page_title: Honda Today
section_title: First generation
hierarchical_section_title: Honda Today / First generation
caption_attribution_description: English: Honda TODAY in the Honda Collection Hall.
context_page_description: The Honda Today was a kei car produced by the Japanese automaker Honda beginning in 1985. It was replaced by the Honda Life in 1998. Honda's smallest car being produced at the time was the Honda City, which was a supermini and it had an engine larger than kei car legislation allowed. The Today represented a reentry into kei car production. Honda had abandoned kei passenger cars in 1975, choosing only to keep manufacturing the Honda Acty kei truck and the related Honda Street microvan in that segment. After 1975, Honda's smallest car was the Honda Civic, until the introduction of the smaller Honda City in 1981.
  The "Today" name has since been used by Honda for a 50 cc scooter manufactured in China, available from 2002 until 2016.
context_section_description: The first generation Today (JW1) was introduced in September 1985 as a three-door hatchback, on a wheelbase of 2,330 mm (91.7 in). The rear axle was a torsion beam with coil springs. The Today was originally only available as a light commercial vehicle, to suit Japanese tax requirements. The Today was initially launched with three different model specifications, with the entry model being model 'F', followed by a model 'M' and the top of the range 'G'. The Today was only intended for the Japanese domestic market. It was introduced at newly established Japanese dealerships called Honda Primo locations alongside the Primo "headliner" sedan, the Honda Civic. The flat roof hatchback design appearance was shared with the incrementally larger supermini Honda City, the compact Honda Civic, and the mid-size Honda Accord AeroDeck. Originally available with either a four-speed manual or a two-speed Hondamatic semi-automatic, it was powered by a water-cooled two-cylinder Honda EH series OHC 545 cc engine — the same as used in the Acty kei truck. A five-speed manual became available on a special edition Today G in September 1987. Another special edition appeared in February 1987; the Today M-based Pochette received special colors and was aimed at female buyers. The Pochette became a regular model by 1990 and remained available into the second generation.
  In a market where three-cylinder engines were the norm, this unit (developed for the Acty truck from the 1974 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle engine) was outdated and was replaced by the three-cylinder four-valve single overhead camshaft E05A 547 cc engine in February 1988. At the same time, the Today underwent a minor facelift in which the car's round headlights were replaced by aerodynamic lenses matching the rest of the Honda family. The rear was also modernized, with the bootlid featuring a small spoiler on top and a larger rear windshield. Beneath, there was a new, smoother bumper with restyled taillights which eventually found their way onto both the second and third generation Acty vans (and the Vamos Hobio); this lamp design remained in production until mid-2018. The second generation also received a regular three-speed automatic with a torque converter rather than the earlier Hondamatic, and for the first time a passenger version became available (in March 1988). Sales targets were 9,000 per month for the van and 1,000 per month for the private car version.
  The suspension was also upgraded, as was the dashboard. Chassis codes are JW2 for the commercial model and JA1 for the car version. The range were F, M, G, Ri, and Ri-Z (JW2) and XG and XTi (JA1). The XG and all fuel injected models were equipped to better handle highway driving, featuring front stabilizing bars and front disc brakes. The fuel injected versions also have progressive coil springs at the rear. Later, lower cost XE and XL passenger versions were added as light commercials began losing their domination in the segment. Power outputs varied, since commercial vehicles suffered less stringent emissions regulations. The lower end models all produce 36 PS (26 kW), although the passenger models required an electronic carburettor called PGM-carb. The fuel injected models have 44 PS (32 kW) in commercials, 42 PS (31 kW) in automatic vans and manual passenger models, and 40 PS (29 kW) in passenger models with the automatic transmission.
caption: 1985 Honda Today JW1 (original version)
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