Honda City hybrid launched in Japan

Honda Motor Co. started sales of the all-new Grace hybrid sedan across Japan today. This car is very similar to the City in India, albeit with a few cosmetic changes, and a hybrid drivetrain.

 

The all-new Grace is equipped with Honda’s Sport Hybrid Intelligent Dual Clutch Drive (i-DCD) that combines a 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine, 7-speed dual-clutch transmission gearbox with a built-in electric motor, and the “Intelligent Power Unit” with a built-in lithium-ion battery. The Intelligent Power Unit was developed by the Japanese carmaker with the aim of making every component lighter, more compact and more efficient.

 

The all-new Grace offers a four-wheel-drive version in its series line-up. One of the major highlights of this car is its high fuel efficiency. It is expected to give 34.4kpl which, Honda claims, is the best among all hybrid models in that market.

 

The only features on the exterior of the car that set it apart from our Honda City are a blue-tinted chrome trim on the front grille, a mildly revised front bumper for better aerodynamics, LED tail lights and a small bootlid spoiler. The Grace gets 15-inch steel wheels with hubcaps, while only the top-spec EX trim gets 16-inchers for two-wheel-drive models; the four-wheel-drive version gets 15-inchers.

 

As far as the interiors go, the only changes are the small blue gear selector in place of the one that comes on the City, and the instrument cluster to read out battery level information. Besides this, the interiors are identical. The Grace comes loaded with features such as Vehicle Stability Assist (which is Honda’s term for electronic stability control), hill start to make driving up slopes easier, heated front seats, and side and curtain airbags. Honda has also added a car equipped with a rotating front passenger seat to make things easier for people with special needs.

 

Honda has priced the base model of the Grace at Yen 1,950,000 (Rs 10.14 lakh) and is targeting sales of 300 units a month.

 

Although the Honda Grace has a lot in common with the City sedan sold in India, we don’t expect Honda to bring in the Grace here anytime soon due to lack of significant benefits on offer on hybrid vehicles, which could result in a high sticker price.