Honda Civic Hybrid

We get questions all the time about hybrid cars and which one is best. The Honda Civic hybrid usually comes up as the vehicle that most green car shoppers ask about. We decided to review the Honda and tell you first hand what we think. We wanted this to be an impartial review, but we have to confess that we have not had such great times with our Honda vehicles. We have been so disappointed in the service that we have received, and the many things that have broken or have needed repairs, that we have switched to Toyotas as our vehicle of choice. We recommend the Toyota Prius as the best choice for a hybrid vehicle, but for our readers sake, we will review the Honda Civic hybrid.

The Honda Civic hybrid looks just like its non-hybrid counterpart, in fact, it doesn't look like a hybrid except for the back lettering on the car. It drives just like a regular Civic, with good acceleration, easy handling, and a slight amount of road noise. It has good crash scores, a roomy interior for its size, and it is normally not a high-maintenance car. The quiet, electric hybrid system behind the Honda Civic hybrid is a technology known as Integrated Motor Assist (IMA). It is a very small electric motor that sits next to the regular engine. While at cruising speeds, it delivers the power necessary to run the hybrid car. It charges the batteries with a system known as regenerative braking.The IMA system also assists the engine by providing a high torque booster under heavy load and during acceleration. Overall, Honda designed a decent hybrid system for the Civic but its MPG is still not close to that of hybrids such as the Prius. Like the Prius, the Honda hybrid makes use of a different type of transmission known as CVT or continuously variable transmission, which allows the gasoline engine to operate in its most effective ranges while providing smooth shifting.

While it is just slightly cheaper than the Toyota Prius, it will not meet the expectations of someone who has ever owned a Toyota Prius. Things that we did not like about the Honda Civic hybrid were the lackluster fuel economy gauge, lack of powerful acceleration, and louder-than-normal idling. Overall it is a good car, but we will have to rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Review by Ethan K.