1st gen Honda ciVic Hybrid, anyone ?

[No. 166]

Is there anyone with a 1st generation Honda ciVic Hybrid out there who can give me a little information or even "Insight" to the fuel economy and reliability of the vehicle.

I can get hold of a 2005 model with approx. 7,000 miles on the clock and in new condition. As this type of car isn't sought after here in Germany it is decently priced. And another reason is that it is fitted with a manual 5-Speed shift which was then, the only option of transmission available for the car .

What do you guys think ??

[bryankwalton]

I have never owned either of the Civic hybrids. However, my employer a few years ago had two of the first generation as company cars. I drove one to a meeting once. I was able to average about 4.7L/100km through downtown city driving. This was also a CVT. You should know that at least some of the first generation Civic hybrids with manual transmissions offered lean burn technology. I never had a chance to drive one of those, but would love to give it a shot to see what kind of fuel economy I could get out of it.

Cheers,
-Bryan

[No. 166]

Thanks for your reply.

What do you mean with "SOME" manual-fitted ciVic Hybrids offered lean-burn ? "SOME" meaning: California-only ?

[ibjeff]

Originally Posted by No. 166

Thanks for your reply.

What do you mean with "SOME" manual-fitted ciVic Hybrids offered lean-burn ? "SOME" meaning: California-only ?

No, They were sold here in AZ also. We test drove a new one on the lot before we bought the CNG GX model instead. There are lots of the 5 speeds around here and they show up on AutoTrader often in my area.

[bryankwalton]

Originally Posted by No. 166

What do you mean with "SOME" manual-fitted ciVic Hybrids offered lean-burn ?

I'm not really sure, to be honest. The EPA's site: http://www.fueleconomy.gov lists both lean burn and non-lean burn MT models for the Civic hybrid. Actually, now that I look at it again, I'm also seeing some automatics with lean burn. Interesting.

Cheers,
Bryan

[No. 166]

One thing:
When I was still driving my original Insight I never was really interested in this car. But now years have passed, the Insights have gotten less and less (at least here in Germany, where you won't find 2nd -hand ones easily) and with finding out how crappy the Prius is (and will be; I drive one) and reading about the primitive Hybrid-System on the 2010 Insight I am thinking:
I'm giving the 1st generation ciVic Hybrid a go.

The car never was very popular here in Germany simply because of it's design. 5-door hatchbacks are cars you want to sell in Germany. So they are quite cheap in comparison to TDis and also mostly available with low mileages.

And driving one would always remind me of my beloved "No. 166".

Hybrid with stick-shift !!

[ikhoudvanu199]

i wish they sold a civic hybrid with a stick shift here in the US...but alas, europe gets all the goodies

i have no experience with the civic hybrids...but just knowing that its a civic leads me to believe its great

[lakedude]

Originally Posted by No. 166

Thanks for your reply.

What do you mean with "SOME" manual-fitted ciVic Hybrids offered lean-burn ? "SOME" meaning: California-only ?

I've got an '05 Civic Hybrid with a manual tranny and I love it. I wish it didn't have lean burn.

Please allow me to clear up a few misinformations...

1) The Civic was offered in both CVT and manual transmission versions in 2005.

2) "Lean Burn" is stupid because it kills the pollution score yet does next to nothing to improve MPG.

Check out these cars:

"California": Model 1 Vehicle Characteristics

Lean Burn: Model 1 Vehicle Characteristics

Notice that the California car gets 37/45 mpg and has a pollution score of 9/10 with 10 being the best.

The Lean Burn model gets 38/45 (almost the same) but the pollution score is only 2/10!

[archebald23]

have any of you guys seen the 2010 hybrid? the exterior looks mediocre but the interior looks great. it looks very promising with new innovative civic parts.

[jonnyvtec]

Lean burn when utilised correctly makes a massive difference to engine efficiency. I guess the EPA testing doesnt exploit that and it shows in the results.