2008 Honda Civic Hybrid Review

Specifications

With gas prices consistently hovering around the $3 per gallon mark, it’s now crucial for most consumers to seriously consider fuel consumption when shopping for a new vehicle. So here are your choices. There’s the efficient group, the extremely efficient group and the ultra-efficient group. The first consists of compact examples such as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Nissan Versa, Ford Focus, Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Elantra, in order of efficiency according to the EPA. Thriftier still are the conventional gasoline-powered subcompacts such as the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent and Chevrolet Aveo, again in order of efficiency. The ultras? Of course, it’s the hybrids, including Toyota’s Prius at the lead, Honda’s Civic Hybrid following closely thereafter and a litany of others, including a number of midsize hybrids and compact SUVs that beat regular compacts as fuel misers. And let’s not forget the new smart fortwo, a spendthrift of the highest order. For most though, the smart will be too small, which leaves hybrids as the way to go for practical fuel savings. And of the hybrids, the most affordable one of all in America is the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Redesigned in 2006, this second generation Civic Hybrid sees no changes for model year 2008 except for the fuel consumption rating. It’s now dropped from an unattainable 49 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway to a more realistic 40 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway, thanks to a more realistic ratings format that affects all vehicles. So, how realistic is this new rating? I covered 65 miles and used 1.3 gallons of regular unleaded fuel. To get those numbers I simply topped up the car, drove the distance, and topped it up again. The numbers translate to 50 mpg, which falls perfectly in between model year 2007’s figures and 2008’s. And on top of that, my commutes were roughly 50-percent in the city and 50-percent on the highway. This goes to show that Honda’s ratings are attainable. If you were to crunch the numbers even further and take into consideration that the Civic Hybrid’s gas tank volume is 12.3 gallons, you’ll be able to cover 615 miles
on a single tank of fuel. And if the gas price is $3.00 per gallon you’ll be looking at spending $36.90 for it. But as you see, this works out to a measly six cents per mile. Tell that to a taxi driver.

So, how do you get these numbers? Well, you’re going to have to change your driving habits. You can’t drive the Civic Hybrid like you stole it. It’s not going to work. You’re probably better off getting the regular Civic, instead. Let’s put it this way: in order to attain 50 mpg regularly you’ll have to drive like a police cruiser is following behind you all the time. That means you’ll have to drive as smoothly as you possibly can and never breach the speed limit.

Thankfully, being a hybrid, the Civic Hybrid has technology packed in to reward you for such efforts. Honda calls it Integrated Motor Assist or IMA. Its system consists of a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and an ultra-efficient engine. The electric motor itself is capable of 20 horsepower and 66 pound-feet of torque, while the 1.3-liter 4-cylinder engine pumps out 93 horsepower and 89 pound-feet of torque for a combined rating of 110 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque. As you accelerate from a stop, the engine provides the majority of thrust. Should you need more, the electric motor will assist. While cruising at steady speeds below 35 mph on flat road surfaces using light throttle inputs, Honda claims the fuel injection system will shut down, thereby allowing the car to run on electric juice alone. Unfortunately, after many attempts, I wasn’t successful at getting this to work. At speeds above 35 mph, the gasoline engine is the car’s primary source of power, with the battery standing by should you need that extra boost. According to theory, every hill you ascend must later be descended. And here’s where the Hybrid really does its part (for the environment, of course). As you go down that hill, a conventional car would use its engine to provide light braking by revving higher and by possibly stepping down a gear. The Civic Hybrid, on the other hand, uses its electric generator to slow the car down, which inherently puts forward resistance while creating power. That resistance replaces conventional engine braking, thereby giving the Hybrid’s engine a break (no pun intended). Should you require moderate braking, the resistance increases and the battery charges up even faster. It’s only when you brake hard that the car will engage its real brakes, which are discs up front and drums out back. The only real disadvantage to this setup is that you’ll feel a slight interruption in braking power as it transitions from generator resistance to actual brakes, when you come to a full stop. And speaking of which, when you’re fully stopped the Civic Hybrid will shut down its engine and operate on battery power alone. Honda calls it Auto Stop as indicated by its flashing green lettering in the gauge cluster, although the technology is now more commonly known as idle stop.

Call it what you want, but it’s a clever technology that really makes sense. Auto Stop has had several modifications to it since its initial inception. It used to be that if the air conditioner was turned on the engine wouldn’t shut off, but now the Civic Hybrid employs an electric air conditioning compressor and an electric water pump that can both be driven by the battery pack, allowing the interior cabin to stay cool or maintain its heat without needing the engine’s assistance. Unfortunately, unlike some other full-hybrid systems that I’ve driven, this is the only time I witnessed the Civic Hybrid’s engine shut off during my trips around town.

Moving inside, I wouldn’t call the Civic Hybrid feature-packed. To come to think of it, it’s actually a base model being that no optional packaging exists except for a satellite navigation system ($1,750). So, the Civic Hybrid is the Civic Hybrid with no LX or EX designation, if you know what I mean. Apart from automatic climate control, a decent stereo system and cruise control, you won’t find any luxury features here. And for a little over $22,500, this is really unexpected. The seats are manually adjustable and don’t have lumbar support, there’s no interior auto-dimming mirror, the rear seats don’t fold flat, there’s no leather, and there’s no traction or stability control. But you do get a battery pack that sits behind the rear seats. And it’s an expensive battery pack at that, as I can’t justify it costing almost $7,600 more than a base Honda Civic Sedan. But, I guess you do have to be fair. The Civic Hybrid sets itself apart from regular Civics by its rear trunk-mounted spoiler, roof-mounted antennae, 15-inch lightweight aluminum alloy wheels featuring low rolling resistance tires, side mirror integrated LED turn signal indicators, and a rear “Hybrid” badge. Inside, you’ll find a digital instantaneous fuel consumption meter (in MPG or L/100 km) to the left of the digital speedometer. I personally don’t like constantly being reminded of my driving habits, so I like the fact that I can have it display the coolant temperature instead. Many say the constant buzzing sounds you hear from the hybrid system are a distraction. I find it very cool, and I’m sure many fans of hybrids out there agree. It’s like a turbocharged car without its turbo whine - where’s the fun in that?

I’d have to say my biggest complaint has to do with the cloth seats. Their upscale suede-like texture seems to attract just about anything they come in contact with. That means you’ll have a more than difficult time cleaning them, no matter if hair, dust, cotton or regular old dirt is the culprit. Nuisance aside, they don’t feel as cold as regular run-of-the-mill cloth seats during winter mornings, and they grip really well if you’re into spirited driving.

And why not toss in a bit of spirit when driving, just for the heck of it, as the
Civic Hybrid handles just as well as regular Civics, as far as I can tell. That means it’s light, nimble, and agile. I have no complaints about its IMA powertrain either, as I was never left wanting for more power. The CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) shifted seamlessly through its “gears”, and I never felt any hesitation in terms of power delivery. It performs as advertised, with instant power on demand.

Another complaint would have to be the A-pillars. They’re just so thick. And because of this they reduce visibility when turning, thereby making it difficult to see pedestrians crossing the street. In fact, everything forward of the B-pillar is just plain awkward. I don’t mind the front-end styling as much as I do the steeply raked windshield, large dashboard, two-spoke steering wheel, and the engine bay that measures wider than it is long. The latter makes it impossible to see the hood (and therefore your front end) from the driver’s seat, which isn’t so great if you’re trying to park in a tight spot. I suppose that it’s not as bad as I make it sound, though. After all, I brought it back to Honda without a scratch. It’s just an eccentricity, like other character traits, that takes some time to get used to. All cars have these, good and bad, and the Civic Hybrid is no different.

So there you have it. Would I buy a Civic Hybrid myself? Sure. While it’s difficult to say for sure whether its overall fuel savings will make up for its higher window sticker over the long term, or for that matter whether its complex build process and high usage of nickel is better for the environment (from the cradle to the grave at least), if buying a hybrid contributes to further research and development in alternative forms of transportation, eventually we’ll see more and more hybrids on the road and thanks to economies of scale, better batteries, and possibly even hydrogen fuel cells or for that matter whatever the future brings us. And let’s not forget that the more people buy into alternative power, which for the time being seems to be gasoline-electric hybrid, price reductions will come.

Take a moment to consider what you’d do if the Civic Hybrid and regular Civic cost about the same. Wouldn’t you opt for the Hybrid? I would. If you add up the extra features that come with the Civic Hybrid over the regular one, at least that disparity between conventional power and hybrid shrinks somewhat, making long term fuel savings more plausible. And with an 8-year/80,000-mile (or 10-year/150,000-mile in CA, CT, MA, ME, NY or VT) limited battery warranty, not to mention almost a decade of dependable Honda hybrid experience, most of our reliability concerns should be put to rest (although what they’re going to do with all those batteries when they’ve expired is anyone’s guess).

Still, putting faith in our collective ability to remedy such problems over the long term, while funding, through our purchasing power, new technologies to make our world more habitable, seems to be the only reasonable way to deal with reducing harmful pollution. If we simply follow the status quo, by purchasing gasoline- or even diesel-powered vehicles that use non-renewable resources and don’t expand our knowledge of motive energy, then we’ll remain where we are, or potentially go backwards.

Following the hybrid route opens up new avenues, and the least expensive way to do this is with Honda’s Civic. The fact that it’s an enjoyable car to drive and practical for most peoples’ needs is what makes it a sensible decision. Yes, it’s a wonder, with most of the world so visibly concerned about climate change that these things aren’t selling in droves.

Specifications (Honda Civic Hybrid):