A Civic with some extra gizmos - and drawbacks

Honda calls its hybrid system Integrated Motor Assist and that's as honest a technology label as you are ever likely to come across in the car business, or any other business, for that matter.

That is, Honda has integrated a small (15-kilowatt or 20-horsepower, 2.8-inch-wide) electric motor into the drive train. It's tucked in there between the engine and transmission. Quite the nifty bit of packaging and a perfect example of elegant engineering.

That little electric motor is there to assist the gas engine when the driver needs more jump - in passing mode or merging into traffic.

Meanwhile, the smaller gas motor, naturally, uses less fuel and, by doing that, it releases fewer emissions. Very nice.

The last piece of the puzzle is Honda's Intelligent Power Unit. This is the computer brain that manages the flow of electricity to and from the electric motor and a small nickel-metal hydride battery pack.

A last few odds and ends make up the package. Most significant is "regenerative braking." This has the electric motor turn around and act like a generator when you hit the brake pedal. So you're recharging the battery. Pretty cool.

Put it all together and you have what's known as an Advanced-Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. A mouthful, I know, but it simply means the Civic Hybrid has the best-possible emissions rating for a hybrid.

All this is laudable enough, but let's be truthful here. The Civic Hybrid is interesting, but the engineering here is not nearly as sophisticated as you get in, say, the Toyota Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid by far.

It's true that, when cruising, this Honda hybrid can be powered by either the electric motor alone or the gas engine alone. (The IMA system can deactivate all four of the engine's cylinders in constant cruise mode.) And both engines kick in during acceleration.

But in all honesty, the Civic Hybrid, and its new kissing cousin, the Honda Insight hybrid, are not really full "parallel" hybrids, like the Prius, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid.

The latter three are fully capable of running on electricity or gas or some combination of both in all sorts of driving conditions. They have been designed to do so from the outset.
Honda's hybrids? Nah, uh.

On the other hand, the Civic Hybrid isn't exactly one of the so-called "mild hybrids," either. A true mild hybrid like the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid has an oversized starter motor as its main feature.

It's there so that the gas engine can shut down in coasting, braking or at a full stop. The electric motor keeps power flowing to the accessories while the engine is shut down, powered by a modest battery pack.

Honda's hybrid technology lands somewhere in between parallel and mild hybrid know-how.
It's a cost-effective system, yet it has drawbacks, not the least of which is that Honda's system cannot be adapted or upgraded or tweaked or whatever to create a so-called plug-in hybrid.

You might think that Honda's approach would come with a lower price tag, but you'd be wrong. The 2010 Civic Hybrid lists for $27,350, while the 2010 Prius has a $27,500 sticker on the window. So price-wise, they're a wash.

Moreover, the Honda's fuel economy, while very good (4.7 litres/100 km city/4.3 highway), is bested by the Prius (4.0 city/4.2 highway). The Prius is a bigger mid-size, too, and it's a more versatile hatchback versus the Civic, a sedan.

So the Prius is bigger, faster, more powerful (net 134 horsepower versus the Honda's net 110 hp), more sophisticated and a newer design - for about the same price, not including discounting. Seems to me that anyone buying a Civic Hybrid is first and foremost a Honda devotee.

Still, when you're driving the Honda Civic Hybrid, it can be quite entertaining to watch the average fuel-consumption indicator to the left of the steering wheel on the two-tier dash. It tells you what your fuel economy is at any particular moment.

That's one obvious sign you're in a hybrid. Another is the hybrid badging on the back end.
But the real tell-tale sign is how the Honda Civic Hybrid drives. While this car looks exactly like a regular Civic sedan, it does not act like one.

You already know about the electric motor bit, that when it's running or you come to a complete stop, the car operates silently. The regenerative brakes, meanwhile, have a different feel. And when you pull up to a stop, the four-cylinder engine shuts off until the brake pedal is released.

Of course, the hybrid air conditioning compressor keeps working while the engine is off, so you stay cool. And all the other accessories remain on, too. And they work exactly like the ones in the regular gas Civic.

But the gas-only Civic is far more entertaining to drive. The Hybrid feels a little sluggish compared with the gas-only model.

On top of that, when you're stopped on a hill, you need to keep your foot on the brake at all times. If you don't, you'll roll backwards for a brief instant before the gas engine kicks in and that can be disconcerting - if only for an instant.

It's not that the Civic Hybrid is lumpy and unmanoeuvrable. Not at all. But it's not as quick and nimble as the regular gas Civic sedan.

That's one signal that you're driving a hybrid. Another: the digital speedometer and average fuel economy gauge remind you that you're driving a hybrid, too.

And at a full stop, a green indicator on the instrument panel blinks to show that the regenerative brakes are working. No, you have not left your turning signal on, although you might get that first impression.

As for the rest, the car is simply a Civic. That means it's reliable, safe, comfortable, well-equipped with front and side airbags, automatic climate control, a high-quality audio system and the full range of power accessories.

The cabin is smart and well-organized, with storage areas for mobile phones, MP3 music players, compact discs and other amenities. Visibility is excellent, the seats are firm and supportive and all the materials look and feel pretty high end for an economy car.

The thing is, you can say exactly the same things about the 2010 Prius, a car with almost exactly the same sticker price.

Makes you wonder what Honda has up its sleeve for the upgraded Civic Hybrid due within the year.

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/auto/a-civic-with-some-extra-gizmos---and-drawbacks/article1242986/