Two electric motors and a 2.0-litre petrol engine will drive the Civic e:HEV, said to be available only in sedan form for Southeast Asia

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SINGAPORE

It has been revealed that Singapore will officially be retailing the recently-launched Honda Civic e:HEV, but production bottlenecks, partially caused by the worldwide semiconductor chip shortage, means that the car will only arrive in 2023.

It’s too early in the cycle to set a price tag, but we estimate that based on present COE prices, this could be a S$200k with COE kind of car, around the same as what a Toyota Camry Hybrid retails for. The Honda Civic e:HEV is already on sale in Thailand, and Singapore is likely to get the car in similar configuration.

This means it will be powered by a 2.0-litre, Atkinson-cycle petrol engine with two compact electric motors feeding off lithium-ion batteries. Performance specifications are not yet confirmed for Singapore, but the Thai version of the Civic e:HEV has a total power output of 184 horsepower, with a fuel economy of 4.7L/100km. The only real information that Kah Motor, Singapore’s official Honda dealer, has made known is that based on projected power output, it will definitely be a Category B COE car. 

Also seen in cars like the Honda Jazz e:HEV, The eHEV hybrid system that Honda employs is tuned to allow the car to work primarily as an EV in low speed, start-stop urban driving, where internal combustion engines are typically very inefficient. Whenever quick acceleration is required, both the electric motors and petrol engine fire up to get the car moving quickly. At constant highway speed, the petrol engine keeps the car at a steady cruising speed with minimal effort while simultaneously recharging the car’s lithium-ion batteries.  

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Honda claims that the latest iteration of its Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) and new Power Control Unit (PCU) feature greatly improved power and energy density, allowing the electric motor to take more of the load in a greater range of driving scenarios. This enables the engine to run at a lower operating speed, reducing fuel consumption and allowing greater levels of acceleration at higher speeds.

Interior trim and equipment levels for Singapore have also not yet been revealed, but a look at the current-gen Honda Civic should give you a good idea of what to expect. The cabin architecture and design between the hybrid and petrol versions are identical, and the Honda Sensing suite of driver assistance systems is likely to be offered as standard equipment. This incorporates autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane centering and lane keeping assist, as well as front departure alert.

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Europe has a similarly configured Civic e:HEV on sale in hatchback form as well but it has been confirmed that it will not be available for the ASEAN region. 

Even though sedans are no longer the must-buy car in the face of the ever-growing SUV segment, the Honda Civic name still carries with it a legacy that has moved across 11 generations. While the Honda HR-V in its many forms remains a strong seller even in these times of high COE prices, the Civic retains a strong following for fans of Japanese designed sedans. 

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