Japan Auto News: Honda Begins Sales of the All-New "Grace" Hybrid Sedan
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Tokyo; On December 1, 2014 Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today began sales of the
all-new Grace hybrid sedan at dealerships across Japan.
Being
developed as a compact sedan for a new era under the development concept
"innovation of the compact sedan," the all-new Grace fuses together the
easy handling and excellent fuel economy of a compact vehicle in 5-number
size category and spacious cabin, stately styling, high visibility and
tactile qualities and agile driving experience of an upper-middle-class
sedan.
While a compact sedan, the cabin space for rear seat
occupants comes close to that of the Accord Hybrid thanks to Honda's
ingenious packaging developed within a vehicle that features a long
wheelbase and stately styling. The combination of high-quality occupant
comfort and excellent quietness provides all occupants with a relaxing,
enjoyable and comfortable drive.
As for the powertrain, the all-new
Grace is equipped with Honda's SPORT HYBRID i-DCD(1) one-motor hybrid
system that enables the driver to start in EV mode and realizes both
outstanding fuel economy of 34.4 km/L (JC08mode)(2) , which is the best
among all hybrid sedan models(3) in the market, and highly-responsive and
dynamic driving performance. Moreover, for the first time as a compact
hybrid sedan in 5-number size category(4), the all-new Grace offers a 4WD
version in its lineup, enhancing security for customers who drive in colder
climates and/or snowy areas while benefiting from the excellent fuel
economy that can be achieved only by a hybrid vehicle.
The English
word "grace" includes the meaning of "elegance" and "kindness." The name
Grace represents the passion of the development team who strived to create
a sedan that envelops the time people spend in the vehicle with their loved
ones.
Key features of the all-new Grace
Spacious and
comfortable cabin and packaging come close to those of an upper-middle
sedan
- Cabin space which is almost as spacious as that of an
upper-middle sedan was realized within the easy-to-handle compact body in
5-number size category of the all-new Grace. In addition to its long
wheelbase, placing rear seats at the rearmost possible position helped
create legroom for rear seat occupants as spacious as that of the Accord
Hybrid.
- While placing rear seats at the rearmost possible position,
opening of the rear doors was enlarged to increase the accessibility.
-
The Grace features a large and user-friendly trunk space with a capacity of
430L(5). Despite being a hybrid vehicle, a through-hole to the trunk was
made possible by placing a compact design IPU (intelligent power unit)
under the floor.
Honda SPORT HYBRID i-DCD realizes both No. 1 fuel
economy among hybrid sedan models and dynamic driving
- The all-new
Grace is equipped with Honda's SPORT HYBRID i-DCD that combines a 1.5L
Atkinson cycle DOHC i-VTEC engine, 7-speed DCT with built-in high-output
motor and the IPU with a built-in lithium-ion battery. With this
powertrain, the all-new Grace realizes outstanding fuel economy of 34.4
km/L, which is the best among all hybrid sedan models in the market.
-
For the first time for a compact hybrid sedan, the all-new Grace offers a
4WD version in its series lineup. Through the adoption of a lightweight and
compact viscous coupling-type 4WD system, an enhanced security for
customers who drive in cold climates and/or snowy areas was provided while
benefiting from the excellent fuel economy that can be achieved only by a
hybrid vehicle.
Stately exterior design suitable for a sedan
model
- A compact body with a long enough hood, creates an
impression appropriate for the vehicle category. A traditional sedan style
with a long wheelbase that expresses the ample size of the vehicle was
fused together with a coupe-like elegant form.
- Honda's design
identity, "Solid Wing Face," was adopted to emphasize an advanced look and
wideness by connecting together the platinum-plated front grille and 4-lamp
LED headlights.(6)
- While a compact size sedan, a stately design and
high-class look were achieved by connecting the rear combination lamps that
extend horizontally to the trunk lid and chrome-plated license plate
garnish.
High-quality and comfortable interior design offers
hospitality to all occupants
- Striving to realize an interior that
offers hospitality to all occupants, a sense of high-quality was added to
every detail of the interior, such as the instrument panel design that
provides the comfort of being enveloped, metallic luster, shapes and
figures, tactile quality and needlework of soft pads.
- Rear seats were
developed while paying particular attention to details such as cushion
thickness, softness and tactile quality of surface materials and the angle
of the backrest. As the result of developing rear seats that have
specifications equivalent to that of seats for an upper-class sedan, the
all-new Grace features a sofa-like comfortable seat that gives a sense of
being embraced.
- Air conditioning outlet for the rear seat occupants is
placed on the back end of the center console. There are a total of three
accessary sockets that can be used for charging a smart phone - one for
front seat occupants and two(7) for rear seat occupants. As for audio
speakers, the all-new Grace features an 8-speaker system that includes a
total of four tweeters(7) located in the front of the inner door handle in
front and back. Overall, a comfort space that offers full-hearted
hospitality to all people in the vehicle was realized.
Occupant
comfort and quietness realized by sheer persistence contribute to a
high-quality experience in the vehicle
- Through the adoption of
damper mount architecture that divides input force, the distribution of the
load is managed differently depending on the severity of input received.
The suspensions realize high-quality occupant comfort.
- All spaces and
gaps where noise could come inside the vehicle are addressed thoroughly.
Taking all measures such as optimizing the distribution of noise
insulation/absorbing materials and increasing the thickness of the front
door glass, this sedan body, with a basic structure that helps achieve
quietness, was further perfected to realize excellent quietness to enable
the occupants to enjoy a comfortable time in the vehicle.
Concentrating advanced safety and security features in a compact
body
- The all-new Grace features the Advanced Compatibility
Engineering (ACE) body that applies Honda's original G-Force Control
Technology (G-CON) to enhance self-protection and make it less aggressive
to other vehicles in the event of a collision. The Grace also features the
Pedestrian Injury Mitigation Body structure to absorb the impact of a
collision in the front part of the body, which is at the highest risk of
causing a pedestrian injury in the event of a collision.
- In the area
of active safety, with the goal to prevent an accident before it happens,
the all-new Grace features the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system, a
Hill-Start Assist function as well as the Emergency Stop Signal (ESS)
system that warns vehicles following behind of a sudden stop. These active
safety functions are featured as standard equipments on all types.
- The
"safety package" that combines the City-Brake Active system that is
designed to help drivers avoid rear-end collisions while driving at the
speed of below 30 km/h, with a side curtain airbag system and a front seat
i-side airbag system (variable capacity type) is available on certain
types.
All-new Grace with a rotating front passenger seat
-
Leveraging the ease of getting in and out of the all-new Grace, a special
needs vehicle equipped with a rotating front passenger seat was added to
the lineup.
- With the smooth rotation of the seat done by an easy lever
operation and ample legroom for the passenger during the rotation reduces
the burden of getting in and out of the vehicle.
Notes:
(1)
i-DCD stands for the "intelligent Dual Clutch Drive."
(2) HYBRID DX (FF)
and HYBRID LX (FF) were tested by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism in Japan.
(3) Excluding plug-in hybrid models.
Honda internal research (as of October 2014) (4) Honda internal research
(as of October 2014)
(5) In case of FF vehicle. Including under-floor
storage space (4L). The trunk capacity was measured by Honda using the VDA
measuring method.
(6) Available for HYBRID LX type and HYBRID EX type
(7) Available for HYBRID EX type