The Honda Mobilio iDTEC offers a great combination of good performance and high fuel economy. At the heart of this characteristic lies its 1.5-litre iDTEC engine with Earth Dreams technology. This month we delve deep into what hides under the Mobilio’s bonnet
Story: Aninda Sardar
Photography: Rommel Albuquerque
When we drove the Honda Mobilio for the first time last year, we were quite pleasantly surprised. Especially by the diesel version of the vehicle. At over 4.3 metres long, 1.6 metres wide and tipping the scales at just over 1.2 tonnes, the diesel version of the Mobilio cuts a fairly imposing figure. So, no. You wouldn’t guess that under its bonnet is actually a 1.5-litre diesel engine. If you didn’t already know the specifications of the powertrain, you’d think this one at least uses a two-litre engine, if not something larger. Yet, as you would have guessed by now, the Mobilio does use a 1.5-litre unit. Indeed, it is the same unit that does duty in other Honda products, namely, the Amaze and the City. 
The 1,498-cc DOHC i-DTEC common rail turbocharged diesel engine is based on Honda’s global Earth Dreams technology. The engine is a high-pressure die-cast all-aluminium unit with its cylinder-head joined to an open deck engine block. The result is the lightest diesel engine in its torque performing class.
In addition, the Mobilio’s diesel engine uses a lightweight crankshaft along with several friction-reducing technologies that have enabled Honda engineers to cut down mechanical friction and the output losses arising thence to levels prevalent in petrol engines. Over and above that, this i-DTEC unit uses a low-viscosity engine oil – the oil actually has the lowest viscosity in the world – that has been specially developed for this engine. Peak power from this compact and light diesel engine is rated at 100 PS, which is pumped out at 3,600 revolutions per minute. Meanwhile, a maximum torque of 200 Nm kicks in at a low 1,750 RPM with a large part of this torque coming into play still lower down the rev range. Now, to the layman it may sound like a lot of mumbo jumbo and gibberish but what these mean in real terms is a fabulous combination of fuel economy (and, therefore, low emissions) and good performance. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Mobilio equipped with this 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine pulls cleanly.
