Sneak Peek at the '06 Civic Hybrid

I know we're supposed to be talking about the Hybrid HOV today, but Honda just gave us a great opportunity…the chance to preview the new 2006 Civic model line, including the new Civic Hybrid. I’ve got lots to report, and not just on the Hybrid, but it’s a good place to start.

A little look at the new Civic Hybrid (courtesy Honda)

Overall, I’m impressed.  Honda has increased the fuel economy of the Civic Hybrid by about five percent to get 50 mpg on both EPA city and highway  ratings. Honda’s numbers even suggest that the Civic Hybrid and the Prius get pretty close to the same fuel economy in real world driving, but we’ll need to wait and see what happens when people get ahold of them.

In addition to increased fuel economy, every Civic Hybrid sold in the United States will meet the cleanest emissions standard on the books (other than zero).  In other words, they’ll meet or beat the emissions performance of any gasoline car on the road. This is a good move on Honda’s part, since some of the 2005 Civic Hybrids were so dirty that they wouldn’t even be eligible for the new federal tax credit for hybrid vehicles.

My only real concern is that Honda is aiming too low on Civic Hybrid sales.  With gas prices as high as they are, a vehicle that performs like this one and that is based on one of the most popular compact cars in the country, will be a huge seller. But Honda is only planning 28,000 for next year. “Only 28,000?” I asked. They think that’s all they can sell, but think about it: I know they are out there, but how often do you see a Honda commercial for a hybrid? The things have been mostly selling themselves so far, but a little advertising might go a long way--especially now that they have a product that can reasonably compete with the Prius on safety, emissions, and mileage for every model around the country.

When I test drove a 2005 Civic Hybrid last year, my only (minor) concern was that it was a bit sluggish compared to the Prius, which performed just like your average car.  In redesigning the Civic Hybrid, Honda has increasd both power and torque by almost 20 percent (gas engine + electric motor combined).  With that, the new Civic Hybrid has a least as much pickup as a Prius, and if anything its CVT responded faster than the Prius’s when I stepped on the gas, making passing easier. Overall, the Civic’s engine felt smooth and handled great Look for full specs on the new Civic Hybrid in the HybridCenter Consumer Center soon.

With the 06 model, Honda is now offering only one Civic Hybrid, just the CVT version.  That means no more manual transmission and no more of the relatively dirty lean burn models.  In terms of other features, the Hybrid is closest to the well-equipped conventional Civic EX – about the only thing it’s missing is a moonroof.  I know, I know, the moonroof hurts fuel economy a bit, but I like my moonroof, damn it! Like the EX, the Hybrid is available with a voice-activated navigation system.

One feature that I like on the Prius but is missing from the Civic Hybrid is a fuel economy gauge. The Civic Hybrid displays your estimated real-time fuel economy, but the gauge is difficult to read and it would be more meaningful to have something that tracks your average fuel economy over a longer period of time.

Honda wouldn’t tell us exactly how much the new models will be selling for, but the Hybrid should be roughly in the range of $20,000 - $22,000, versus $18,000 - $20,000 for the conventional Civic EX. When you figure that the Hybrid should be eligible for a federal tax credit of $2,100 - $2,350 after January 1, it looks pretty attractive. Exact prices will be available once the vehicles are on sale, which will be September 15 for the conventional models and October 5 for the Hybrid.

There’s more to discuss on the new Civic Hybrid, so I’ll put together a fuller review as soon as I can and put it in the HybridCenter review section.  I'll do a quick blog to let everyone know when its up there.

Posted by: Don

Comments

[Chatham Olive]

Don or Someone:

Would someone please answer this simple question concerning hybrid tax incentives:

Am I better off to purchase a new Civic in
2005 or should I wait til '06?

Thanks for a non-confusing reply.

[skierpage]

It's a "peek" when you look, dammit. You climb "peaks" in a Subaru.

[Nate W]

You are better off to take delivery after January 1, 2006. Tax credit will be better than a deduction. The 06 model has substantially more torque as well as horsepower than the 05 did.

[Danno]

Can the 2006 Civic Hybrid drive only on batteries? If so, will it be possible to add a battery pack like several tuners are doing with the Prius?

[Beth Dehler]

What about battery replacement? Will it be expensive?

[michael saafir]

Future Honda Insights must go 80 - 100 MPG in light of all the new hybrid developments to maintain it's title as gas mileage champ.

[Cheryl Gigliotti]

One more simple question. We live in the country near a city, but most of our driving is done on country roads and interstate hwys at @ 60mph. Will a hybrid car deliver good gas mileage with this kind of driving?

[Sheila MacArthur]

I bought a Civic Hybrid two weeks ago, in July 2006. I got it in response to Al Gore's (excellent) movie "An Inconvenient Truth". So far, I am getting about 45mpg, mostly in the city. However, I am running the A/C a lot -- I wonder if that has decreased my mpg? If I am on just the right road, I can get 52mpg, but not over all. 45 is not much different from a regular (less expensive) Civic, and what I really wanted was a CR-V. However, even if the mileage is not a full 50mpg, all the same, I am still doing my part for the environment, and encouraging the hybrid market. And of course, I'm paying half what I would have for gas in the CR-V.

[Brandon]

I have a 2006 Civic Hybrid purchased June 2006. So far it averages 36 mpg around town ( Charlotte NC ) approximately 7000 mi now. I drive using every technique possible to increase the mpg. The best I've seen is Wilmington to Charlotte on Hwy 74 ( ~ 220 mi ) at 48mpg (that is drafting trucks most of the way too ). I have an engineering degree so I'm pretty rigorous in determining the mpg accurately. I am skeptical of the accuracy of most people's mpg reports. So far the vehicle's trip meter has agreed fairly well with my calculations. 36 mpg for this car is a dismal figure. Unless there is a problem with the car's batteries or control system. I plan on getting it checked out.

[Dan]

I'm almost at the end of my second tank of gas and I seem to only be getting 37mpg (mostly city, and A/C 'cause it's hot in TX). I would have expected more. I thought maybe it was just the breaking in period, but I hope to get more mpg out of it or else it seriously wouldn't have been worth it.

[Craig Jackson, Charlotte NC]

Hey Brandon,

I’m curious to find out if you got to the bottom of your low MPG figures. I have the same car (took delivery Labor Day weekend) and average probably 50MPG overall. The best I’ve done was 56MPG from here to Emerald Isle, but I do the Wilmington run a lot on 74 got similar figures then too. My “worst” MPG performance is about 46 if I have to be on the gas in stop and go traffic, or if the air is running. I honestly think it’d be difficult to get my car to get less than 45MPG if I tried.

My MPG at the moment is right at 51MPG with about 85mi on my latest odo reset.

[Irene]

One feature that I like on the Prius but is missing from the Civic Hybrid is a fuel economy gauge. The Civic Hybrid displays your estimated real-time fuel economy, but the gauge is difficult to read and it would be more meaningful to have something that tracks your average fuel economy over a longer period of time.

Umm. I have a 2006 Civic Hybrid and it does have this feature.

Also, in response to above poster's complaints about mpg - outside temperature can make a huge difference, as can driving style. Look up hypermiling for info on how to get the best possible FE.

[Juno888]

We live in the country near a city, but most of our driving is done on country roads and interstate hwys at @ 60mph. Will a hybrid car deliver good gas mileage with this kind of driving?

[Jon Allen]

My '06 Civic Hybrid gets between 45 and 75 mpg, which is mostly due to temperature, surface water (rain/snow), and RPM habits (which is why the tachometer is the central, biggest gauge on the dashboard). If I have plenty of time to get there, I can go over 80mpg on a hot day (over 90F) by keeping my RPM under 1500.