Honda Civic Hybrid

Consumer Reports says that the Civic Hybrid only got 26 mpg in real city
driving:
 
Fuel economy Rank Model tested CR Overall MPG City MPG Highway MPG
1 Toyota Prius 44 35 50

2 Honda Civic Hybrid 37 26 47

Why is the city mileage so bad compared to the Prius? I'm disappointed.

Joy

 

Is that the five year old report, or did they manage to do it again?

If you creep along in traffic, the engine in the HCH would be idling the
whole time, and be no different from any other Civic. 26MPG might be
astounding. You would need to have a non Hybrid drive the same route to
make that meaningful. Would it get 26? 12?

With careful attention to how the HCH operates, you would drive a little
differently, and have the engine stopped some or most of the time.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that the CR city mileage test is very
tough. You should have no trouble beating their estimate.

 

If the CR city mileage test is very tough, then it's equally tough on
the Prius.

If the Prius gets 35 to the Civic's 26 in the tough CR test, then anyone
beating CR's Civic estimate will also beat CR's Prius estimate.

In other words, expect the Prius to get 35% better gas mileage in the
city than the Civic, no matter who's driving.

 

The Toyota web site has plenty of information re. their hybrid synergy
drive. In short, it's technically superior to what Honda is offering
now.

How about posting the CR mpg for the standard Honda Civic, the Honda
Fit and the Toyota Corolla. Then someone can figure out if spending
the extra $$ for a hybrid makes economic sense or if driving a hybrid
is simply sending a one-finger salute to the Saudis.

Joy to you, too.

 

A Toyota Prius, or Ford Escape Hybrid would trounce the Civic Hybrid in a
test on route 78 in rush hour. The Prius/Escape engine would run
occasionally, the Honda might run constantly, or at least it would in the
vintage Honda used in the CR test. The 2006 and later Honda would do a far
better job than the 2003 Honda under test, since the newer engines do shut
off more often.

http://media.ford.com/newsroom/feature_display.cfm?release=20303
"While putting the five finalist routes to the test, the Escape Hybrid had
an average fuel economy of 36.4 miles per gallon and gave off virtually
zero emissions. The miles per gallon ranged from 31.5 to 42.7 on the five
vehicles."

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=17996
36 hours of non-stop driving in Manhattan on one tank of gas.

http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-hybrid/features.aspx?feature=ima

 

Here's the link:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/buying-advice/most-fuele
fficient-cars-206/index.htm 
 
Fuel economy Rank Model tested CR Overall MPG City MPG Highway MPG
1 Toyota Prius 44 35 50

2 Honda Civic Hybrid 37 26 47

3 Toyota Camry Hybrid 34 28 41

4 Toyota Yaris Base (manual) 34 26 42

5 Honda Fit Sport (manual) 34 26 39

6 Toyota Yaris Base 33 23 44

7 Honda Fit Base 32 22 43

8 Honda Civic EX (manual) 31 22 40

9 Hyundai Accent GS (manual) 30 23 36

10 Kia Rio5 SX (manual) 30 23 36

11 Mazda3 i (manual) 30 21 42

12 Mini Cooper S (manual) 30 22 38

All have Overall MPG of 30 or higher

The Civic Hybrid isn't any better than the Fit for city mpg which is
what I'm concerned about. Does Honda plan to use a more efficient hybrid
system in the near future?

Joy S.

 

Maybe. My point was just that the 26 (or 35) mpg might seem low and
that the car would actually do better.

 

The Honda Civic Hybrid is nothing more than a normal car with a 1300cc
engine in extreme city traffic. It rarely operates on electricity alone,
and although 2006 introduced that possibility under some circumstances, it
isn't much.

In city driving, I've never gone below 38mpg with a 2003 HCH. I have also
gotten 38mpg for a week of city driving with a Ford Escape Hybrid, so the
Honda is apparently not the best for city driving. I've never hit 60mpg in
the FEH, though, like I have in the Honda, on rural roads.

Honda has decided to use the hybrid IMA as a boost in power for undersized
engines. I don't think they'll change.

 

Except the Escape does not have electric steering so cannot turn off engine
when stopped at light like other hybrids.

 

Why would you say that?
It is wrong, and wrong.

I can hear the whining of the electric power steering while driving around
in the parking lot with the engine off, and it certainly does shut off when
stopped... although "stopped" doesn't matter, since the engine shuts off
when the vehicle is moving.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/escapehybrid/features/specs/
Electric Power Steering (EPS) is listed for Hybrid and non-Hybrid.

 

Looks like the review I read was incorrect. A google search of other
reviews confirmed it has electronic steering. Perhaps they were confused by
the ac system... if put on full ac (instead of economy ac) the engine will
not turn off when stopped.

 

I'll echo what Clarence says. My 2003 HCH has never averaged below
38mpg. I generally get around 42mpg in spring and fall, 40mpg in winter
and summer. This is for mostly stop-and-go on city streets. I think
Honda's IMA works well for many conditions and if you learn
specifically how to drive with *it*.

 

Don't know about the published specs, but my wife gets 40-41mpg in town
with 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. Where it really falls down is the 25+
mile uphill climb to home (about 4000 elevation change). If it could
only get decent mileage uphill at 55mph it would be wonderful! (of
course, that's wishing for the near-impossible....)

--Rick

 

I'm sure you appreciate that no car is going to get its highest
mileage under those conditions. What kind of mileage do you actually
get on the climb and how does that compare to your earlier vehicles?
It seems like it would be hard to measure over such a short distance
unless you have a mileage computer on the car.

 

test.