Perhaps my biggest gripe is its lauded auto-idle feature which shuts off the engine at a stop and re-fires it to life when the brake pedal is released. In theory, it’s sound, but in practice, the cycling procedure produces noticeable vibrations through the car and can produce some buckling when restarting following a brief pause. But worse is the flashing light to the side of the tachometer. I don’t understand flashing dashboard “warnings” of normal operation, and hope this feature disappears in future Honda hybrids.
Official US mileage figures for the Civic Hybrid is around 20.83 km/L in city driving and 21.68 km/L on the highway so it was quite shocking that my drive around Metro Manila produced a measly 12 km/L—close to a frugality driven Civic 1.8S.
As Jenson Button’s Earth Dream F1 livery suggests, Honda is proud of its environmental commitment. The Civic, especially the Hybrid has long been regarded as the star attraction in this aspect. Though no indicative pricing was given by the folks at HCPI, there’s little doubt that the Hybrid will certainly costs more than a run-of-the-mill Civic because of the extra hardware involved. Technically, though efficient, the gains involved in driving a hybrid may not make up the difference in price over a normal ownership period. However if eco-friendly performance would lead to real-world advantages such as tax breaks, incentives and exception from color coding can help swing the deal in the hybrid’s favor. Perhaps it’s about time that the Philippine government thinks green. And this time, we don’t mean just pocketing dollars.
 |
 |
| Battery vent must be kept free, so no seat covers here (top). Rear seats are roomy thanks to flat rear floor. |
 |
| Honda's IMA engine is essentially 2 engines in one. Simpler than Toyota's Synergy set-up. |
