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Honda Motor today launched the Civic Hybrid – the world’s most efficient petrol-powered five-seat passenger vehicle.

The Civic Hybrid – which uses just 3.41 litres per 100km – goes on sale in Japan tomorrow.

Honda designed the Civic Hybrid to meet three primary objectives – the world’s highest level of environmental integrity, strong driving performance and the practicality of a passenger sedan.

It boasts an even more fuel-efficient version of Honda’s original Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system within the convenient packaging of the Civic four-door sedan using Honda’s Global Compact Platform.

The Civic Hybrid features a state-of-the-art 1.3-litre i-DSI lean-burn combustion engine and Honda’s VTEC Cylinder Idling System that adapts Honda’s VTEC variable valve control technology to significantly increase the amount of electrical energy recovered during deceleration.

This new engine improves upon the Insight’s hybrid technology with a more effective assist motor and more efficient Power Control Unit (PCU). Combined with the Honda Multimatic S continuously variable transmission, the Civic Hybrid delivers both ultra-high fuel efficiency and superior drivability.

As with the original system that powered the Honda Insight – the world’s most fuel-efficient petrol-powered vehicle – the new IMA System uses a petrol engine as its main power source, assisted by an electric motor as the need arises.

During acceleration and other instances of heavy engine load, the motor assist system contributes considerable torque, resulting in both lower fuel consumption and powerful acceleration. At cruising speeds, when engine load is lower, the motor assist system shuts down. The newly developed 1.3-litre i-DSI lean-burn engine with the VTEC Cylinder Cut-off System achieves the highest standard of fuel economy in the world.

During deceleration, the motor converts the dissipated energy into electricity, or regenerative braking. The VTEC Cylinder Cut-off System reduces engine friction during deceleration, greatly improving the vehicle's electrical regenerative efficiency.

When stopping, at traffic lights for example, the engine shuts off automatically, then restarts when the driver steps on the accelerator pedal. This automatic idle-stop system contributes to both greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

The 1.3-litre i-DSI engine’s rapid combustion characteristics, combined with a configuration of two spark plugs per cylinder, allows the fuel-air mixture to be made even leaner, for improved fuel economy.

The rocker arms used within Honda’s VTEC Cylinder Cut-off System are configured for dual operation in either valve-lift mode or idle mode. Normally, they are engaged via a synchronising piston. During deceleration, the synchro piston is positioned inside the idle-mode rocker arm, disengaging the lift-mode rocker arm so that the valve remains at rest, effectively sealing off the cylinder. Three of the four cylinders can be shut down, achieving 50 per cent lower engine friction during deceleration than the previous IMA System.

Also featured are both a high-density, 900-cell three-stage catalytic converter and a lean burn-compatible adsorption-type NOx catalytic converter. The result is a clean-burning engine that meets exhaust-gas emissions standards for ultra-low emissions vehicles set by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The motor assist system is made up of an ultra-thin DC brushless motor, a nickel metal hydride battery, and a Power Control Unit (PCU). The new system employs a higher-output motor, a more efficient battery, and a lighter, more compact PCU, resulting in greater packaging freedom.

Improvements to the internal magnetic coils of the ultra-thin DC brushless motor – which boasts the world's highest output density and practical efficiency – achieve 30 per cent greater assisting and regenerative torque than the DC brushless motor of the Insight. A sintering diffusion bonding process is used to firmly fuse different metals together, allowing the most appropriate materials to be used in construction of the rotor to meet the different demand criteria for its inner section, which transmits torque, and for its outer section, which is in contact with the magnetic coils. Strengthening the section that transmits the torque and increasing the magnetic-flux density results in higher torque output.

The inverter and the pre-driver have been combined, reducing the weight of the PCU by around 30 per cent, and its volume by around 40 per cent, in comparison to the previous system. Meanwhile, the efficiency of the battery modules has been increased, resulting in reduced energy loss. The battery's storage box and peripheral equipment have been made more compact, for an approximate 30 per cent reduction in volume.

The lighter, more compact, more efficient PCU and battery have been integrated into a single Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) that can be stored behind the rear seat. Integrating the IPU allows the two cooling circuits previously used to be combined into one. Total volume of the PCU and battery has been reduced by around 50 per cent compared to the previous system.

Packaging efficiency has been significantly improved by storing the IPU behind the rear seat and employing a flat-floor design.

Special aerodynamic parts enhance the Civic Hybrid’s aerodynamic performance – this includes a lower vehicle height and a flattened undercarriage with engine under-cover and rear floor side covers.

Its clean-burning performance has also earned the Civic Hybrid Low Emission Vehicle status from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, with emissions 75 per cent lower than required by 2000 emissions regulations.

More than 90 per cent of the Civic Hybrid is recyclable, while almost all interior injection-molded parts are made of olefin resin for maximum recyclability.

As part of its long-held commitment to the environment, Honda continues to develop vehicles that are both clean-burning and more fuel efficient.

The company aims to ensure that all Honda passenger vehicles are recognised by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as Low-Emissions Vehicles by 2002, and that the majority of its vehicles earn Ultra Low-Emission Vehicle status by 2005.

Honda is also working to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles by 25 per cent compared to Japanese domestic average fuel consumption for 1995, by 2005.