Wonder how much more MPG the New Civic Hybrid will achieve?

"a new 2006 Civic Hybrid will feature enhancements to Honda's IMA hybrid technology to achieve significantly higher fuel economy and performance." --Honda President and CEO Takeo Fukui

http://www.hondanews.com/CatID1000?m...34476&mime=asc

And this link too:

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005...eration_c.html

 

Hmmm... I would guess 5mpg and 10hp more? I guess that is the risk in investing in an emerging technology, but I don´t think any of us here would second guess our purchase decision.

Something else I thought about is that maybe they will make changes so that the high mpg will be more transparent. Currently, you have to work pretty hard and monitor your mpg or else you get low forties... Perhaps they will make changes to the system so it matches a more natural driving style.

 

Yes, if they could increase to 51/56 the manual and get the car to perform better in the city without resorting to AutoStop being the number one reason, that would be great.

I'm anxious to see the car and get MPG reports.....only a few short months now......

 

I think toyota was more on the mark with their cars being able to run just off electricity.

I don't know If I have said this here before but I want them to use a standard civic engine and put the motor on that.

I also hope since the 2006 will be a redisign for the civic that they can hide the batteries better and maybe give the civic hybrid folding rear seats like regular civics.

 

The Civic's batteries are not hidden?

 

Hi Jason:

___They are hidden but they are housed in the rear seatback thus the rear seatback does not fold down in either the HCH or the AH.

___Lars-ss, the only item I know of is that Honda is moving the Civic (here in the states) to an i-VTEC like that in the 03 - 05 I4 based Accord. If Honda does not dumb the 06 Civic’s down w/ low gear ratios like they did with this generations Civic’s, that thing is going to receive some monster FE and range along with a real nice increase in performance. In my short test drive behind the wheel of the Accord last September, the I4 based Accord was good for > 50 mpg out on the highway using the NAVI’s FCD Instantaneous. That alone should tell you what a 1.7- 2.0 L i-VTEC would be worth if geared tall like the Accord 2.4 L w/ Auto is today. When driven by a hypermiler, a 60 lmpg from the non-Hybrid would not be out of the question. The Hybrid w/ the 1.3 - 1.5 L i-VTEC and a 5-speed should be good for 70 + as an lmpg imho.

___Honda also mentioned they are placing the iCDTi in the Civic for European consumption. The article was not clear if it is the 2.0 from the Accord or a 1.5 - 1.8 L designed in house as the 2.0 iCDTi was? Either way, you are talking about an easy 60 + lmpg and that would be accomplished by a non-hypermiler. Maybe 75 - 80 + lmpg for a hypermiler?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

I think it depends on whether you do more city or highway driving. The Prius does better in city driving but it does worse in highway driving.

Personally, I would prefer the convenience of being able to inch forward without having it burn gas rather than get better mpg on the highway.

Of course, the real question is.... if you are inching forward all the time, would you not be better off just riding your bike or using mass transit?

What Honda is also learning, and which I hope they fix with the 2006 model, is that A/C needs to be powered by the electric engine, at least partially. This would help people in hot climates. When autostop engages the electric compressor could take over instead.

 

I've been thinking about what they could possibly be doing that would increase power and fuel economy, and the only think I can think of that would do both in terms of engine design would be a switch to a direct-injection setup. DI Engines are supposed to boost power about 10% and fuel economy 20% over a similar indirect-injection engine of similar size.

Mitsubishi and VW have both begun production of direct-injection gas engines, so my guess is that Honda is following suit.

 

Hi Guvmint_Cheese:

___Rumor has it that Honda designed a 2.0 L - 140 HP - 65:1 Lean Burn F/A mixture - 12:1 compression ratio DI-ICE for the Civic but it is entirely speculation right now. Some of the guys working at the Honda factories are posting that the Acura EL (Acura’s Civic in Canada) will be receiving a 155 HP ICE and the regular Civic will be receiving a 140 HP one but again, these insiders may or may not be telling us BS and it has only been posted in the last day or two. The pure speculation is a lot wilder as I posted about the DI above. A simple 2.0 L i-VTEC w/ electronic throttle control will easily give you 140 HP and with the right gearing, 50 + mpg out on the highway is a no brainer given what I have seen behind the windscreen of the 2.4 in the much larger and much less aero-dynamic 7th gen Accord. How Honda will differentiate between the HCH and the regular Civic’s is anyone’s guess? I would suspect a detuned 1.5 - 1.8 L i-VTEC with the AH’s IMA and dual A/C solution but I would be guessing wildly at that point. A 1.5 - 1.8 L i-VTEC would be good for 60 + without the IMA so who knows? Hopefully by Wednesday or at the latest, Thursday afternoon at ~ 10:15 AM, some here will know

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

Hi All:

___And someone is using the Chicago Auto Show’s live web cam and digitally zooming in to look at the actual 06 Civic Si. Of course you cannot see the details but it’s a start … Some guys have to much time on their hands

2005 Chicago Auto show - 06 Civic

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net