It is a car that makes sense for owners interested in great fuel economy and low emissions. This should change with the Civic Hybrid with its increased practicality. But it had limited appeal because of its small size. In 1999 Honda introduced the first ever hybrid, the Insight, as a specialized hand-built high-tech two-seater car that is still on the market. Honda calls this the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system. What makes the car special is that there is an auxiliary electric motor that works to assist the small gasoline engine when extra power is needed. Far from it, a hybrid runs on gasoline just like a regular car. Many people mistakenly think a hybrid car needs charging like an electric car. What's more it's used to power the most popular subcompact car in America, the Honda Civic. Honda has gone one better than anyone with the world's first mass-produced hybrid. However, just two companies, Honda and Toyota, have actually brought hybrid cars to market. Major manufacturers are busy talking about producing hybrid SUVs to help improve their economy. Hybrid gas-electric cars have recently been in the news as the government threatens to increase fuel economy standards. Aluminum wheels are now standard on the EX coupe. Civic LX and HX models now come with a standard CD player, and the driver's seat on the LX is now height-adjustable, as it has been on the EX. There's a sporty new four-spoke steering wheel on most versions, and a new center console and armrest on LX and EX. Refinements for 2002 included improved handling and reduced noise and vibration, though we think there is still room for improvement in that area.įor 2003, sedans and coupes come with improved seat fabrics and the outboard rear headrests are now adjustable. Honda completely redesigned the entire Civic line for 2001. They are notable for offering excellent fuel economy and sporty handling.īut the Civic can't be described that easily because the lineup is composed of a family of diverse models: a practical four-door sedan, a slick two-door coupe, and a hot hatchback. Honda sells more than 325,000 Civics a year in the U.S., making it one of America's best-selling compacts. Our current recommendation is to grid charge the battery if the car sits for more than a few days.Honda Civic is an icon. Honda's BMS is defective in that it allows individual cells to become out of balance. You would likely want to invest in a grid charger to keep the battery healthy. Of course, no longevity information yet, but just because the cells are more robust and better handle the way the car treats them, we hope they last much longer than the stock packs. This is how the batteries should have been. I've been beta testing a pack for the last 4 months, and it is WONDERFUL. Last but not least, you can get a brand new, higher capacity battery pack that is much more robust than the origial Panasonic/Sanyo cells that Honda used. It's just better to row your own in a hybrid, especially if it's lean burn capable. I'm not sure about the transmissions, but I would avoid a CVT just out of principle. There's also an outfit in Phoenix that does it, but HBR was the first and is the most technically advanced. Like ElFenix says, you can have the battery refurbished by Ron at Hybrid Battery Repair. It's the battery that can be the problem. They should last like most other Honda engines. The first gen HCH manual transmission cars have lean burn capability just like my Insights, and can happily get up to 65MPG with some conservative driving. Is it a manual or CVT? You want a manual if you're looking at the HCH. Wow, $4300 is a GREAT price for a 1st gen HCH. That requires cash flow, but guarantees zero problems with the car as well (no surprises like a new tranny). If your credit is good you can go into a dealership today with $1500 to cover your taxes and all that crap and <$200/month for a new econobox lease. Hondas are ok but probably overpriced, used, in virtually all cases. It will stand up better and there are more of them out there (parts). What are they asking for this? If you want a hybrid go with a Prius of that lineage. The rest I'd skip unless a great price on them. IMO the only hybrid Honda has ever created worth a damn is the original Insight. At least some of them (not sure of year) were getting fairly bad mileage and/or batteries dying, so Honda would flash the computer and some owners reported even worse mileage. The batteries are more inclined to die early. From what I understand the Civic Hybrids are far less robust than the Prius.
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