Posted: Monday, April 10, 2006. (12:07 AM HST)

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid: Civically Minded

By Ed Kemper
Honolulu, Hawaii
Courtesy of Honda Windward

Out of the box, the new for 2006 Civic has already scored with the Motor Trend Car of the Year award and likewise for the Detroit car show award.

With this completely redesigned compact, the entire line was revamped from the regular sedan and coupe to the hot rod Si and the fuel-sipping hybrid four door.

Earlier Wheels tested the stick shift couple. This week, Wheels tackles the high gas mileage hybrid sedan. To remind our readers about what a hybrid vehicle is here is Hybrid 101 in a simplified rendition.

Hybrids have 2 motors—one gas and one electric. The high gas mileage comes from a combination of factors. First, in the case of the Civic, Honda Insight, and Toyota Prius, the gas engine is small. So the Civic can get out of its own way and if more power is needed, the electric motor comes on to add the needed thrust. But the real gain in mileage comes during heavy traffic conditions. Simply stated, at stops the gas motor turns off and turns back on when forward movement is called for.

Electricity to recharge the special batteries for the electric motor comes primarily when going downhill or braking.

The variation on the hybrid theme with the Civic hybrid as opposed to the Toyota/Lexus/Ford/Mercury versions comes after the stop. With the latter, the electric motor provides the initial thrust up to about 20 mph, but in the Civic as soon as you lift off the brake, the gas motor is on.

Nevertheless, the Civic EPA rating is not lacking—49 city and 51 highway. But as with other hybrid mileage numbers, the real life numbers, as we will see, is substantially less, but certainly good by any measure.

For the civic minded, the hybrid version only comes in the 4-door sedan and is quite will equipped. The starting price is $22,400 which is thousands more than a similarly equipped EX sedan. To help offset this difference, besides the gas savings is a Federal tax credit, which varies from vehicle to vehicle, but only is as good as you have taxes to pay.

Aside from the changes between the 2005 Civics and the 2006 models, the 2006 hybrid version has improvements over its 2005 predecessor. The small 1.3 liter gas motor remains the same size but with some assistance in the variable timing arena. The electric powerplant jumps (a relative term) in horsepower from 13 to 20, and the combined motor output hits 110 hp as opposed to 93.

The manual transmission choice was dropped and only the CVT automatic is supplied. Gas mileage ratings are up a bit, as well as interior space, and overall weight.

Civic Revisited
To test this regenerated hybrid, an option less version was provided for the road test. Since the only option is a navigation system, which is not programmed for Hawaii anyway, it is easy to understand why there were no options.

To go to the heart of the matter, let’s talk about the mileage and how the hybrid system worked in everyday commuting.

First, the mileage was lower than the EPA ratings, as has been the case in most of the high mileage rated hybrids. In the commutes from Kailua to town and back the numbers varied from a low of 36.7 to 44.8 with average overall in the 40 mpg range—certainly not bad by any measure.

With only 110 hp overall, acceleration is leisurely adequate. In other words, keeping up with traffic is not a problem, but not do not expect neck-snapping thrust. With the CVT transmission, which means no real gears, no shifting is sensed. However, going up steep hills and fully accelerating causes the little engine that could to run up the tach with some resulting noise.

As billed, the gas engine, most of the time, dutifully turns off when the car stops and comes on instantly when lifting off the brake. Occasionally, there is a slight stutter in the powertrain when the transition occurs.

As with most Hondas, the steering is light to the touch and direct. Because the detents in the gearshift mechanism are not clear enough, sometimes the lever goes into the sport mode rather than drive as intended.

Ride is direct in the sense that the road is certainly felt in a not so subtle manner but not in a harsh way. Even with the narrow tires, cornering is controlled and not sloppy at all.

The colorful cloth front bucket seats have some real side support and are medium in their firmness.

In a needed correction from the previous Civic hybrid, the A/C continues to operate when at a full stop. Honda reengineered the compressor to overcome this previous issue.

Civil Reform
Besides the clear exterior styling difference, the interior of the new Civic received a substantial makeover. Most obvious is the dash pod, which has become a two-tier affair. On top is essentially a video screen with a digital speedometer readout and video graphics for water temperature and fuel readings.

Centered in the lower level are the tach, the odometer and some minor computer info, plus the status of the battery for the electric motor. When all is said and done it is quite handy and easy to read.

The rest of the dash is shaped like a big V thrust out towards the driver and passenger. Controls for the stereo/CD player and the A/C are straightforward in their use with some color contrasts to keep things interesting.

To add to dual color interior, metallic looking plastic is everywhere from the steering wheel to the parking brake. Five pukas of varying sizes for storage are scattered all over. A large storage bin is found under the cloth-covered armrest.

On the floor by the driver are two lockable levers to open the trunk and fuel door. Integrated into the ignition key are the remote functions, including the ability to open the trunk without inserting the key.

Civic Room
With use of heavy sculpturing in back of the front seats and maybe a little forward movement of the front riders, room in the back seat is adequate for even the tall. Headroom is also good. Three adjustable headrests reside at the top of the rear seats. Although a flat floor helps make the middle passenger a little more comfortable, a hump in the back of the seat conspires to make great comfort impossible.

Unfortunately, with the battery equipment for the electric powerplant in the back area, fold down rear seats backs are not possible. Neither an armrest nor cupholders are found in the rear chamber either.

Trunk space is medium/small but fully lined even on the trunk lid. The integrated remote key has a button to open the trunk.

Civic Duty Revisited
So with the remake of the Civic line, there is a new Civic hybrid. With a little more power and some tinkering here and there, mileage and power are up as well as interior volume. The two-tier instrument panel is entertaining along with colorful interior layout. The hybrid offers good to great fuel mileage (depending on your view point) along with general Civic goodness.

High Beams
• Good gas mileage
• Two tier dash is entertaining and useful.
• Has the other Civic virtues.

Low Beams
• Small engines represent unpower to the people.

Q&A
Q: On the sticker there is a disclosure about where the vehicle is assembled and the origin of the parts. In the case of the hybrid, the information is unusual. What is it?

A: The Hybrid has 70 percent of its parts from the U.S. and Canada, but the engine and transmission come from Japan. Nothing to different about that except the point of assembly is in Japan. Thus, Hybrids sold in the U.S. have had a lot of ocean travel.

– Ed Kemper is the auto columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin and MidWeek, the Weekend. He also hosts Wheels Hawaii TV on Oceanic Cable-Channel 16 in Hawaii, which is shown on Wednesday at 12:30 PM, Thursday at 1:00 PM and 5 PM, Friday at 10:30 PM and 9:30 PM, and Saturday at 9:30 AM and 4:00 PM.

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