Test Drive: 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid

[Tideland Prius]

A lot of things have happened since CanadianDriver last tested the redesigned Honda Civic Hybrid in 2006: the price of gas shot up to well over a dollar a litre; Al Gore and David Suzuki brought the seriousness of global warming to the attention of the masses; the federal government started offering rebates for hybrids and other fuel efficient vehicles; and some provincial governments increased their own sales tax rebates on hybrids.

Still, only about 10,000 of the 1.6 million vehicles sold in Canada in 2006 were hybrids, according to Desrosiers Automotive Consultants. Automotive analysts, such as J.D. Power and Associates, are predicting that number will grow dramatically over the next five years as more vehicle manufacturers begin offering hybrid models and consumers warm up to those government rebates and potential dollar savings on gasoline.

But there's another, more altruistic reason hybrid sales are likely to rise: some motorists are genuinely concerned about the amount of carbon dioxide coming out of the tailpipe of their cars. These consumers want to reduce their personal contribution to global warming, however small that may be.

Thanks to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), we can now put a definitive figure on that contribution. NRCan's Energuide 2007 Fuel Consumption Guide lists annual carbon dioxide emissions for each vehicle as well as fuel efficiency ratings.

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[MSantos]

Hey, that's my wife's new car. Color and all.... we just received it this last Monday after a long 45 day wait.

Cheers;

MSantos

[onlynark]

love my HCHII, I dont understand why more people dont buy them. Very well designed car IMO.

[Tideland Prius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MSantos @ Jun 11 2007, 04:24 PM) [snapback]459792[/snapback]</div>

Hey, that's my wife's new car. Color and all.... we just received it this last Monday after a long 45 day wait.

Cheers;

MSantos
[/b]

Galaxy Grey Mica?

love that colour combo. The blue/beige interior is awesome!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nark @ Jun 11 2007, 04:52 PM) [snapback]459808[/snapback]</div>

love my HCHII, I dont understand why more people dont buy them. Very well designed car IMO.
[/b]

No idea. Test drove it a month ago and loved it. Quite sporty and fun to drive. I still prefer the Prius for maximum FE but for the regular folks, I don't see any issues with the HCH-II (ok maybe except the trunk space and no folding seats). Both my friend and I had a kick test driving the car.

[MSantos]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nark @ Jun 11 2007, 05:52 PM) [snapback]459808[/snapback]</div>

love my HCHII, I dont understand why more people dont buy them. Very well designed car IMO.
[/b]

I don't think they can buy more of them.

Honda is producing them as fast as they can as their Suzuka plant is operating well beyond the numbers it was designed to produce.

Cheers;

MSantos

[MSantos]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jun 11 2007, 06:13 PM) [snapback]459816[/snapback]</div>

Galaxy Grey Mica?

love that colour combo. The blue/beige interior is awesome!
No idea. Test drove it a month ago and loved it. Quite sporty and fun to drive. I still prefer the Prius for maximum FE but for the regular folks, I don't see any issues with the HCH-II (ok maybe except the trunk space and no folding seats). Both my friend and I had a kick test driving the car.
[/b]

In Canada it is called Sparkle gray pearl. In the US is called magnetic pearl. My wife loves it. I have the Alabaster Silver (2006) which she's not too keen about otherwise I would have given it to her and kept the Prius for myself.

I agree, the 2007 Prius gives better mileage but only as long as the temps don't dip to much... otherwise, the roles reverse pretty quickly and the HCH ends up looking FE mighty in our winter climate.

Yep, trunk space is an issue for me (once in a blue moon), but that is something my wife does not care about. In the other hand we only took advantage of the Prius cargo ability once since we bought it.
In all fairness, the HCH trunk is not that small especially when compared to the Camry Hy - for a much larger car the Camry Hy trunk has the same volume as the HCH which makes the HCH look pretty good for the compact that it is. I guess it is all about perspective.

Cheers;

MSantos

[onlynark]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MSantos @ Jun 11 2007, 06:49 PM) [snapback]459882[/snapback]</div>

I don't think they can buy more of them.

Honda is producing them as fast as they can as their Suzuka plant is operating well beyond the numbers it was designed to produce.

Cheers;

MSantos
[/b]

I didnt know that. I had no trouble buying mine in the color that I wanted with the options that I wanted. Plus, I got a very good deal on it with several hundred below invoice.

tideland: I guess the trunk space can be annoying, but thats what my dad's prius is for

[Tideland Prius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MSantos @ Jun 11 2007, 07:04 PM) [snapback]459896[/snapback]</div>

In Canada it is called Sparkle gray pearl. In the US is called magnetic pearl. My wife loves it. I have the Alabaster Silver (2006) which she's not too keen about otherwise I would have given it to her and kept the Prius for myself.

I agree, the 2007 Prius gives better mileage but only as long as the temps don't dip to much... otherwise, the roles reverse pretty quickly and the HCH ends up looking FE mighty in our winter climate.

Yep, trunk space is an issue for me (once in a blue moon), but that is something my wife does not care about. In the other hand we only took advantage of the Prius cargo ability once since we bought it.
In all fairness, the HCH trunk is not that small especially when compared to the Camry Hy - for a much larger car the Camry Hy trunk has the same volume as the HCH which makes the HCH look pretty good for the compact that it is. I guess it is all about perspective.

Cheers;

MSantos
[/b]

Oh yeah.. Sparkle Grey lol.. oops. I was just reading that post by the Norwegian and he said Galaxy Grey. (I think Mazda uses that name here?).


True, I just noticed that when I was browsing toyota.com and noticed that the trunk space in cu. ft were the same.


It seems the HCH-II's trunk is better shaped though.

[MSantos]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jun 12 2007, 12:26 AM) [snapback]459995[/snapback]</div>

It seems the HCH-II's trunk is better shaped though.
[/b]

You may be right though. I am not too sure however since it is wide but not very deep.

Now It just occurred to me... that the HCH was disqualified for Taxi service in Manitoba because of the small trunk size. They did not even bother applying for the Camry... by implication it too would have been rejected. Apparently, the minimum cargo carrying volume for a trunk is set at 13cu feet.

I wonder if they have the same Taxi regulations in BC and other places?

Cheers;

MSantos

[jhinton]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MSantos @ Jun 11 2007, 06:24 PM) [snapback]459792[/snapback]</div>

Hey, that's my wife's new car. Color and all.... we just received it this last Monday after a long 45 day wait.

Cheers;

MSantos
[/b]

That is exactly why we didn't buy one. I liked the Civic Hybrid much better than the Prius as far as handling, and ergonomics. I for one HATE the touch screen in the Prius. But the Hybrid had two strikes against it.

1st, there were none available in a 500 mile radius and my local dealers were back-ordered for 4 months. There were 7 Prii available just in my little town of 30K people. (3 used, 4 new)

2nd, the Civic doesn't even have a pass though from the trunk to the rear seats because the batteries are stacked behind the seat. So no skis inside the car which was a big downside for us as we Ski Patrol and are on the slopes every other weekend in the winter.