Upgraded diesel engine joins Honda Civic line-up

• Enhanced 1.6 litre i-DTEC engine available from March 2018
• Powertrain upgrades include higher-strength pistons and low-friction cylinder bores
• Power output remains at 120 PS and maximum torque at 300 Nm

A comprehensively revised 120 PS 1.6 litre i-DTEC diesel engine will join the Honda Civic range in Europe from March 2018, offering an outstanding combination of performance and efficiency.

Honda has made significant improvements to the engine and the exhaust system to maximise real world performance. The efficiency enhancements for the new Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC result in provisional fuel economy and CO₂ emissions starting from 3.7 l/100 km (76.3 mpg)* and 99g/km (under the updated NEDC test)*.

The improvements to the 1.6-litre diesel include a reduction in cylinder friction, thanks to ‘super plateau honing’ of the bores to enable smoother piston movement. To further reduce cooling loss, pistons are made from forged steel.

The 1,597cc engine uses the same advanced Bosch fuel injection system as before, and features a small, high-efficiency turbocharger, low-pressure EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) system and a high-intake flow, high-swirl cylinder head port. A high-strength, lightweight slender crankshaft and all-aluminium, open-deck, high-pressure, die-cast engine block minimise the engine’s weight. For the new i-DTEC, additional cast ribs have been added to the cylinder block to increase structural rigidity and, consequently, improve the management of noise, vibration and harshness.

Honda’s new 1.6 i-DTEC is also one of the first engines to be officially tested through the Real Driving Emission (RDE) procedure to validate NOx and particulate emission levels. The diesel powertrain has a new NOx Storage Converter (NSC) system with a higher density cell improving NOx emission performance. A silver thin-coated particulate filter improves the combustion speed of particulate matter, extending exhaust component durability.

The 1.6 i-DTEC engine produces 120 PS at 4,000 rpm and 300 Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm, powering the Civic from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 10.5 seconds.

Assembled at Honda of the UK Manufacturing in Swindon, the revised engine will be available in both the four-door and five-door variants of the new tenth-generation Civic.

A nine-speed automatic transmission will further bolster the Civic’s powertrain options in mid-2018, representing its first ever application in a two-wheel drive car.

* Honda internal data on the NEDC cycle according to Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 with the tightened test conditions prescribed by Regulation (EU) 2017/1153

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Editors notes:

RDE tests

Real Driving Emission (RDE) tests measure the pollutants such as NOx emitted by cars while driven on the road. RDE will be run alongside the laboratory-based test cycles such as NEDC and WLTP to ensure the delivery of low emissions from vehicles during on-road conditions throughout Europe.

The RDE test is performed as part of emissions type approval on public roads in real traffic, using a Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) with binding limits for NOx and particulate number emissions. The diesel RDE limits (initially 168 mg/km for NOx and 9×10¹¹ particles/km for particulate number) come into force on 1 September 2017 for new vehicle types.