It was about time and Honda has finally gone the diesel route as well as the Jap giant announces its high-tech 1.6 litre oil burner

Honda may be known for their spectacularly refined petrol motors, but one can't deny the fact that diesel cars are fast gaining popularity around the world. So at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, Honda took the wraps off a new generation diesel motor that will power the Japanese auto giant's small and mid-sized cars in the near f uture. Honda already has a 2.2-litre common-rail diesel motor in its portfolio, but this new engine comes with lower capacity, lower emissions and higher mileage. Dubbed 'Earth Dreams Technology', this 1.6-litre common-rail diesel engine has a displacement of 1,596cc and produces a maximum of 120PS of power at 4,000rpm, while the max torque is 320Nm at 2,000rpm. This engine is the lightest in its class, weighing just 170 kilograms, and is also expected to be highly fuel efficient. The 1.6 litre common rail, turbo diesel engine will be mated to a six speed manual transmission with no news about an automatic transmission for the engine announced just as yet.

Honda plans to power the European Civic with this engine by the end of 2012. Taking into consideration the steep increase number of diesel cars being sold in India, thanks to rising fuel prices, we too are likely to get this gem coming to our market pretty soon and power most of Honda’s line up in different state of tunes. With this diesel engine, Honda is sure to take the fight to its rivals who at the moment hold the diesel trump card to their advantage.