For what it is worth, road noise seems to be a commonly-reported issue for Honda vehicles (not just the Civic) for the last few years per Consumer Reports (and my own experience). I have noticed this in the Accord and certainly in the HCH.

I disagree that having 110 hp vs 140 hp makes the HCH any less safe than the non-hybrid Civic. You might have an argument, however, that remaining fixated on the hybrid's FE gauge instead of on the road could make for less safe driving...

The highly opinioned are not always highly informed.

arbittan, if you used the SEARCH feature to RESEARCH issues you speak so confidently on, you'd find that Blizzack snow tires are LRR and Some Sumimoto Ultra-High Performance Summer Tires are LRR as well.

LRR tires are part of a responsible future for automobiles.

http://greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/3686.html

http://greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/4955.html

I wasn't referring to the lack of HP for safety, I was referring to the Low Resistance Rolling Tires used on the HCH II. Several times while driving (not fast) below 40mph the car slips on dry pavement. This is definitely related to the tires used because slipage was not apparent on the non-hybrid that use regular all season tires (- the Si)

Strange. Mine haven't slipped even once. What's going on?

What are you basing your assertion on that low rolling resistance tires have reduced traction? Have you seen this publication? (Thanks to Gairwyn for posting it)

I have on numerous occasions had my tires slip on me. Majority of the time was caused by under inflation and the other times were after inflating the tires to the manufacture setting and then to 35psi.

It is very strange feeling. Tires should never slip when you are going under 30 mph. (Unless you are on snow or ice )

My basing is with personal experience. Now I will admit, I have Bridgestone brand tires which are the industry's worst tire next to Continentals. I have had Michelin's on my previous Acuras with no problems what so ever.

If you were to buy an EX or Si, you would be getting wider wheels/tires that will provide more traction and maybe a bit less fuel economy.

Low rolling resistance tires were not made to sacrifice safety in the name of fuel economy. They should be nearly on par with regular tires. Choice of tire manufacturer will make a difference. We probably got the factory Dunlops because they were cheap and Honda believes that the average Hybrid owner will be driving with a different sensibility.

When I had my smart fortwo cdi (a base "pure" model), I found the factory Bridgestone Summer B340s pretty inept with regards to traction. Sure, the car uses skinny and LRR tires, but these tires seemed to contribute a weakness. Before letting them wear out completely, I switched to Continental Eco-Contacts 72T (also LRR and Summer tires) like on the other trims of the same model car, and wow, did they ever make a difference! The steering front tires, with only a 145-section footprint, found a lot more grip.

Assuming all other conditions of our respective city commutes are the same, I can only conclude that you're driving your car much harder and that your performance expectations shouldn't be understated. What I don't care to see are blanket accusations that the Civic Hybrid is unsafe.

I won't say that I am a savage driver, on the contrary, I am a careful driver. Most of my co-workers inform me when people in walkers are moving faster then me... hehe.

I assume the slippage is coming from the high torque on the IMA when moving from a stopped position to a go position.

Like I stated on other posts here, I am not a pack leader when the light turns green.

I have no doubt that the Civic is a safe car. My totaled 94 Civic is a testament to that! I had a plumbing van truck drive over my 1994 Civic because he claimed he didn't see my bright green Civic.... (He was in the wrong since he was making a left turn, I had the right of way on the road going straight)

I never had my tires slip on me, stopping or going. Even on wet roads. I have them at 44psi.
Then again, I rarely drive more than 55mph....sometimes 50mph.

Ok, here we go again...

According to the many tests (including Honda's own internal data) many of us have seen comparing the Civic EX to HCH, under normal driving conditions the HCH has the better stopping distance and the shortest turning radius.

Here's just one example: HCH-2.
...and ...
Civic EX (With rear disk brakes).


You can find many more if you Google a little.

So let us all place this myth to rest or at least frame in an appropriate context.

This is not to say these tires are good in all conditions. To be thorough, let us also review what is not so good about these tires:
-The LRR tires are measurably noisier than the average tire.
-Unless they are PROPERLY inflated they have a reduced thread life (Once again, see Tarabell's article for proper inflation values).
-They have poorer wet traction.
-They have poorer traction on ice and snow.


Second, as many have already stated, the HCH is definitely not a normal car.
The extra gauges it comes with, are there so that the truly ecological and fuel conscious driver can materialize the hybrid benefits with less guess work. They are not there for decorative impact or to simply justify the hybrids higher cost.

In other words: If you ignore the hybrid instrumentation then you are implicitly denying yourself of ALL the benefits rendered by the technology.

It is up to you.


Cheers;

MSantos

I rarely check my tire pressure (I'm bad; I know it, but I've got two kids, a wife who commutes, I do most of the laundry; yadda yadda yadda), I use A/C all the time in the summer here in sunny NC, and I drive too fast on the highway. In addition, I live in a hilly part of the state, and where people still don't know the left lane is for passing, so both of these factors lead to uneven speeds. Nevertheless, I've averaged 42 mpg lifetime.

I have recently begun driving slower on the highway, driving 65-70 instead of 75-80 mph, and of course have significantly improved my mpg: about 10%. As I am still in the bottom half of all the Civic drivers here on Green Hybrid in terms of average mpg, I am going to continue to slow down so that I can improve my "ranking." I've almost hit 50 mpg on a tank, and that is my next short-term goal. With fall finally here, it should be feasible.

Aneil Mishra

Aneil Mishra, Ph.D.
http://www.totaltrust.wordpress.com