My New HCHII



Okay, a week and a tank in my new HCHII so I thought I’d just put down my impressions if anyone cares of my new car. It’s really just for anyone who’s thinking of making the jump but is worried about life in the slow lane. Please excuse the rant…. It’s my therapy. Oh yeah, my first post, go easy on me…. Some of you seem a little sensitive/enthusiastic….. well actually obsessed with their hybrids.

No I don’t care that my grammar is bad, nor do I care about my spelling mistakes.


Bit about me:



I used to drive a supercharged Volvo on a130 Mile commute around the Bay Area every day. After a bout of expensive servicing ($2500 anyone?) and finding my car needed several new tires, I bit the bullet and traded it in for something that sips fuel, cheap and was reliable. I was going to get a Mazda 3 but after sitting in traffic one day and spotting the Prius’s driving past me in the HOV lane, I decided I needed a hybrid. As the Toyota looks like a green house on wheels to me and I didn’t like the stigma of being a Prius driver, I decided on the Honda Civic Hybrid. Besides, everyone knows the Toytas are in short supply, expensive and marked up….. that wouldn’t happen with a good old Honda would it? My driving style by my reckoning would be considered fast, by my wifes reckoning, insane. (that’s why we have life insurance dear)



I’ll start off negative:



The really really really bad /buyers’ remorse:



The HOV stickers. Before buying I checked the DMV website and that said the program expires in 2008 (fair enough) and that if it got too crowded in these lanes, they’d pull the plug on the program (again fair). However, since buying the car I start to find on websites like this there are 8000 stickers left, it’ll take months before I probably get my plates (my record is 6 months before receiving them – I am a resident Alien, I think they run background checks on me) and so I’ll probably miss out. So the main reason I purchased the car, I’m unlikely to get. Also, I have to purchase a FasTrak transmitter before I can apply (Bay Area rule). I go across the bridges here about twice a year, so I am paying for something that I probably won’t need and wastes my time before trying to apply for the stickers without my license plate in the unrealistic hope of missing the cut off (I’ve got to try). The DMV in CA should make this clearer on their website.



You hear about some idiots paying 5K over MSRP…yeah, that’d be me. I checked the prices at several local dealers and they were all within a couple of hundred of each other. It was very much “you know how fast I can sell this car if you don’t buy this?”… I try to bargain and, okay “you pay our price or someone else will”. I got a bit extra for my trade-in but I think they were humoring me. Even with tax breaks and fuel economy, I’m never going to make the money back. Yes I know that’s not the point and how much a sucker I am….. I get reminded enough about these facts by my friends, thank you.



The Bad:



The dealer tried to rip me off on the warranty. I told him I could get that a $1000 cheaper online, he scoffed. I showed him I could get it $1000 cheaper online, he was impressed. Score one me….. The score so far: Dealer $5000 of my cash – Me: Smugness



The front seats aren’t that comfortable. Maybe I’m just used to the leather interior of the Volvo, but its not as nice and gives me a bit of a downer. (that said I didn’t like the new Volvo V50 seats in the car they lent me while repairing mine last month)



The sat nav is garbage. I have a TomTom from my previous car and this was way better and cost a quarter of the price. The controls are in funny positions, the clock position moves so I can never easily satisfy my obsession with the time, it’s not easy to use, nor does the creator seem to have had an ounce of common sense. Where’s my multi disk CD player and did the designer recover from being cryogenically frozen in the 90’s? This is the only reason I can think of that they decided to use full size CF cards (which then the player doesn’t support mp4 (which I copy from my iTunes), play the tracks in order or even display the track correctly). Very poor show Honda.



Voice activation – Maybe it’s my funny accent but:



Me: CD Play track 2

Car: Air Conditioning off

Me: Air Conditioning on

Car: Air conditioning on

Me: CD skip track

Car: CD play track 11

Me: CD PLAY TRACK 2

Car: Air conditioning off

Me: &^%* off

Car: Audio off



The brakes – I haven’t quite got the hang of the hydraulic help yet…. SCREECH ! Leave plenty of space behind me

5x3 point seat belts, yet 2 cup holders. Is this progress?

It took me three days to work out what color it really is. I think it’s grey.


I want it to drive totally on electric…. Even if it’s just for a couple of yards. Has anyone actually managed to get their Honda to do this?


It’s not got a 250BHP supercharged engine. I was aware of this fact before I purchased it, so I only have myself to blame. I raced a Pontiac GTO at the lights on Sunday night…. I got better fuel economy than him so as far as I was concerned; the environment was the winner that night.



The Good.



The car itself. As a proud ex-Volkswagen owner who likes his cars put together well, Honda have done a fantastic job. This car feels fantastic, way better than the Volvo and as good as the previous model Golf (we don’t mention the rabbit, it upsets me). It gives me safety equipment, lots of, as standard. Bravo Honda! I also like the look. People say it looks very sporty…. Well it looks it…..

The acceleration – Okay, so a golf cart could leave me at the lights and it could do with a bit more horse power, but it’s adequate. I found this surprising. I’ve not felt yet that I was in danger due to not being able to accelerate fast enough and it merges well. I drove an EX as a test drive, it’s a close run thing for acceleration between the cars

The trunk – I was told it was small because of the battery there.. Fits my golf clubs and shopping. Do I need anything else?

Gas – It’s been mentioned that the engine breaks in at 3500 miles and you get better mileage. I have 700miles on the clock and have been getting nearly 50mph

Me – I drive safer, slower and a bit more considerate. It’s a strange feeling having cars pass me though.


The car part II – I’m still enjoying driving it. It’s like a video game. Can I get the battery fully charged?, how long can I go without accelerating down this hill? I’m doing 100mpg here… stay green, stay green, stay green….. NO!!! it's white. Why does it feel so good when the engine cuts off when coming to a full stop? Eat clean emissions Toyota driver, maniac passing (with cruise control on of course to make sure I’m getting good fuel economy)

The insurance – Despite horror stories. 8 bucks extra for 6 months. I asked if I could pay in installments.



The super bad



I like having a hybrid….. I may even be slightly smug about the fact of owning one. This is not me. Maybe I’m growing up



I’m off to hug a tree now





CM