Joined
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618 Posts
Civic VX
There are a few Civic VX owners here. I still have my 94 red VX with 218K miles. It still delivers 50+ mpg with fairly aggressive driving (With no FCD to keep me restrained I tend to do too much speeding not to mention the 0-50+ 1st gear accelerations when pulling into dense traffic). Even though I bought a 00 Insight I couldn't let the VX go so I use it when I need a little more room and during the Winter when you pick up a lot of paint chips from the roads being sanded. In the 10 years that I have had the VX I have had no problems other than a ventilation fan moter that died at 30K miles which was replaced under warranty. I assume the Insight will deliver the same typical Honda reliability since it is a refined Vtec-E engine. I tracked the Insight with its first press releases in 99 but couldn't justify the need for an additional car (50 vs 70 mpg just wasn't enough incentive although the digital dash was certainly making it tempting). Eventually the supply exceeded demand and I bought a new 00 (#4738) with factory AC and dealer installed cruise from a Honda dealer on Ebay for 16,800. The autostop feature, quieter interior, digital dash, sleek styling, and Electric assist soon were modifying my driving behavior. I averaged in the low 70's for my first 10K miles but soon learned with a constant engine load and lower speeds values in the 90-100 range were very achieveable.
In regards to the Civic Hybrid and how to improve it now that the 04 Prius is offering greater fuel economy perhaps Honda should pull out the VX design and put the updated power train in it. I know the EPA rating system has changed but the VX did have a 57 mpg highway rating so with autostop and the electric assist it could certainly be improved. Have fun, Rick
There are a few Civic VX owners here. I still have my 94 red VX with 218K miles. It still delivers 50+ mpg with fairly aggressive driving (With no FCD to keep me restrained I tend to do too much speeding not to mention the 0-50+ 1st gear accelerations when pulling into dense traffic). Even though I bought a 00 Insight I couldn't let the VX go so I use it when I need a little more room and during the Winter when you pick up a lot of paint chips from the roads being sanded. In the 10 years that I have had the VX I have had no problems other than a ventilation fan moter that died at 30K miles which was replaced under warranty. I assume the Insight will deliver the same typical Honda reliability since it is a refined Vtec-E engine. I tracked the Insight with its first press releases in 99 but couldn't justify the need for an additional car (50 vs 70 mpg just wasn't enough incentive although the digital dash was certainly making it tempting). Eventually the supply exceeded demand and I bought a new 00 (#4738) with factory AC and dealer installed cruise from a Honda dealer on Ebay for 16,800. The autostop feature, quieter interior, digital dash, sleek styling, and Electric assist soon were modifying my driving behavior. I averaged in the low 70's for my first 10K miles but soon learned with a constant engine load and lower speeds values in the 90-100 range were very achieveable.
In regards to the Civic Hybrid and how to improve it now that the 04 Prius is offering greater fuel economy perhaps Honda should pull out the VX design and put the updated power train in it. I know the EPA rating system has changed but the VX did have a 57 mpg highway rating so with autostop and the electric assist it could certainly be improved. Have fun, Rick
