New 1.2L Diesel Engine for Next-Gen Brio: Fresh Rumors Erupt

The new 1.5L i-DTEC has changed Honda’s fortunes here in India. A company which once did not want to enter into diesels, is now thriving on it in the subcontinent! 

While the 1.6L mill is winning laurels everywhere, the 1.5L version of the same engine has been getting Honda India some handsome amount of business. The original engine had to be made into a 1.5 L one to fit into the government’s small car classification. Well, while it found home on the Amaze and City, Honda thinks it is too big to be used on the Brio hatch. At the same time they feel their cute little hatch needs a diesel to be competitive and so, they have come up with a solution…a smaller engine!

Honda-Brio

As per a new report on Autocar India, Honda is working on a 1.2L diesel mill. The 1.5 L engine is a four cylinder motor and this smaller engine is going to be a downsized version of the same; with one cylinder less! Making a three pot mill out of an existing engine is not just going to save Honda a lot of time, but also the tons of money required to develop an engine from scratch.

The 1.5L i-DTEC has shined particularly thanks to its amazing fuel efficiency figures, and the 1.2 L mill can be expected to score even better! Looks like Maruti will not have long to boast of having the most fuel efficient engine in the industry.

Honda-i-DTEC-Engine

It must be remembered that actual test mules of Brio diesel have been snapped many months back but Honda quashed the reports of Brio diesel launch citing the fact that the NVH levels on the 1.2L diesel on test mules were above acceptable levels for the company. With the rumors getting lit up again, it remains to be seen, how has Honda worked around those ‘NVH’s to make them acceptable!

Honda should ideally also update the Brio while launching the engine, hopefully making the interiors and features a bit more upmarket. 2017 is what Autocar says is the timeline for the Next-Gen Brio with this diesel engine to make way…Late..?

Related: Honda’s EcoSport Rivaling Brio-based Compact SUV in New Rendering

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