My sister needed a car, I was getting sick of having a 2 door vehicle with a child that was constantly needing put in a car seat in the back. It was time for a new car. I sold my
98 Honda Civic to my sister and found the car of my dreams. Well almost.
I knew I wanted a fuel efficient car and I knew I really liked my previous civic. So I was definitely leaning towards the Civic Hybrid. I checked my local Toyota dealership for the Prius, but the wait time to order one was 4 months and I didn't want to wait that long. To get my Civic Hybrid would only be a 2 month wait, so I signed myself up.
Basically there are only two options for the Hybrid, with integrated GPS or without, a $1500 difference. Since I already have a portable GPS unit we opted for the one without, although the Honda one is a really nice feature and is voice activated. Without the GPS the car has a sticker price of $22,600. Some dealerships charge over sticker price. Mine did not.
I don't like the body styling as much as some of the previous years, and not nearly as much as my 98. It is smooth and aerodynamic looking. The front window is so tilted that I can't reach my hand through my window to pull off papers stuck under my windshield wipers. The front headlights have daytime running ones, that turn off when you turn on the normal beams. The body shape reminds me of elegant more than friendly or sporty. I don't really like the back light design but they work. And there are turn indicator lights on the side door mirrors. The hybrid only comes a 4 door sedan model. There were 7 different colors I think, 2 were exclusive to the hybrid. Most are in the white/gray/black spectrum but there was a light blue one too. I got the Galaxy Gray Metallic with ivory interior.
One thing I don't like is the antenna. It is on the back on the roof and is thick and short. I can't put my old antenna ball on it.
The car has two engines, the electric one (which is actually in the trunk and is a(Ni-MH) Battery) and the gas one (under the hood), thus the hybrid in the name. It has 110HP total. And the gas part is 4 cylinder. It is front wheel drive and AT-PZEV which means Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. AT-PZEV-rated vehicles are 90% cleaner than the average new car and have near-zero evaporative emissions (from about.com). My car has automatic transmission. I am not sure if it comes in manual at all actually.
The car really does have some pick up and go. The ride is quiet, I haven't heard any air leaks along windows or doors at all. The driving does take some getting used to though because the gas engine really does turn off completely when you come to a full stop for more than a second or two. When you take your foot off the brake it turns back on. This helps save gas. Also the electric engine gives the car its boost and it recharges itself from the friction when you brake and also when the car is at a constant speed for a while on a relatively flat area it charges then too.
The tires are 15 inches and the turning radius is pretty good, although not as good as some smaller cars. The brakes are front disc, and rear drum and only one time have I been able to squeal the wheels, although it wasn't on purpose honest! One thing though is that the car does sometimes roll back on hills, especially when you are engine stopped. You have to be quick with your foot onto the gas after you take it off the brake to make sure you don't roll into a car behind you.
Interior is roomy enough for me and the seats are comfortable. It is bigger than my old two-door by far. There is a sliding armrest between the front seats and two cup holders in front of that as well. The middle console has a 1 disk cd player with an MP3/Auxiliary Input Jack. There is auto climate control. I set the temperature, select auto, and it makes my car a happy temperature.
The steering wheel column is adjustable and the wheel itself has controls for the volume and channels on the radio as well as cruise control. It has little rubberized grippy areas and a bump at the bottom to grip around. I didn't have any problems with it being too hot in the summer.
The car has a lot of safety features. Like all new cars it has the latch and tether system for installing car seats. It has 3 point seat belts in all positions. The ones in the front have adjustable heights. There are front airbags and side curtain airbags. It has anti-lock brakes as well.
The trunk space, because of the electric engine, is more limited than most cars. I can fit my son's stroller in there and about 10 plastic bags of groceries. If want to transport large amounts of luggage or pickup a bigger item from a store I'd use another car/truck.
So about the gas? The tank holds 12.3 gallons. The sticker mpg is 49 city / 51 highway. I have never gotten close to a number between 49 and 51 for the average for the tank although I have on shorter distances, even had an average of 56 mpg for a 19 mile trek. I've put about 7000 miles on the car in 4 months and my average tank is about 41 mpg. There is a little digital gauge that shows how much you are making per gallon (real time) and another option to show the average for the tank. There are also two digital trip-odometers. The most miles I have gotten on a tank was 478. The gas light comes on when you have 1.71 gallons left, so still 60+ miles. The mileage is better than my old car, my husband's car, and most cars on the road. I have been very happy with the mileage even if it isn't 50 mpg.
Overall I am very happy with this car. It's a nice ride; it's sleek looking; gets great gas mileage, and the four doors has been a wonderful thing for my arms. If you want to be eco-friendly and have a little bit of extra money to spend (compared to a non-hybrid car) seriously consider the Honda Civic hybrid.
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