Could Force-induced Euro Civic Give Honda N.A. Turbo Fits?

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

Honda Europe announced Monday their engine lineup for the new, 10th-generation Honda Civic, and it’s completely different than the engines we will get in North America.

The Civic will once again be a global product with the same architecture and design employed in both North America and Europe. Under the hood though, the compact will be powered by 1-liter and 1.5-liter VTEC turbo engines on the Old Continent. In North America, we get the choice of a new 1.5-liter turbo engine — which is different from the one in Europe — or the legendary K20 2-liter naturally aspirated four cylinder.

However, with automakers downsizing their engines across all products, could that European 1-liter turbo three-cylinder engine end up in our Honda Fit?

Honda wouldn’t be the first automaker in North America since the resurgence of turbocharging to put such an engine in a subcompact car. Or in a subcompact crossover.

Ford currently offers the Fiesta with a similar 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine and a high-po 1.6-liter turbo for the Fiesta ST. General Motors offers a 1.4-liter turbo in the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact and Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore subcompact crossovers.

By offering a turbocharged engine in the Fit, Honda could either expand its current offering of engines or replace the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with the turbocharged unit, possibly offering greater fuel economy — at least in EPA testing.

Or, using GM’s template, the boosted mill could be used in the new Honda HR-V.

When asked, Honda provided no guidance on the future of the Fit or HR-V.

We will have a full review of the tenth-generation Honda Civic sedan Tuesday.

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • Seth Parks Seth Parks on Oct 26, 2015

    This move may be a reflection of Honda's global strategy. Honda ranks 10th in China and controls well under it's goal of 10% market share there. China recently announced preferential tax treatment for vehicles with engines displacing less than 1.6L, so Honda's displacement decrease with the addition of turbocharging may simply reflect their need to boost their competitiveness in China, while maintaining greater uniformity in global production.

    • RideHeight RideHeight on Oct 26, 2015

      Now *this* is interesting. Where do you get your info on J-car sales in China? Any particularly good web sites?

  • Sportyaccordy Sportyaccordy on Oct 26, 2015

    If this thing can fit an infant seat and deliver the feedback my 09 Civic does, I may be able to look past its god awful looks for that turbo power.

    • See 4 previous
    • Sportyaccordy Sportyaccordy on Oct 26, 2015

      @Maxb49 Turbocharged engines are basically blank checks for horsepower. Whatever they rate it at out of the gate is irrelevant. Plus the torquey nature of modern turbo engines has much higher average HP than an equally powerful NA engine, which means much better real world performance. They just need to fix the origami dodgeball looks.

  • TW5 TW5 on Oct 26, 2015

    Honda's powertrain strategy for North America reveals the company's confusion regarding CAFE and shifting consumer preferences. On the one hand, Honda will offer a powerful 1.5L turbo with a CVT that will suppress its power output. On the other hand, Honda will offer genuine efficiency by bumping standard N/A displacement and tuning for low-end power. One foot in the turbo vaporware camp, and one foot in the real world. Should we applaud Honda's plan to accommodate everyone or mock their inability to make a decision?

  • TimeFlies TimeFlies on Oct 27, 2015

    The author states that this civic will have a k-series motor for the 2.0. Is this correct? If so, source. That would be great.

    • See 1 previous
    • TimeFlies TimeFlies on Oct 27, 2015

      @Mark Stevenson Thanks Mark. Loooong time lurker. This literally made me create an account just to find out. The K architecture is incredibly good, and I'm curious if this new K motor will be similar architecture in the CR-V, et al. The aftermarket would be happy to hear this.

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