Just got my new issue of Car and Driver in the mail and it featured a complete road test on the HCH. It isn't on their website yet though. They had mixed reviews of it, but said that as hybrids went, it was nice, and they enjoy.

I found it interesting that they did a 0-60 acceleration test with the battery fully charged, and a separate test with the battery just partially charged. I don't have it in front of me here at work, but it was around 10.5 seconds for the full charge and around 12.5 seconds for the partially charged battery.

Although they prefer more performance oriented cars, they do seem to enjoy the challenge of trying to maximize their mpg in the Hybrids.

 

Interesting - I'll have to wait for my issue to arrive.

Anything they particularly liked/disliked?

 

Maybe it's just me, but I found the article very uninspiring and uninteresting. The first part of the article was a lot of "This car is a hybrid. This is what a hybrid does. This is what a Prius does. This is how it's not a Prius." I thought too much time was spent explaining these differences instead of the specific qualities (and non-qualities) of the Honda Civic Hybrid. The end gist seemed to be "Eh, it's okay," but there was nothing in this article that made me feel like I should consider this car.

As for what they liked and disliked, if I recall, they did like the fuel economy and performance, but they thought the interior was weird. There was a specific complaint about lack of lumbar support in the front seats.

 

What gas mileage did they ultimately report?

 

Who was the author? They only have a few staff writers that "get it" when it comes to hybrids. I'm in Arizona, so it will probably be another day or two before my issue shows up.

 

They pulled 40mpg. However, they're pretty up-front that they didn't just drive efficiently. Their attempts to do so got them in the higher 40s.

 

no question, they mostly hate hybrids . . . its so out of their comfort zone. Don't get me wrong, I think C&D is the best mass-produced auto mag out there for the US market, but they have some surprisingly narrow minds for innovative technology that isn't geared to simply produce more power (read: Brock Yates)

 

but lately all their editorials have been about hybrids, so they must show some interest in the technology

they always drive their cars hard and way under epa estimates - just check with any of the cars they've reviewed - its always epa 28, c/d 20 or something ridiculous like that

 

Yates is a dinosaur, yes, but even just last month (the December issue) Patrick Bedard's op-ed column was all about the virtues and joy of driving a Lexus RX400h. link They've had a number of positive articles including The Frugalympics where they ranked the Civic Hybrid and Prius in 1st and 2nd place ahead of the Jetta TDI and Echo. They won mainly because they don't force the driver to compromise comfort in exchange for fuel savings.

 

I agree, I have been a subscriber for 12 years. Basically they like fast, nice handling automobiles and they are pushing automobile makers to make cars that get good fuel economy with no performance trade-off. As much as I like my civic hybrid, I understand that 0-60 in 10-12 seconds is at the bottom of the scale for the average auto, and hense isn't going to be a darling of Car and Driver. They recently did a review of the new Civic Si and loved it.