Honda Airwave

The Honda Airwave is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automaker Honda since 2005. It is a five-door station wagon version of the City / Fit Aria and Fit/Jazz, which are a sedan and a hatchback respectively. The Airwave is built on the Global Small Car platform; however, unlike the City and Fit, the Airwave is unique to the Japanese market. Honda announced the debut of the Airwave on April 7, 2005.[1]

Models

The Airwave is sold in two trim lines, the basic "G" model, and the well-equipped "L" model. Each of the trim lines has an optional panoramic glass sunroof that covers a large part of the roof. Each version of the car is available in either front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. The current version of the Honda Partner panel van introduced on March 10, 2006 is now based upon the Airwave. Essentially a decontented version of the Airwave, it utilizes the L15A i-DSI engine (unlike the VTEC engine in the Airwave) mated to a five-speed automatic transmission identical to that found in the North American market Fit.

Drivetrain

The Airwave is powered by the largest version of Honda's L-series engine family, the 1496 cc 1.5L VTEC L15A gasoline engine. The engine produces a maximum output of 81kW (109hp) at 5800rpm and a maximum torque of 143Nm (105lb·ft) at 4800rpm. Two forms of a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) are available on the Airwave. The "G" trim line has a standard CVT of five-speed, while the "L" sports a CVT with seven-speed mode. This allows the driver to choose between the smooth, shiftless acceleration of a standard CVT, or the added option of shifting through seven computer-controlled "gears".

Interior

The interior versatility of the Airwave is similar to its smaller sibling, the Fit. By moving the fuel tank underneath the front row of seats, a significant amount of space is freed up in the rear for a useful seating system. Like the Fit, the Airwave has five different seating modes.