Finally got a sedan brochure last night. I agree with the poster who complained about the tan armrests & console cover - especially with that fabric. And there's a lot of colors going on in that interior - I see blue, ivory, tan, black, a little silver (in the door pulls)...it just looks like a mishmash. I'd bet Ivory interior would be better, ergonomically (no picture to go by), but then you have the wear / dirt angle. Me no like...

The other thing I noticed from the brochure - it lists the 'battery pack' as having the 8/80 warranty - NOT 'the entire / most of the IMA system', as previous cars have had. I'd like to see a warranty clarification, because if it's ONLY the battery pack...I think Honda's hiding something, or trying to cheapen things up.

CVT, interior scheme, warranty... is this car the value option, even at 50mpg ? I'd like to see some opinions of what the R18 would be good for, since it's supposed to have the FE of a 1.5L engine. Let's see what some others think - and I'd like to hear 'conventional' things like DWL, vs. 'unconventional' / pull out all the stops like FAS, etc.
I'm reserving one of these in Magnetic Pearl - for now. Dealer assures me no hardship in selling, if I don't finalize the purchase.

Thx in advance for any replies.

If the bullet cant be bit in this house for the hybrid. A coupe will be bought.

Reasoning flawed as some will think.

I see no reason for Honda to put rear drum brakes on a car at the hybrids price point. Its a insult. And i dont like the CVT. Honda and Toyota can spew them as gods gift to computer controled autos. BUT there not proven. They have been at the fringe of auto trannys for 30 years. If there worth was a known and economic sound fact. Development would have all ready happened. Given all of this and my tude... And its mine.

A EX Coupe seems the best bet for me. It meets some of my sporting needs. After all we do already have a I4 EX Accord Sedan,,, in my hands can do 40 mpg. Others here will argue with me,, but I can bet wife wont get 40 mpg out of a hybrid. When i could coast to 60 mpg if the CVT dosent scatter like roachs when the lights are turned on. The wife would do better in a 5mt Coupe than a hybrid. She would be dogging the CVT so bad it isnt funny. But she slows down and thinks about driving if she has to shift gears.

At the other end of the scale is Si.. I would not get good fe in that car... Would be SUV like mpg. But the smile on my face. priceless. I think the wife would fare very good in the Si. All those gears and work to drive it.... She wouldnt drive it!!!! ( there is a god )

For me a hybrid in Coupe with nox for when needed would be the answer. BUT that wont happen, So it eval the hybrid and coupe and toss a coin....

I highly doubt that the next HCH is really going to be a "value," just like the current one . . . people who paid extra for a Prius or HCH instead of the corolla or conventional civic usually have other motives beyond value.

The one feature that excites me about the next HCH is the ability of the ICE to shut down completely during some cruising situations, running strictly off the electric engine . . . more or less a Honda sanctioned FAS. I can only imagine what that could mean for hypermilers. The non ICE A/C feature sounds great too.

If you incorporate many of the techniques on this board, you can easily push your MPG into the low - mid 40s on the upcoming Civic DX/LX/EX. Combine that with ULEVII emissions standard and PZEV emissions in the "clean" states for the non hybrid civics, you'll have great mileage without having to worry about CVT/battery pack/emissions.

Basically, you can't go wrong with whatever 2006 Civic you choose, value or not.

Hi All:

___To those that have the 06 Civic brochure in their hands, does the PZEV non-hybrid have the same size tank as the ULEV based one or is it ~ 2 gallons short like the HCH-I PZEV’s vs. the ULEV’s?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Are you asking if the Civic is a good value, or are you asking about the "Value Edition" Civic? For 03-05, they sold a model named the "Value Edition". As in, that was the actual name of the model. I don't believe there is any Value Edition in the new naming scheme, but they might have changed something at the last minute. Previously, the Civic VE was a DX with air conditioning and power windows and door locks, along with an automatic transmission as standard equipment.

The DX / LX / EX are rated ULEV-2 with a 13.2 gal capacity; the hybrid is AT-PZEV with a 12.3 gal capacity. That's a nationwide PZEV rating, from what I see (ie; every HCH-II made will be rated PZEV, although the extra warranty will probably only apply in the 'clean states')

They don't list Bin/Tier info, and if the capacity is lessened in the non-hybrids sold in CA, etc, they don't list that either, that I see.

I'll guess they use the same PZEV gas tank, when sold in one of the 'clean states', but that's only a guess. What does the 7th-gen version use, by comparison ?

AZCivic - I guess what I'm saying is...does the $5K (expected) price differential between an LX and the hybrid make sense, given the anticipated efficiency of the two drivetrains ?

The LX (auto) is rated 30/40; I do most of my driving in suburban / highway conditions, although my work commute has a lot of stop and go at times. If I incorporate techniques like DWL, how much more can I squeeze out of that R18, and how much could one expect from the hybrid, in similar traffic conditions ? I know the variable is the price of gas, and how long I expect to keep the car. In other words, I'm looking for expected time to ROI, same as most non-hybrid drivers, when they're considering a hybrid purchase.

For the record, I manage to get 24mpg combined out of my V6 accord, which is right around EPA combined. So I think I can learn to drive the HCH-II efficiently to maximize it's potential. I will not, however, use FAS (at least not at this time) in either vehicle (at longer stops, like for a train, I do shut down the engine at least)

Hi Reynolds:

___The 06 HCH is only available as a PZEV although on HS fuel, I don’t know if it will make Tier II/Bin 3 or Tier II/Bin 2? I suspect Bin2 but who knows? You are right about the 8 Year/80,000 in the non-clean states and 15/150,000 in the clean ones … The HCH-I had a 13.2 gallon (ULEV) or an 11.9 gallon (PZEV) tank per the specs. 12.3 is a bit bigger then the 05 PZEV and hopefully she can hold 14 + gallons this time around?

___Thank you for looking that up for me.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

If you're looking at it from a purely economic standpoint, the hybrid doesn't compete so strongly against the LX because of the rather large price gap. It's actually equipped more in line with the (more expensive) EX model, but if the LX isn't missing any features from the EX or Hybrid that you really want, then it would be hard to make up the difference. How many miles a year do you drive, and how long do you plan to keep the vehicle? We can draw up a sample cost analysis based upon that information.

I agree it's more inline with EX than LX.