Anyone drive a hybrid?

[Fats]

I just bought a Honda Civic Hybrid here in Belgium, I will need to wait till December for delivery though. It included 8 years of guarantee on the battery and the electric circuit. So if it has to be replaced after 4 years it will cost Honda money.

Staf.

[Fats]

GadgetMaster wrote:

Keep us updated on your purchase then. I am interested to read a real world "review" of Honda's version of the technology.  :-)

I actually did a test drive with the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic IMA and have choosen for the Honda for several reasons:
- cost: although we get a refund from the Belgium government of 15% on the Prius and 3% on the Honda the Honda is still cheaper. The prius should be a little bit more fuel efficient though.
Also for the Prius the test drive was with a car with extra options like parking assistence and the sales people did everything to promote these extra featres.
The Honda was the standard equipment (for Belgium) except for leader seats, and the salesguy did not seem to puch the extra options that much. Standard options on Honda: CVT transmission, cruise control, heating in the front seats, car stereo with 6 CD, VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist).
- technique: I am impressed more with the technique of the Honda IMA motor (an eletrical part and conventional part joined into one motor block) then the Toyota one (two separate motors). I admit this preference is subjective. I was also impressed by the CVT transmission of the Honda; but the Prius also has this feature.
- look: Although it is not important to me I liked the external look of the Honda more the the Prius. Also the internal look of the Honda is more sportive (rpm display of the motor) then the Prius (which is quite boring).

All-in-all I don't think I am a good reviewer and that both cars are good vehicles. I probably did make my decision more on feeling then on reasoning.

greets,
Staf.

[Fats]

GadgetMaster wrote:

But posting a few fuel consumption figures would be helpful.

I have only the official numbers according to some Europian test procedure. They are also in litres/100km as is the common metric here:
(City/countrysite/combined)
Prius: 5.0/4.2/4.3
Honda: 5.2/4.3/4.6

greets,
Staf.

[Fats]

Back to Hybrids - any of these Honda Civic hybdrids available or those tilting bikes? It's about time us enlightened Amiga.org beings showed the lemming-like public the path of the future...

I'm now driving my Honda Civic Hybrid for almost two months and I really like the it (especially the CVT). The mileage is not very spectacular though (a little bit above 6l/100km) but I think is good for a car this size.
The trajectory I drive every day is also not ideal:
- uphill/downhill
- only 30km (with a cold motor the mileage is higher and the average mileage is still dropping when I arrive at my work/home)
- a lot of stop and go with regular traffic jams.
On other routes I have got better mileage.

greets,
Staf.

[Fats]

Hyperspeed wrote:

Is that 6 Litres per 100km? If so I'm making that 46 miles per UK gallon. That's not bad at all, especially as you can use electric as well!

Yes it is. I'm still below 2000 miles and I've read on the net the the mileage improves during 'break-in' period even upto 10000 miles. My experience upto now seems to confirm that. Also during summer mileage should be better.

Where did you buy the Civic Hybrid, how much was it (cars are generally 30% more in the UK)

A local Honda dealer (in Belgium almost all cars are sold by brand specific garages). The list price is 22900EUR here in Belgium plus a few hundred EUR for metallic color. I got 6 or 7% off and from the Belgian state I will receive 3% more because of the low CO2 emission of the car. For a Toyota Prius you would get 15% but then it would still be more expensive and I like the Honda more.
This price includes several options:
- air conditioning
- MP3 car stereo with 6 CD loader
- front seat heating
- cruise control
- traction control
- CVT

I'm sure you can find a good picture on the net

greets,
Staf.