Honda Civic engine• Civic keeps 2.2-litre diesel
• CO2 emissions cut to 110g/km
• Free to tax for first year

The next Honda Civic will be fitted with a revised version of the existing 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel engine, despite the market preference to downsize.

Most of its rivals, including the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf and Mazda3 use 1.6-litre turbo diesel engines in their most economical models.

But despite it being the biggest engine in its class, Honda’s engineers have been able to reduce CO2 emissions to 110g/km – 29g/km less than before – meaning it will be free to tax in the first year and cost just £20 to tax annually.

Honda’s engineers have achieved this through the introduction of stop and start technology, optimisation of the structure of the engine itself and improvements to the car’s aerodynamics.

Further improvements have also  increased power to 148bhp and torque to 258lb/ft of pulling power.

Comparatively the 2-litre TDI Golf Bluemotion Technology emits 114g/km and has 138bhp, while the 2-litre TDCi Focus has 161bhp and emits 129g/km of CO2.

The Honda Civic will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month and go on sale early in 2012.

By Andy Goodwin, senior web journalist