2009 Honda Civic Review

Specifications

For years, the Honda Civic has lived in the shadow of big brother Accord, hoping one day to make its mark. With the 2009 Hybrid, the time has come for little brother to drive in the sun.

To start, consider the mileage. Anyone who has driven a regular gasoline-powered Civic no doubt has bragged about its mileage. The new Hybrid gets up to a whopping 60 percent more mileage. It is rated 40 mpg around town, 45 mpg on the highway and 42 mpg in mixed driving.
Such numbers are generated mainly by an efficient gasoline engine. The 1.3-liter, four-cylinder engine kicks out 110 horsepower at 6,000 rpm. At 1,000 rpm, drivers can get 123 pounds-feet of torque.

When more power is required, the small electric motor positioned between the transmission and engine gets to work. This motor is rated at 20 horsepower and 76 pounds-feet of torque. Anyone who has driven other hybrid models gets accustomed to the shimmy that occurs when the gasoline engine restarts and goes online while the car is being driven. Honda engineers have figured out a way to say good-bye to that annoyance in the 2009 Civic Hybrid.

The electric motor is at the heart of the Civic Hybrid’s Integrated Motor Assist system. There are five different ways that it operates. One mode lets the car run only on electric power, but not from a standing start. When you add together the additional horsepower, bigger motor and aerodynamic front fascia, you won’t have to move over for anyone on the highway.

Keeping tabs on the hybrid system is not a chore. The bars that move up and down on a vertical gauge tell you what’s happening in the system. The Civic Hybrid’s driver can tell how the electric motor is draining when it’s helping the gas engine with passing, merging and simply moving. In turn, charging can be monitored when coasting and braking. In fact, the process of regenerative braking actually gives a boost to the process of slowing down.

To stay safe on the road, the Honda Civic Hybrid has an electronic stability control, antilock brakes, and dual, side and side curtain airbags. It also carries a federal government crash test rating of five stars for front impacts.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the 2009 Hybrid starts at about $23,650 but still has the features usually found on higher-priced cars. One standard feature is a set of four-wheel disc brakes. For those people wondering whether to stick with a Civic that’s solely gasoline powered instead of splurging on the Hybrid, note the Hybrid-L priced at $24,850 is only $3,100 more than the regular Civic EX-L with the same features plus boosts mileage far beyond 26 mpg around town and 34 mpg on the highway.

With fuel prices rising once again, spending a little more upfront for the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid will save you thousands of dollars in the long run as you pass by the pumps and stay on the road.