Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC road test: new diesel transforms Civic’s company car credentials

Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC

What is it?

HONDA has developed a completely new, downsized 1.6-litre diesel engine, specifically for Europe and it appears first here in the Civic, on sale from early January.

Built in the UK and with headline figures of 94 g/km of CO2 and 78.5 mpg in the combined cycle, this new lightweight 1597 cc Honda diesel has also been designed with company car drivers and SME small fleets very much in mind.  

•  Benefit-in-Kind company car tax comes in at 13% and a 20% tax payer will pay from just £42 a month, Honda says, with a 40% tax payer paying from £84.

The low CO2 figure means this Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC is also road tax and Congestion Charge exempt in London and it can run as far as 863 miles on a single tank of fuel, according to Honda’s calculations.

This new 1.6 diesel, which supplements rather than replaces the current Civic 2.2-litre diesel (and will next appear in the CR-V), is the first example of Honda’s EarthDreams Powertrain technology series to make it to Europe. Watch out for this: Honda wants to make Earth Dreams as strong an eco brand as Efficient Dynamics is to BMW and Blue Motion to VW.

The (long awaited) diesel is, without doubt, a crucial new weapon for Honda in both the C-sector retail and company car markets and over the next three years could well account for a quarter of Honda’s sales in the UK.

 So, the eco numbers and market positioning for this Civic 1.6 i-DTEC are on the money. But how does it actually shape up on the road? Business Car Manager recently took to the road to find out.

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What’s hot?

• The new Civic 1.6 diesel is a much better ‘fit’ for the compact company car  hatchback market than the relatively large-engined Civic 2.2 i-DTEC.
• The 1.6 matches its low 94 g/km with good power ouput – 120 PS – so the car doesn’t feel underpowered. Honda indeed goes as far as to proclaim its new ‘tax busting’ 1.6 i-DTEC Civic to be number one in its class for CO2 and performance.
• Impressive economy: 70.6 mpg (urban cycle); 85.6 mpg (Extra Urban) and 78.5 mpg (EU Combined)
•  This all-new engine spins easily and is near silent at speed. Strong torque – 300 NM or 221 lbft – is on hand from low to mid-range
• Weighing 47 kgs less than Honda’s 2.2-litre i-DTEC, the new low friction 1.6 is also claimed to be the lightest engine its class.
• At 1500rpm, the 1.6-litre i-DTEC has around 40% less mechanical friction than the 2.2-litre i-DTEC. Overall, the car is a useful 54 kgs lighter.
  
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