Best of both worlds — Honda Car’s e:HEV offers ‘much-desired’ middle ground

Amid the sudden popularity of pure electric vehicles, hybrids still have a role to play with their best-of-both-worlds propulsion systems. It offers a middle ground for those who are not yet ready to switch from a gasoline-powered ride to pure electric but want to save fuel.

Honda Cars was one of the first manufacturers to popularize the hybrid when it launched in 1999, the Insight, a two-seater liftback powered by a 3-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor.

Since then, the Japanese automaker has been perfecting the technology not only to reduce CO2 emissions but to retain what Honda calls the "fun in driving," where one can enjoy driving a vehicle that has responsive handling as well as confident braking.

Honda Cars' e:HEV hybrid-electric system was created by combining all of the engine and electrification technologies the company has amassed to date, and adopting a host of new technologies to achieve overwhelmingly high fuel economy while experiencing the joy of driving.

The electric motor drives the vehicle for the entire speed range while the gasoline engine is engaged only while cruising at high speed. This system achieves low tailpipe emissions unique only to the e:HEV.

Getting only the best qualities

A typical gasoline engine can generate high output at high-rpm range, but has difficulty in generating large torque at low-speed range such as when the car starts moving from a stop. Due to this characteristic, fuel economy is badly affected.

On the other hand, an electric motor can generate maximum torque from the low-speed range such as when the vehicle starts moving. By using an electric motor at low speed and the gasoline at high speed, the hybrid-electric vehicle achieves high efficiency and thus high fuel economy.

Automakers around the world use different hybrid-electric systems and, depending on the size of the vehicle, various systems are applied.

Types of hybrid systems

In general, there are three types of hybrid systems: The first is the series hybrid, in which the engine generates electricity and the electric motor drives the vehicle; next is the parallel hybrid, where the engine primarily drives the vehicle while the motor assists; and last is the series-parallel hybrid, in which both the engine and motor act together to drive the vehicle.

For the low- to mid-speed range, where the motor has an advantage over the engine, Honda Cars' e:HEV works like a series hybrid, and drives the vehicle with a motor. During high-speed cruising, where the engine has an advantage over the motor, the e:HEV works like a parallel hybrid, and the engine which is simply and directly connected to the tires, primarily drives the vehicle.

In other words, the e:HEV is an intelligent hybrid system unique to Honda, taking advantage of both series and parallel hybrid systems.

Honda Cars offers four versions of its hybrid system. The first is an e:HEV that has an 1.5-liter Atkinson Cycle DOHC Engine. This small version of the e:HEV is suitable for compact models of the brand.

The second is the e:HEV that features a 2.0-liter Atkinson Cycle DOHC Engine that achieves excellent driving performance, fuel economy and a high-level quiet drive.

The third type is an e:HEV with a 2.0-liter Direct-Injected Atkinson Cycle DOHC Engine. This combination pursues high environmental efficiency while delivering top-notch performance driving.

The fourth type is the e:HEV that boasts a 2.0-liter Direct-Injected Atkinson Cycle DOHC Engine and Two Motors in a Parallel Axis Arrangement. This combination realizes Honda Cars' goal to achieve both the fun in driving and sophisticated quality at a high level.

Honda Cars said it will continue to pursue even greener numbers across the board as two-thirds of its global vehicle sales will be electrified by the year 2030, featuring both electric and hybrid vehicles.

The company said it has the luxury of being able to take a measured approach to introducing next-generation electrified powertrains — putting them on the road only after passing stringent technological and safety tests.

The Japanese automaker emphasized that, when a company like Honda Cars, with decades of experience in electrification is behind the manufacture of hybrid vehicles, quality and safety are never compromised.