We already knew that Honda was working on fitting a hybrid drivetrain into the Fit, and we now know we’ll see the final product at the Paris auto show in September. The car will wear its European nameplate, Jazz, for its debut; it will be known as the Fit hybrid in Japan. Honda says there are no plans to bring the Fit hybrid to the U.S. market, although we will get a reworked Civic hybrid for 2012, if that’s any consolation.
Like other Honda hybrids, the Fit hybrid sandwiches the electric motor and gas engine together. Dubbed Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), the Fit gets the same version of the system that powers the Insight and CR-Z. Hybridized Fits will use the Insight’s 1.3-liter i-VTEC gasoline engine, which provides 88 hp and 88 lb-ft of torque in that car, paired with an electric motor rated at 13 hp and 58 lb-ft. Like the IMA system in the Civic hybrid and Insight, Honda claims that the Fit hybrid can run on solely electric power in certain low-speed cruising situations. Really, though, unlike the Toyota Prius, the Honda hybrids can’t run on electricity from a stop or even very often. Honda also says the Fit hybrid will return fuel economy comparable to that of the Insight, but we’ll be surprised if its efficiency surpasses the already-frugal conventional model enough to justify an anticipated price premium. For the record, EPA ratings for the Insight are 40 mpg city/43 highway; we averaged 46 mpg when we tested an Insight EX.
