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Honda Civic Hybrid

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#841 of 1765 2003 HCH by joec Jul 10, 2004 (3:43 am)
Good little car. We bought it used and have been driving it for almost a year in Portland Metro area. The car does fine in rainy/wet weather. Mileage drops about 3-4 gallons as soon as temps go under 50F. Tire pressure is critical to mpg above 40. I run 40psi and it is the best all around compromise. No change in handling or ride. The tires on the HCH are very noisy are any irregular or grooved surface. They outright growl. When the car shuts off at stoplights while the autos around you are running is when the "green" message comes through. I don't see why this shutdown technology could not be applied to all vehicles. The fan runs for a long time when you turn this car off after stop and go driving. It is normal I guess a little unnerving when it happens the first couple of times. From my experience you drive the car normally with the exception of leaning into it a little when taking off to get 40-45 mpg out of it. There is no discernible lack of power until about 80mph it is actually froggy with the CVT auto from a standing stop to 65mph. The car is comfortable and surprizingly roomy for 4 adults. Maintenance costs are $45-$50 every 10,000 miles which is just the oil change. They have a "package" that is an oil change and a bunch of bs inspections for $135 you only need the oil change until the 30,000 interval when you must add $95-110 for CVT fluid changeout.
#842 of 1765 2003 HCH IMPRESSIONS by joec Jul 10, 2004 (4:36 am)
Using any gas other than regular with an octane rating of 87 is a waste for this car. No change in mileage with higher grades and car does not ping on regular under heavy load or high ambient temps. The car is good to go out the door with the exception of the factory cargo net which to me is a mandatory accessory if you put anything in the trunk and don't want it to slide around. The factory trunk mat is not an option on the hybrids. The sound system is mediocre but auto temp system works well. If passengers in the rear seat roll crack their window on the highway your ears will pop from the vacuum effect it creates, cracking a window in the front at the same time alleviates this. Windshield tends to fog up easily which forces you to leave ac enabled as soon as you put the auto temp in defrost mode. Gas cap says to turn until you hear 3 clicks but one is sufficent. Turning for three just feels like cap is going to wear out quick to me. Wiper system controls are a little ackward to me, lights work great. Dealers tend to crank dash illumination in showroom, you will need to turn it down in real world night driving. This cars front end is low, no problems with dragging on speed bumps or turning into parking lots but watch out when you park or you will be buying touchup paint. You need to unscrew the antenna if you run the car through an auto car wash. Radio reception is weak unless you have antenna raised at least halfway from parallel to cars roof.
#847 of 1765 A slew of posts have been moved by Sylvia STAFF Jul 10, 2004 (1:39 pm)
As they are NOT about the HCH, but about cars holding resale value.   Sorry gang - stay on topic or create a new discussion where the posts belong. Otherwise I may not be so kind to move your posting but simply delete them.
#848 of 1765 New HCH Owner by jamesm Jul 15, 2004 (2:14 pm)
I've had my Honda Civic Hybrid a grand total of 2 days, so bear that in mind when reading my comments. I bought it primarily as a commuter car. I got a pretty good deal on a used 2003 ($15,200 before tax and title, including 3-year bumper-to-bumper warranty):   What I like:   * Well-appointed interior * Good rear-seat legroom * Reasonable acceleration * Good gas mileage the first 48 hours (44 mpg) * Comfortable seating * Good price (probably not usual for these cars right now)   What I don't like:   * Not as seamless use of electric as the Prius   (Might be because this car is stick, Prius I tested was automatic) * A/C turns off at stop lights (just annoying, that's all) * Minor mpg advantage over normal Civic * No fold-down rear seat * No exclusive use of electric power, like Insight or Civic * Battery drains quickly (short 1.5-mile hill nearly drained it as it assisted the engine)   Since this is mainly a commuter car, most of my objections really don't swing me either way on the car. I like the car, but don't love it. The Prius I looked at was a sexier implementation of the technology, but the ridiculously inflated prices made me turn away.   Basically, I think of the HCH as a car that gets a little boost from the electric motor for speed and economy, and a car that stalls/restarts itself at stoplights to save gas. Since idling engines have always bugged me, the self-stall feature is a nice one for me. I'd rather sit in a drive-up line or a traffic jam with no engine noise. I just wish that it used the electric motor for low-speed activity the way the Prius does. This is probably only an advantage in places like L.A. where it's not unusual to be travelling under 20 mph for a fair portion of your commute.   -- James Replies to this message: spdracr (Jul 16, 2004 11:12 pm) stevecheme (Jul 30, 2004 2:07 pm) larsb (Jul 30, 2004 3:02 pm) and 5 more... misterme (Jul 31, 2004 1:40 pm)
#849 of 1765 question about mileage by spdracr Jul 16, 2004 (11:04 pm)
i'm a high school student and just received my license, and my dad wanted to get me a hybrid car. we did our homework and chose the civic hybrid. after driving it around for a week, modestly, and trying to squeeze as many miles out of every gallon possible, i'm wondering if anybody is getting higher than 42.0 mpg .. because that's the kind of mileage i've been getting, even when driving very lightly and conservatively. its not very cold here in northern california because its summertime, so i dont think temperature has anything to do with it. will the mileage go up as time goes on, or will it only go down? anybody know, please answer..thanks so much!

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