The state of the art in pilot-production electric cars is typified by Honda’s nickel–metal hydride battery driven electric car, it has been given thename ‘EV’ and claims twice the range obtainable with comparable lead–acid batteried cars as honda ev concept .
The car is not a conversion of an ICE model and has 95% new componentry. It is a 3-door,4-seater with battery pack in a separated compartment between the floor. The pack comprises 2412Vbatteries and rests between virtually straight underframe longitudinal members running front to rear for maximum crash protection. The motor is a brushless DC type with rare earth high strength magnets and is said to give 96% efficiency. There is a fixed ratio transmission with parking . lock. Maximum torque is 275Nm, available from 0 to 1700 rpm, the speed at which a maximumpower of 49kW is developed and remains constant up to 8750 rpm. The under-bonnet power control unit comprises management and motor ECUs, power driver, junction board, 12 V DC/ DC converter, air-conditioning inverter and 110/220Von board charger. Its aluminium container is liquid cooled in a system shared with motor and batteries. The controller uses IGBTswitching devices in a PWM system. A phase control system involves both advanced angle control and field weakening to optimize operation in both urban and motorway conditions. A heat-pump climate control system has an inverter-controlled compressor with a remote-control facility to permit pre-cooling or preheating of the cabin prior to driving. Energy recovery is carried out in both braking and ‘throttle-off’ coasting modes. Low rolling-drag tyres are inflated to 300 kPa and are said to have just 57% the resistance of conventional tyres. A ‘power-save’ feature automatically reduces peak power when battery state-of-charge drops below 15%. An instrument display shows range and battery-charge state as a biaxial graph with clearly marked segments which even respond to throttle pedal depression. The car has a 125 mile urban range to the FUDS standard while top speed is 80mph. Recharge time is 8 hours from 20% to fully charged which honda ev concept.