Honda hybrid
Hybrid tech keeps firm at cutting edge
When it comes to eco-friendly innovation, Honda leads the way. Take a look at its line-up and you will find everything from hybrid models to super-efficient diesel engines and a host of fuel-saving features.
The highlight of the Japanese giant’s UK range is the petrol-electric Insight. For the same price as a mid-spec Ford Focus, you get a hybrid that promises incredibly low CO2 emissions of 101g/km and superb 64.2mpg economy.
As part of the hi-tech drivetrain, there’s a stop-start set-up that helps drivers save fuel at traffic lights and in jams. But the Insight also gives owners a helping hand to increase their own efficiency. A special dashboard display glows green when your driving is being kind to the environment, which encourages you to be gentle with your right foot.
For buyers who can’t live with the Insight’s firm ride and low-rent cabin, Honda also offers the more expensive and better-equipped Civic IMA. This takes power from a similar drivetrain, although it puts out slightly more CO2, at 109g/km.
Even the firm’s traditional diesel engine can claim to be green. The 2.2-litre i-CTDi was one of the first oil-burning units to meet tough Euro V emissions regulations. Lightweight, powerful, refined and fitted with a standard particulate filter, it puts out an impressively low 134g/km in the Civic family hatch.
The next-generation i-DTEC unit emits 148g/km in the Accord saloon.
On top of this, Honda is leading the way in the development of fuel cell technology. Its FCX Clarity is the first commercially available car of its type, and uses hydrogen as a power source – which means the only exhaust emission is water vapour.
But UK drivers will have to wait until 2011 at the earliest before they can get behind the wheel.
Finally, buyers should note the smaller environmental impact of choosing the company’s Jazz, Civic and CR-V, when compared to some rivals. As all three models are built at Honda’s plant in Swindon, Wilts, less CO2 is emitted in the process of delivering them to your dealer.
BEST ECO BUY: Insight
