I have just started looking into the HCH after driving a 26-MPG car back and forth on my ~100 mile commute every day. I did have a VW Golf Deisel last year that was pretty nice, however I needed to trade it in to make room for my wife's car :-) Also we couldn't stand the smell of the deisel fuel that would linger in the car and the garage.
My local honda dealers have a few HCH MT's in stock that I am going to look at this week, I'm in Maryland. Are there two versions of the 2005 HCH? I've been reading about CA and a couple of other states that get one with a smaller tank and no lean-burn functions. Any way to tell at the dealer?
Pricing so far seems to be decent in this area, with dealers offering around invoice or lower, I'll have to see what options they are adding to the car. Any thoughts on this?
Also, anyone go for an extended warranty and would you mind sharing what you paid? Thanks and looking forward to hearing from everyone!

Hey CT~
We bought our CVT and bit the bullet and paid $999 for the 7yr/100K extended warranty. "I mean hey, it's a Honda, what's going to happen?" But then listening to the sales guy who wants to scare the bagebees out of you "Oh man, if this breaks down, you're taking big bucks to repair the Hybrid system" So, we opted for the "insurance", which is really only $142/yr if you break it down. I wouldn't go for the $2000 extended warranty that does everything but put gas in the car...too much. We just went for the "basic" coverage.

You can identify which HCH you're looking at by examining the invoice on the window, or look carefully at the small sticker on the window. I thought it was California and parts of the Northeast that were mandated with the no emission hybrid.

We also paid for foglights and heavy duty rubber mats front and back. Both items you can get off eBay and install yourself. Foglights are doable, but I was lazy and paid the cash.

Hope your purchase goes well!

Kansas, not as flat as you think...

take a look at the rear windows' glass at the back corner - where the epa emission rating is posted - if it reads "AT-PZEV" its the one with the smaller gas tank and no lean-burn

if it reads "ULEV" then its the regular version with the 13.2 gallon tank and lean-burn

if you check out honda's website on the civic hybrid and click the link for the full specifications, you will see that the emissions and epa mileage ratings are different for the two versions

From Honda's website: "*AT-PZEV vehicles are SULEV-rated with zero evaporative emissions and differ slightly due to emission standards. Available in California and some northeastern states."

hch specifications from honda - scroll down to emissions/mpg

But the hybrid system is already warrantied for 80K miles and 8 years right? So they made you pay $1000 for just 20K more miles?

Nope, we extended the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, PLUS added to the 80,000 mile hybrid battery warranty.

You basically have 2 warranties. 3yr/36K for the car, 8yr/80k for the hybrid battery system, more or less, although the entire hybrid system isn't covered, so read the fine print.

Our extended warranty covers the "fine print".

Plus it covers breakdown situations. You'll have motel reimbursement if on a trip, usual roadside breakdown response, and rental car reimbursement if your hybrid requires a lengthy stay at the dealer for parts replacement. It always galls me to pay big bucks up front for what we assume is a great product, but, if we ever do need it, we'll be glad we coughed up the cash. If we never use it, that's cool, it's peace of mind.

Kansas, not as flat as you think...

I went and test drove the HCH last night (5-speed) and was pretty impressed. The dealer had installed mud-flaps and wheel locks on all of their cars. Quick question - the car seemed to like to 'self-center' the steering, is this common to all HCH's and/or all Civics?
Thanks everyone!

Unless you drive in mud about 25% of the time, I would remove those mudflaps if you buy the car......they provide extra "wind resistance" and will inhibit your ability to maximize MPG.......Good Luck....

Anyone know how to remove them, I wasn't sure if they are drilled into the car and will leave holes when removed...

They're mostly behind the wheel and I can't tell ANY difference in mileage, although it might be very slight. The wheel breaks the wind before the molding, for the most part.

I don't call mine "mud" flaps. I call them "tar" flaps (they're really not even "flaps" - more like "moldings"). Everyone will ocassionally drive through tar. In addition, it protects from rock chips. I wouldn't drive a nice car withough them.

'05 Accord Hybrid
'05 Odyssey EX-L
'03 1800 Goldwing
'98 Civic EX (16 yr. old daughter's)

Yeah, in CA you can get the AT-PZEV version which has a smaller fuel tank. I think it still has lean-burn though, isn't that where when your foot backs off the pedal the mileage goes way up?