little complicated.
So the 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle engine is clubbed with two electric motors. One is a traction motor
that powers the wheels and the second could be called a motor slash generator and I'll tell
you why because this motor is only used to fire up the engine, the rest of the times it works as a
very powerful generator and that is the one that sends all that electric power the traction motor.
So the engine it has three very well defined purposes. The first one is obviously to power
the generator which then generates electricity to power the traction motor, which then ultimately
powers the front wheels. The second is to charge the battery pack that sits in the boot
space and the third is to power the front wheels itself and that happens when a heavy duty clutch
disengages the hybrid drive system and engages the internal combustion engine only. Now this happens
between speeds of 80 and 120 or maybe above 120, who knows right? I mean who knows. Anyways,
it will take over the hybrid system and it is denoted by a little cog
on the screen here, just like that, yep. And at this point,
the hybrid system is only assisting the engine to help its performance because remember this is
an Atkinson-cycle engine which means it is slightly detuned as compared to a standard
i-VTEC engine so it is a hybrid system that takes those power figures and makes them reasonably good.
Pretty straightforward right? Now this entire powertrain primarily works as a hybrid system.
Which is not as an exciting as it sounds because I'll tell you what, the minute you start her up,
the traction motor is able to produce all of that electric torque from the word go.
It is a lot of fun when you're driving it in the city, I can promise you that.
But I'll tell you what, it's not just a city where you can have fun with the City eHEV,
wow, well that rhymed, but anyways, get her out on the highway and it is able to gather speeds
really quickly, quite fun to drive as well, but the driving experience is very different and that
is obviously because there is no turbo that spools up and kicks you back in the seat. This is all of
that electric power being combined with your ICE power and driving the front wheels. It is fast,
let me tell you that it is very fast and it's also very refined and quiet. It's quite good.
It's so great, in fact that you can drive like an absolute maniac, okay, like an
absolute maniac. Not like Cyrus but an absolute maniac and still extract 22 kmpl from this car.
Guilt free driving, no range anxiety, this is pure fun, look at my smile, you ought to smile, because
hybrid systems are being made more accessible and this is the need of
the hour and this is just working out so well. Ah, I want to buy this right now.
I had my doubts, I'll tell you that when I sat here in the morning,
I was wondering how the drive experience would be, would I be able to make out when
it's altering between the drive modes, when the clutch is being engaged? But no, it's a very
refined and very smooth driving experience where were you're City hybrid all these years?
Now it all can't be extremely great in here can it? I mean it will make me sound a
little biassed. Maybe I'm maybe I'm not, but I'll tell you what, the only complaint
that I have is despite this being a non gearbox driven vehicle, or a single speed driven vehicle,
it still feels like it has a CVT sitting somewhere in here. And that is just something that I don't
like because every time you step on the gas
it still seems to have that rubberband effect,
but it is fast. Oh you heard you heard that, it is fast, it is fast.
The two motor eCVT gearbox might not be
an enthusiasts delight. But then again, it comes with its own benefits, performance and efficiency.
The other tactical advantage to better its performance is regenerative braking, which
can be altered by two pedals behind the wheels, just like any modern EV. The difference being
it's programmed to return to the original setting every now and then. But if you want
it to stick to a regular setting, you got to shift the lever to the B mode.
But wait that is not all, Honda's mind game is stronger than you think it is. So the City eHEV
will obviously help you conserve fuel, but then it also promises to keep you safe.
Now how does it do it? Notice that camera sitting on the windscreen? That camera indicates that the
City eHEV is equipped with Honda sensing which is basically a level two autonomous ADAS system.
And that means that the City eHEV offers features like adaptive cruise control, automatic high beam,
it can also stop itself in case it senses that you have fallen asleep behind the wheel.
It can watch your lanes and also warn you in case you're changing lanes without indicating
you know, it just teaches you to be a better driver and keeps your family
and occupants the rest of the occupants safe. So you not only have one very strong reason
to buy it you have two extremely strong reasons to consider the City eHEV.
Then there are the looks itself that have been tweaked slightly starting with this grille that
is a little bit more aggressive. That Honda logo is eliminated and it has a blue tinge around it
obviously denotes it being a hybrid vehicle. Then you'll notice on the lower section of the bumper,
the fog lamp trims are different and they claw onto the bumper, quite aggressive.
On the side you'll notice a dual-tone treatment with these wheels and if you move to the back,
you'll also notice a very well incorporated bootlid boiler and a carbon finished diffuser.
All of it combined especially with this colour, make it look absolutely gorgeous, I quite like it.
The hybrid game is moving ahead stronger. Toyota and Maruti Suzuki are around the
corner with their strong hybrid SUVs and more manufacturers are expected to follow
which is very much the need of the hour. While our country continues to develop its charging
infrastructure, it is strong hybrids that will help us fight against the increase in fuel prices
and environment degradation. Hondas are known for their innovation and manufacturing excellence.
Their two electric motors setup is unique in its own way and boy does it work amazingly well.
Totally seamless both in terms of performance and efficiency.
I'm extremely glad we've finally been introduced with an accessible, sensible and reliable strong hybrid
vehicle. Tactical games and very innovative ones indeed, somewhat reminds me of ASIMO
Honda's adorable robot from the past decade. That's how one should eye Honda City eHEV,
a machine that helps better our day to day.