TEST-DRIVE : NEW 2nd GENERATION HONDA STREAM

Note to readers : this review is made possible with the cooperation of the daily News Straits Times - Cars Bikes and Trucks (NST-CBT). For the print version of this article, check out this Sunday December 9 2007 edition of the NST-CBT.

Honda's new 2nd generation Honda Stream delivers a great package of power, fuel economy and utility. It's 1.8l R18A i-VTEC engine features a unique 'economy' mode for highway cruising. Normal engines control the amount of air going into the engine by varying the size of the 'throttle body'. During cruising, relatively little power is needed. In this situation, little air is needed sothe throttle body size is closed till very small. Unfortunately while this lets us limits the amount of air, it also forces the engine to do extra work. To relate this to real-life situations, think of drinking through a straw. We pinch the straw to limit the amount we drink but then we have to suck harder. This extra work by the engine means extra power loss and adversely affects its fuel consumption. It is ironic because it occurs just when we need are able to get best fuel economy.

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