Honda System Teaches Eco Driving

There are two basic ways to get better fuel economy – drive a more efficient vehicle or drive more efficiently. Most vehicle manufacturers have aggressively taken the first approach. Now, they are developing the technology to better enable the second. An example of both is illustrated by the all-new Honda Insight hybrid that will go on sale in the U.S. in the spring of 2009, which will offer a gasoline-electric hybrid’s high fuel efficiency as a matter of course, while combining this with a high-tech Ecological Drive Assist System that actually encourages more fuel efficient driving habits.

The Ecological Drive Assist System’s ‘ECON Mode’ controls the car’s continuously variable transmission (CVT), engine, and powertrain components for more fuel efficient operation based on actual driving conditions. First offered on the all-new Honda Odyssey, ECON Mode has been enhanced for the Ecological Drive Assist System with added functions to control the idle stop and regenerative braking used in hybrid vehicles. Activated when the green ECON button on the dashboard is pressed, the ECON mode now also automatically provides energy saving control of the air conditioning, reduces fuel consumption by engaging idle stop sooner, and enhances battery charging during regenerative braking.

The system guidance function features a color-changing speedometer background and three-dimensional appearance to indicate fuel efficiency in real time. The display glows green when the car is driven most efficiently with smooth acceleration and braking. Somewhat less efficient driving makes the ambient meter glow blue-green. The meter turns blue with aggressive and fuel consuming starts and stops. The goal, of course, is to keep the meter glowing green by driving most efficiently, and more importantly develop efficient driving habits.

Incidentally, with regenerative braking, good braking practices now can have an impact on fuel economy by providing greater battery charging. According to Honda, the ambient meter is the world’s first to respond not only to acceleration techniques, but to braking practices as well.

The Multi-Information Display located in the center of the new Insight’s instrument panel includes a scoring function among other informational displays. Here, the number of graphic ‘leaves’ displayed indicates the level of fuel-efficient driving performance. As drivers become more proficient in fuel-efficient driving, the number of leaves grows.

When the ignition switch is off, the ‘leaves’ in the top row display the score for the latest driving cycle (start-up to shutdown), while a horizontal bar in the bottom row displays cumulative lifetime performance. The Multi-Information Display indicates fuel economy figures for the past three trips as well as instantaneous and average fuel economy statistics. When the ignition switch is on, the display scores driving practices in real time.