2012 Geneva Motor Show - Honda 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine unveiled

Honda has officially stepped out of the dark tunnel and into a new era with the unveiling of its new 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine at the on-going 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The 1.6-litre diesel power plant in the first of the new generation engines to appear in the next few years under the Honda's "Earth Dreams Technology" banner. 

The new Honda 1.6-litre diesel engine will first be housed in new 2012 Euro-spec five-door Civic hatchback that will be launched officially at the 2012 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Specifically created to burn less fuel, the new diesel unit is expected to emit 95g/km of CO2 and according to Honda it is the lightest engine in its class. The unit produces 120PS of power at 4,000rpm. The new engine power plant will be manufactured at Honda's UK manufacturing facility in Swindon.

Honda had earlier confirmed to unveil the first unit in the series of efficient engines at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in February 2012 that will debut with the new Honda Civic in the European market. In India however, the range of Honda diesel engines is expected to debut with the smaller capacity 1.2-litre diesel power plant that will be equipped in the Honda Brio hatchback and is slated for an arrival by the third quarter of this year - which mean Diwali. The diesel variants of the Honda City and the Jazz hatchback will be introduced at a later stage.

With the dawn of new diesel engines in the Honda family, it is only a matter of time before the Japanese company claims back it’s lead in the automobile sector, which had slipped away because of an unavailibilty of a diesel powerplant in the company's portfolio in the era of rising petrol costs.