I have to agree with Kevin, there seems to be a lot of known defects that we should not have to endure with a new car. That said, so far the dealer here has been great in taking care of them.
I have not had any issues with the car in the snow, but, then I slow down when the roads are covered with snow & ice.
As for mileage, yes it goes down in the winter, especially if you make short trips, but any car goes down in the winter just that 10% of mileage in the 40mpg range is a lot more than 10% in the 20mpg range.
One of my biggest complaints is people who have gone from BMW's, M/B's & Acuras then complain the car is not plush enough.....it is a small car & has a few more goodies than the EX trim line...I, myself do not like leather or a sunroof but I LOVE the 2 tone blue & tan fabric in my HCH.
Take a look at the mileage tables, go into some of the dark postings (those are the current ones) which will give you more information re trip length, temp and any unusual conditions (if the poster listed them).

As for payback, it is not a pure $$$ issue to me, you are driving the CLEANEST car made (per the epa) and getting very good gas mileage to boot. I fiind the car fun to drive and fairly quiet as long as you don't forget you are driving a small car, not a frickin BMW! for me at 98% city driving, I find the acceleration just fine for Spokane WA. city traffic but again NOT A BMW. To say you have to drive 20,000 miles a year to get you value is stupid, sorry, it is not that much more than a Civic ex & you get a rebate (1,000 or so).

So if you are looking only for the cheapest car you can find, get a Yaris, if you are looking for a cheap honda, get the fit. If you want a nicer (NOT A BMW) small car, take a look at the hybrid.

 

Can you list the name of the Dealer who is doing the good work in Spokane?

--Peterg

 

We've had the upper arms replaced already. The back end of the car is now behaving and following the front end around..it didn't do that always hehe.

It feels like an alignment problem to me. I had the car in for the A1 service and mentioned that it didn't feel right, the shop said it was fine blah blah blah.

They generally won't do anything until you hit them over the head with a TSB or something.

I've been complaining about the rear camber since the first snow. I didn't get anywhere until I called customer service and dropped off a 1/4" thick pile of printouts/complaints to the dealer about the rear camber problem from other honda posts on the net.

 

A lot of the problems described are not limited to just the Hybrid version of the Civic...in other words, you have the same likelihood of experiencing them with the regular Civic as well.

 

It's the dealer in the Valley called "Valley Honda" one of the really cool things is if you buy from them, you get a free service loaner (if requested in advance) for life. They are part of "foothills Lincoln Mercury" who, I must say from 3 repairs 1 on my Accord, one on my Ranger & a major one on my HCH has a kick A body shop & the only one in Spokane that is Honda certified.

 

Great to know.

 

Thanks for the info on the dealer Bob.
Kevin, which dealer in Ontario replaced your Upper Control Arms?

(I see Peter is viewing this thread now... he is probably also writing a similar post )

 

I put 13000 miles on my 07 before getting my 08.I started with 36 mpg on the road and went to 39 mpg at about 3000 miles,when i hit 8400 miles i jumped to 44.4 mpg on trips and stayed there.I use nitrogen and they recomend 36 psi.
I had a blue 07 and got hit twice.on my 08 also blue i got hit twice before i got 2000 miles on it.My wife works at tmmk so i get a great discount and i took the insurance check and put it on my new white 09.I paid 2000 difference and gained moonroof,heated mirors.lighted visor and rear lights.
They say i am crazy having owned a 05 and 06 prius and now a 07,08 and 09 camry hybrid but with the discounts from my wife and toyota on nicholsville in ky treating me great and my tradein price was more than i paid for the cars it was well worth it.
plus my kids arnt getting my money.life is short i just hit 71 this month and im going to do as i please and enjoy the rest of my life.

 

It sounds to me like you are the perfect candidate for the HCH. If you brought your miles per hour down to 60, you could count on 50+mpg on flat roads. I find that I actually do BETTER on hills than on flats because I can usually average 30mpg up the hill and then 0gpm down the hill using the HCH's gliding ability (where no fuel is given to the engine, regadless of speed).

Personally, I took a 10mpg hit in the winter (45mpg from 55mpg) but now that temps are in the 50s, I'm back over 50. You will find this less of an issue since you drive highway and probably drive further than 10 miles so your car will have a chance to warm up completely.

The things that I don't like? I miss flat fold rear seats, and it annoys me that I can't creep in stop and go traffic without the engine starting. I don't find backing up to be the least bit problematic, but I have no idea where my front bumper is when sitting in the driver's seat (good thing the car is SHORT). The stock tires are not great in snow, although I haven't been motivated enough to buy snow tires.

Things I love? This car is ergonomically perfect. I've always been a fan of the Civic, but the 06+ takes it to a new level with the split dash. There are places to put everything and I love the blue interior in a sea of tan and black interior cars. I love the CVT which is way smoother than any automatic and has convinced this dyed-in-the-wool stickshift driver that I don't need a manual. Most of all, I love the fact that I got a 59mpg tank last summer doing normal commuting and errands (I'm happy with the 49.5mpg lifetime too).

Regarding maintenance, it takes 0-20w oil every 7,000-10,000 miles which is sometimes hard to find and I don't trust this to a jiffylube type place. You will need the fluid in your CVT changed after 25,000 miles so a trip to the Honda dealer is required. However, you will probably go 100,000+ without ever needing to change your brake pads with highway driving.

Check and see what the Kansas state hybrid credit is. I got an additional $2,200 from Colorado over the $2,100 from Uncle Sam (which is now $1,050 and will drop further as the year goes on).

All in all, I couldn't be happier with the HCH. In fact, I liked it so much that I stole it from my wife, sold my Subaru and we bought Mariner Hybrid for her.

 

The HCH2 is a very good car, for its purposes. It is not a luxury car by any stretch, but it certainly holds its own in the econobox category.
Driving ANY car in cold temperatures hurts the MPGs. Goosing ANY car's gas pedal does the same.

I like my 2006 HCH2 a lot.
Great gas mileage. Decent comfort. Pretty quiet - for a smallish econobox. Cool interior. Pretty stylish. Very low emissions.

The new Civics (not just the hybrid) were all plagued by various things that should have been worked out long before they hit consumers' hands. Alas, they were not. And, thus, Honda's reputation must take a little bit of a hit. This is what I've come to expect out of first-year models from many other manufacturers, but not from Honda (or Toyota). Even worse, they seem to be slow to admit fault and correct the situations in some cases.
However, I suspect that by now (2008, 3 model years in), that they've corrected all the known issues on the cars they're building today.
I wish for a fold-down or pass-thru rear seat. Maybe a slightly larger trunk.

Maintenance is going to be similar to any other car. Likely less expensive than most cars, still.
The oil is 0W20 (and important to use this weight), and it's expensive. But oil changes are every 7-10K miles. (Under $50 at the dealer. I get mine for $20, using MY Mobil One synthetic oil from Wal-Mart, so about $40 total).
CVT (transmission) fluid changes about every 25-30K miles. (Under $80 at the dealer.)

It's a good car that you can feel good about driving.

All in all, I'd buy another in a minute.