Are Conventionally Powered Cars Still Relevant?

A new era of cars is upon us where electric technology now finds place alongside internal combustion ones and even working in tandem in hybrid engines. So, are conventionally powered cars still relevant?

- Abhik Das

Honda City vs Skoda Slavia vs Volkswagen Virtus

Short answer to that question is, yes. Conventional internal combustion engines have been around for so many decades now that our association and understanding of cars stems from that technology and more than that, it’s the quintessential emotional connection to pops, bangs and crackles from a multi-cylinder engine that stirs many an automobilista among us. The relevance and want for these engines however, will steadily see a decline as generations progress onto posters on the walls that change from V12 Lamborghinis to all-electric Rimacs. Until that happens, traditional automotive manufacturers right now are finding solutions to make the internal combustion engine work better and be more efficient by combining electric technology. The result comes in the form of hybrid cars and the Honda City on these pages is a fine example of it.

Honda in India hasn’t been in the news lately as its dwindling product portfolio keeps away prospective customers.

WITH MILD THROTTLE INPUTS, THE CITY REWARDS ONE WITH INCREASING FUEL EFFICIENCY FIGURES ON THE INSTRUMENTATION, EVEN WHEN CRAWLING IN TRAFFIC

TRADITIONAL AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS ARE FINDING SOLUTIONS TO MAKE THE ICE WORK BETTER AND BE MORE EFFICIENT

The City however, has been its trump card time and again and this time Honda decided to up its game manifold. A hybrid sedan in a now unpopular segment of cars is a brave gamble and if the risk was taken, then it might as well change the game going forward. The incredible fuel efficiency figures that we clocked during the test runs are a testament to that as it clearly overshadowed the competition by a massive margin, so much so that it even exceeded our benchmark numbers.