honda civic hybrid (07 plate)

[sharkrider]

I'm currently doing "auto" lessons for someone in this car, now as some of you may know, I'm not a fan of hybrids claiming they are eco friendly, when they are not, when not in start stop traffic, my diesel is way more efficent, better emmision, more economy, and doesn't have those horrible batteries to get rid of when the car dies.... (and my pupil only gets 35 mpg out of it! i got 57mpg on the way to pick him up last time from mine!)

however..... i really like this car (ignoring eco concepts) its one of the smoothest autos I've ever experianced... no gearchange jerk (constantly variable transmission maybe?) very little to notice when the engine stops/starts... its very very quiet in general (even with the engine running... spooky when on electric) , and rides very smoothly.... its just SSSOOOOO relaxing, I think there's a danger of falling asleep at the wheel! the interior is very spaceship like, modern, only bad thing is the really bad material covering the seats.....

now , I'm not going to be able to comment on performance, as its not my car, so won't be pushed at all.... i would assume on skinny 'eco' tyres, the handling will not be up to much , or the stopping, another thing the 'eco' freaks are blithley ignoring!, I've read up to 20% increased stopping distances with these tyres! (quite a bit of wight in there too with the batteries and electric motors) but performance and handling are not what this car is about....

when I'm old, and can't be @ssed with the 'hectic' driving, this is the sort of car I may "waft" around in , in complete comfort, and quiet .........

it suprised me....

[Matt Bodycombe]

I agree with you. Independent Motoring ran one of these before that section was closed (bah). It looks better and drives better than the Prius apparently. I think part of the reason people don't like the Prius is that "do gooders" have embraced them and also lots of unrealistic claims have been bandied about for them. Honda has just said: "here's our product, judge it on its merits". I love the disc wheels as well As a rule I don't like CVT boxes though. Things may have moved on though. Last one I experienced was in a 1.1 Fiesta: Lots of screaming not a lot of forward motion like a badly slippping clutch.

P.S Thanks for your nice comments!

[simonsheil]

If you want a nice CVT try out the audi multironic, beutiful box repsonsive super fast chnages on manual ( i know it dosent really chnage) and just a plkeasure to drive.

[Dr Zoidberg]

I'll buy a hybrid when there's one with a diesel engine and a guaranteed battery life of 100k+ that can still do 0-60 in 10 seconds and achieve 80mpg.

It may sound like I'm demanding a lot , but it shouldn't be that far off reality.

[lfc958]

Not a bad report, am waiting for an electric car that will have a 300+ mile range before recharge that is less than the £35K one that is around at present.

I am not convinced that hybrids are all that they are cracked up to be, the zero road tax is a con really, as the petrol engines with the electric motor still put out co2 that should put it into atleast the £35, there are petrol cars that put out less co2 that these hybrids.

[sharkrider]

Originally Posted by lfc958

Not a bad report, am waiting for an electric car that will have a 300+ mile range before recharge that is less than the £35K one that is around at present.

I am not convinced that hybrids are all that they are cracked up to be, the zero road tax is a con really, as the petrol engines with the electric motor still put out co2 that should put it into atleast the £35, there are petrol cars that put out less co2 that these hybrids.

indeed, they test the CO2 emmisions (the goverment) on what they consider "average" GB motoring, which is apparently no faster than 25 mph, and stopping frequently! (which is why hybrids, and stop.start tech like bmw use gets below 119kg!) but when running at speed next to a decent deisel, they dont do as well, but yet my car has to pay £155

and matt, yeah the CV boxes have come on alot.... I know they used to hold at max torque (quite high revs) for acceleration, this one changes its revs depending on throttle position, so its far more relaxed, it generally holds betwee 1 and 2 k on the rev counter, 3 -4 k if being pushed harder ect.....

[sharkrider]

Originally Posted by Dr Zoidberg

I'll buy a hybrid when there's one with a diesel engine and a guaranteed battery life of 100k+ that can still do 0-60 in 10 seconds and achieve 80mpg.

It may sound like I'm demanding a lot , but it shouldn't be that far off reality.

I don't think thats expecting alot.... to behonest it would have to be better than a decent modern deisel to be worth it!

personally , i think hybrid tech has a place, if used like lexus have in the fast saloon (its 3 series rival... er LS models?) they use it to add more power, and 4WD when booted..... good idea!

as for the 'eco' ideas, I think they should tend towards hydrogen fuel cell tech, that has to be the way forward..... or even simple "bio" fuels, using conventional engines.... offsetting your emmisions by growing your fuel as corn or oil seed ect before use!

[devonutopia]

sounds like the 7 speed auto CVT gearbox to me. When I was test driving autos on behalf of my mum, the honda jazz I tried had this box and it was awesome! However the price tag was not, so the option of a newer nissan micra at a couple of K less won the day. The micra isn't bad, but any regular auto box is going to feel a bit nasty in comparison to the honda box.

[sharkrider]

Originally Posted by devonutopia

sounds like the 7 speed auto CVT gearbox to me. When I was test driving autos on behalf of my mum, the honda jazz I tried had this box and it was awesome! However the price tag was not, so the option of a newer nissan micra at a couple of K less won the day. The micra isn't bad, but any regular auto box is going to feel a bit nasty in comparison to the honda box.

indeed, I was really surprsed at how well the auto box had come on, I remember crappy jerky 4 speed things from years ago! (and the last auto guy I taught had a crappy 15 years old renault clio! lol..) the honda was a revelation!

[devonutopia]

Mum's 5 speed on the micra is OK, and the 1.2 16v engine is ok enough for town driving.

Must have been good, as she passed her test in it last week (first attempt, started driving at the age of 54 )

[sharkrider]

Originally Posted by devonutopia

Mum's 5 speed on the micra is OK, and the 1.2 16v engine is ok enough for town driving.

Must have been good, as she passed her test in it last week (first attempt, started driving at the age of 54 )

good effort to your mum, its very hard to learn at that age