Honda is very proud of its new 1.6-liter diesel engine that’s more in tune with the times than their traditional 2.2-liter unit that was often shunned in markets that taxed cars on displacement.
The smaller unit now equips the Civic, Civic Tourer and CRV , and even in the latter, which is noticeably bigger than the first two, it still achieves excellent economy figures in real world conditions.
Recently, it was put through a “rigorous independent test,” the MPG Marathon, in the UK, which took it on a 509-mile (819 km) drive in mixed conditions with the aim of achieving the best possible economy. By the end of the run, the car’s trip computer was displaying a figure of 77.86 mpg UK (3.6 l/100km or 64.8 mpg US). It noticeably exceeds the manufacturer claimed figure of 62.8 mpg UK (4.5 l/100km) .
Keep in mind though that, while Honda doesn’t explicitly mention this in their official release in regards to the achievement, the vehicle used was front-wheel drive, not all-wheel drive and used a manual gearbox.
In a similar test conducted not long ago, the British-built Civic powered by the same small diesel hit 84.87 mpg UK or 3.4 l/100km (70.6mpg US), finishing third overall in the aforementioned test – the manufacturer-claimed figure is 78.5 mpg UK or 3.6 l/100km.
By Andrei Nedelea
