Honda’s near-future plans include a redesign of its subcompact Fit hatchback. Slated to debut next summer as a 2015 model, the new Fit has a more aggressive design and will run a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine from Honda’s "Earth Dreams" powertrain.
But the intriguing question remains: Will Honda finally give us the Fit Hybrid?
On sale in Europe and Japan since 2010, the next-generation Fit Hybrid sports some interesting technologies. Instead of the Integrated Motor Assist system seen in other Honda hybrids, a cheaper hybrid solution that can't power the car on electricity alone, the 2015 Fit will use Honda’s new Sport Hybrid i-DCD system.
Sport Hybrid i-DCD installs a single electric motor inside a new 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which is paired with a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle gas engine. Lighter and more efficient lithium-ion batteries replace the nickel metal-hydride units, while the continuously variable transmission is also gone.
With a fully electric compressor and an electric servo brake system improving electric regenerative efficiency, Honda claims that the 2015 Fit Hybrid returns 35-percent higher fuel economy than that of the Integrated Motor Assist hybrids. Testing in Japan returned an impressive estimated 86 mpg.
Honda is also promising an upgraded interior experience for the Fit, which has been an area of complaints in the past. Honda hopes that its efforts in revamping the Fit is can boost sales: Despite critical acclaim, the Fit ranks fifth in subcompact sales so far in 2013, and the segment is becoming more crowded every year.
All of that having been said, the current Fit Hybrid isn’t offered in the United States, and we don’t expect this new one to be, either. Why, you ask? Well, the price of the hybrid powertrain pushes the economy-focused Fit into a range where everyone looking at a Fit will simply opt for the already-economical conventional-engine models. It seems much more logical for Honda to fit the new hybrid system in its CRZ, Insight and Civic Hybrid, the last of which is priced considerably closer to its gas-powered versions.
The Civic Hybrid, for example, costs $25,150, or more than $5,300 on top of a base Civic LX. While that price includes many features that are optional on lower-grade Civics, only 2 percent of Civic buyers take the hybrid. We can't imagine the Fit Hybrid selling for much less, and at that price, you're talking about a regular Civic for thousands less or the much larger Accord for the same price. For Honda, the cost of certifying the car -- even after it's assembled at Honda's new plant in Mexico, versus Japan -- may not be worth it.
America may yet see a version of the i-DCD system, though; current reports suggest a whole new subcompact sedan and crossover based on the Fit platform being offered to U.S. consumers. Both the new sedan and crossover would feature the new hybrid system, and they could arrive for sale in the United States as soon as early 2014.
Source;
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/post--2015-honda-fit-hybrid-dont-expect-it-in-the-us
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