Honda Adds ‘Joy of Driving’ to its New Hybrids

Honda has developed a new bit of tech, dubbed S+ Shift, with the aim of bringing the ‘joy of driving’ to its hybrids.

It plans to install Honda S+ Shift in all of its future hybrid-electric vehicles. The technology will debut in the new Prelude, which is scheduled for release in Japan in 2025.

Honda S+ Shift button

According to Honda; “S+ Shift is a new function designed to pursue the “joy of driving”. It evidently accentuates the sense of oneness between the driver and the vehicle, while fully leveraging the characteristics of the e:HEV system. 

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Honda’s e:HEV system primarily uses its electric motor to drive the vehicle while the petrol engine is chiefly used to turn a generator which charges a battery to supply its energy to said motor. This gives EV-like driveline smoothness and instant torque. And while it ‘responds linearly to driver inputs’, as Honda says, the engine revs can be inconsistent to your throttle inputs, especially during spirited driving.  

Honda has what it calls ‘Linear Shift Control’ which ‘synchronises vehicle speed with engine sound’ on its existing e:HEV models. That simulates gear changes when you have the throttle pinned. But it’s all electronic trickery as the e:HEV system does not have a geared transmission. 

Anyhow, it sounds like the Honda S+ Shift tech is a further development of this. According to the firm it “precisely controls the engine RPM during acceleration and deceleration to realise direct drive response and sharp gear shifting”. We guess that ‘realise’ in that statement really means ‘imitate’ because as Honda says ‘e:HEV does not have a mechanical transmission mechanism’. 

So in essence it’s some electronic trickery to enhance driver involvement by making a vehicle without a geared transmission feel like a vehicle with a geared transmission. 

Honda further explains it below

– By linking two high-power motors with the ASC (that’s the new Active Sound Control system which pumps engine noise into the cabin via the speakers), the Honda S+ Shift achieves dynamic engine RPM changes and a sharp upshift feeling, providing feedback that resonates with all of the driver’s senses, amplifying the sense of oneness between the driver and the vehicle.

– The Honda S+ Shift further advances the Linear Shift Control applied to current e:HEV models, enabling gear shifts (upshift and downshift) according to the driving conditions and environments at all speed ranges. While turning, the Honda S+ Shift system quickly responds to driver steering input and activates shift hold, enabling the vehicle to trace the desired driving line at the will of the driver.

– By maintaining the optimal engine RPM for the particular driving conditions, the power generated by the engine during re-acceleration will be fully utilized as driving force. This greatly improves the initial response time of the motor when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal and enables overwhelmingly high response that is directly connected to driver input.

– Although e:HEV does not have a mechanical transmission mechanism, when the Honda S+ Shift is activated, the driver can shift gears with a paddle shifter, so that the driver can enjoy driving feel as if the vehicle features a transmission system. With quick gearshift responses achieved through the coordination of the engine and high-power motor, Honda S+ Shift function will strive to offer the joy of driving based on direct response to driver input.