Honda debuts CR-V Hybrid Prototype
Honda has lifted the curtain on the new CR-V Hybrid Prototype – the brand’s first electrified SUV powertrain available in Europe. Intriguingly, the car features styling that hints at the forthcoming European specification CR-V model range.
The prototype combines the familiar silhouette of the world’s best-selling SUV with a sportier design. Wider, taller and longer than the previous iteration, it also has a wider stance and broader, more muscular wheel arches.
Next up: power. The two-motor i-MMD (Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive) system comprises an electric propulsion motor, a 2.0-litre i-VTEC four-cylinder Atkinson cycle gasoline engine for electrical energy generation and propulsion, and a separate electric generator motor. The hybrid system does not need a conventional transmission, fitted instead with a single fixed-gear ratio that creates a direct connection between moving components, enabling a smooth transfer of torque within the system.
The i-MMD system also determines how to use fuel and electrical energy in the most efficient way, meaning the driver doesn’t need to adjust among the three driving modes: EV Drive, Hybrid Drive and Engine Drive.
In EV Drive, the propulsion motor draws its power solely from the car’s batteries, delivering zero-emissions driving. In Hybrid Drive, the gasoline engine supplies power to the electric generator motor, which in turn delivers power to the electric propulsion motor. (Excess power from the gasoline engine is diverted back via the generator motor to recharge the battery pack – pretty nifty, huh?) In Engine Drive, the wheels are directly driven by the gasoline engine, with an ‘on-demand’ peak-power boost available from the electric propulsion motor.
In most urban driving situations, the vehicle will move between Hybrid Drive and EV Drive for optimum efficiency. Engine Drive is engaged as needed for brisk acceleration and for efficient highway driving.
And here’s some more info that’s sure to get your engines running: The 2018 CR-V will have Honda’s 1.5 litre VTEC TURBO petrol engine, with a choice of either six-speed manual or continuously variable CVT transmission. Also important: the all-new CR-V will not feature a diesel powertrain in European markets.
More details about the all-new Honda CR-V will be confirmed when the production specification vehicle is unveiled early next year, just in time for its official release in 2018.
