I'm in the market for a new car and the hybrid civic caught my attention. I had a few quick questions that I hope some of you who might already one could shed light on.

I've been reading about alot of issues with the 05 and 06 civic hybrids. Is this the exception or the norm? Part of the reason I'm buying a new car to avoid problems if I can.

I was checking out the options on the honda site and on edmunds.com. I could not for the life of me find out whether the civic comes equipped with a sun roof or if it can be purchased as an option... please tell me I'm bieng a dunce and just missed the obvious.

And lastly... I currently own a '98 malibu LS (v6). I never had a v4 before and wondered how it would feel to "step down" so to speak. I'm more focused on the cars ability to get up and go.

Any other cool insights you can share about your hybrid civic? Are you coming close to the 50mpg mark?

Thanks for listening to the questions from a newb. I know how terrible we can be. LOL

 

PhoenixDown,
I don't believe that the '05 and '06 HCH have many problems. The members of GH will report some issues so we can all learn from each other. I don't think the HCH comes with a sunroof. You could do an aftermarket install. If you really like "get up and go" forget about the HCH. It has ok acceleration and top end, BUT it's mainly about the fuel savings and less pollution. The average for all HCH 's is 45.5 mpg. Check out the "Compare " tab on the GH site. If you want a fast car consider the Civic Si.
The styling and standard features on the HCH are great - I've learned to change my driving habits quite a bit by driving my HCH.
Regards,

 

No Factory Sunroof is available. I'm not sure where you read about 'problems' with the 05 and 06 HCH's. They are 2 completely different models. If some people are complaining about issues on a board like this you have to take it within context that this is an enthusiast board and an area where people ask questions. Most people would say that a 98 Malibu is one of the worst cars you can buy from a reliability, quality, resale and FE standpoint but im sure it serves many people faithfully. as far as get up and go - drive one for yourself and be the judge. I find the acceleration to be fine for 95% of all conditions and i 'came down' from a BMW.

 

How can you ask about get up and go and MPG in the same post?
They are mutually exclusive.

Of course all things are relative, not black and white.
For the get up and go you DO get with the HCH you are getting superb MPG.
No other car will give you more get up and go at that MPG.

And with the MPG you are getting with the HCH you are getting superb get up and go.
No other car will give you that MPG with the same get up and go.

There is no sunroof available in any hybrid Honda of any year.
But if you got the money you can find a guy with a saw.

 

The sunroof is a deliberate omission. It increases the weight too much because of the strengthening required in the roof panels. Take a test drive read the motoring press reviews on the web, enter "Honda Civic Hybrid" in Google and be guided by what they say, you feel and we write. It is an excellent car, but not a hot hatch!

 

Regarding the 'step-down' from a V6, acceleration, etc., these are my observations with my 2005 HCH. Note that the 2006, with a little more horsepower, should perform somewhat better.

- acceleration when passing: I find this to be superior to other cars -- you instantly get the electric boost when moving into a passing lane, rather than the relative lag I have noticed with other cars

- acceleration from a standstill: I have found this to be adequate -- I can keep up traffic without a problem. You likely won't be racing anybody, however.

- acceleration uphill from a standstill: this is probably where the HCH labors the most, in my opinion. Of course, almost every car labors going uphill, but my sense is that the HCH labors more than I would expect. Note that this is acceleration uphill from a standstill; once the car is underway, the impact of the hill is not so severe.

Of course, the definitive way to find out if you are going to like the HCH is to take one for a test drive that includes acceleration, passing, hills, etc., in an area of town that you are familiar with, so that you can compare it to your previous car.

And regarding the sunroof -- you can't get it from Honda, you have to go aftermarket. They cost quite a bit -- easily over $1000 -- for the type with buttons, motors, moonroof tilt, etc. If you search through this site, you will fine a thread from somebody who had done this.

Be aware that your ultimate MPG is going to depend heavily on your driving style. Racing around will yield poor MPG (40 or lower). Moderation will yield mid-40s. Working at it hard, depending on your typical commute, can yield over 50.

Good luck.

 

The reason I ask about problems was because I came upon this thread which listed some serious issues regarding the battery. It also has a link back to this these threads on greenhybrid.com:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...eady.5556.html
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...2006.5524.html

As I said earlier, this could be the exception rather than the rule. Im just trying to be diligent in my research before purchasing a vehicle.

 

Phoenixdown

Two questions for you. How long is the guarantee on the IMA battery pack? How long will you be keeping the car?

BTW The engine is a cross mounted 4, not a v4 as you mentioned. Suggest you see the movie (12 minutes) showing the advanced engineering built into the car which accounts for the value which we all percieve!..

http://world.honda.com/news/2005/4050705_b.html

 

Phoenix,

The one thread you link to is regarding the 63 mile bug. My car has the bug and while it is annoying as all heck, it really doesn't affect anything functional about the car - you just can't keep track of "tank mileage". Also, there was another post on it a while back and most of the cars affected by it appear to be earlier versions (I haven't seen any VIN's about 7000 that have had it that I can remember right this second - although someone may disprove that). With production somewhere above 12,000 at this time, you may not need to worry about it.

Eric

 

Actually the Prius is a bit faster and it gets better mileage. The upcoming Camry Hybrid is much quicker though; some review somewhere tested it at 7.9 seconds to 60 and 12.9 to 80. And it sounds like it'll get mileage somewhere around 35-40 driven conservatively, or 30-37 driven more typically. Definitely not as fuel efficient, but alot quicker.