Another Look

2005 Honda Civic Hybrid: Good for the soul

There are those people who feel doing good is its own reward. Not me. On that rare occasion when I do good, I not only want it to be tax-deductible, I want the entire world to know about it.

In my worldview, everything is all about me. The rest of the universe exists to revolve around me and reflect my glory. No hiding my light under a bushel for this baby, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Sad to say, this is why the 2005 Honda Civic 4-door Hybrid fails me miserably. This is a hybrid that embraces self-effacing virtue, and who wants that? What I want is a hybrid that says, hey, look at me, I’m saving the environment, aren’t I wonderful. I want a hybrid people will notice, primarily because then they’ll notice me. I want a hybrid that stands out more than a Hummer. Let’s get real: Do you think all those Hollywood folk who climb out of their private jets into Toyota Priuses are doing it because they really care about the environment? How much fuel do you think those jets burn anyway? How much pollution are they spewing? No, like me, they want to be conspicuously virtuous, and that the Civic Hybrid is not.

The Civic Hybrid looks much like any other Civic, primarily because, with the exception of some reduced trunk space and a smaller gas engine, it is much like every other Civic. A discreet little hybrid emblem on the back below the Civic badge is all that tells you this is an Advanced Technology/Partial Zero Emissions vehicle, saving the environment and saving you gas at the same time.

By the way, let me be upfront here and tell you all about the gas situation. According to the sticker on my test Civic Hybrid, the 1.3-liter, SOHC, 8-valve, 4-cylinder engine with Integrated Motor Assist’s hemi-beating (just kidding) 93 horsepower will cost you, when mated with the superb Continuously Variably Transmission (CVT), peanuts at the pump. Well, not actually peanuts, but the EPA estimates mileage per gallon of 47 in the city, 48 on the highway.

Not to seem too distrustful of anything coming out of Washington these days, but you’re more likely to find weapons of mass destruction in Baghdad than get that kind of mileage on Summer Street. My combined mileage was 35 miles per gallon over about 600 miles of driving. That was with the air conditioning going constantly, and Consumer Reports says it got 36 miles per gallon from the Civic Hybrid, so the numbers can be tweaked a little. In any event, though, take the EPA numbers with a huge grain of salt.

This, to be sure, has nothing to do with the Civic itself, but with the nature of hybrids and the way the EPA tests mileage. Any hybrid will probably not perform as well as one would expect given the sticker.

While we’re on the subject, performance should not be foremost on your mind if you’re planning to buy the Civic Hybrid. Unlike its sister Accord Hybrid or the Lexus 400RH, which use the hybrid engines to add power and performance in excess of that offered by their straight gas powered siblings, the Civic Hybrid is all about saving gas.

Handling is much the same as the regular Civic – that is decent but no longer overwhelmingly top of the class (the Civic gets redone for 2006). Acceleration is…hey, I did say you weren’t buying this for the performance, but you’ll get to 60 eventually. The thing I love most about the Civic Hybrid was the dash. It must be that little boy in me. I loved its eerie blue glow and how it showed the battery getting charged or discharged.

OK folks, time for the engineering lesson. The Civic Hybrid is not what I myself call a true hybrid. I reserve that term for cars like the Prius and the Ford Escape that can run solely on battery power. The Civic Hybrid doesn’t do this, relying instead on the electric motor to help the gasoline engine. The bottom line though is much the same – a much cleaner running car with improved gas mileage.

As Honda describes it, “The Civic Hybrid uses Honda's innovative Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) technology, employing a 1.3-liter i-DSI 4-cylinder gasoline engine coupled with a high output electric motor to provide excellent performance and fuel efficiency. The system's compact nickel-metal hydride battery module is automatically recharged during braking and deceleration. The hybrid system provides up to 93 horsepower and 116 lb-ft of torque with the electric motor ‘assist.’ Fuel economy is improved by up to 30 percent compared to other Civic sedans. All this is achieved by the hybrid powertrain while still meeting the stringent AT-PZEV standard.”

That means it’s all good.

I really did have fun playing with the engine, watching the gauge and figuring out how to charge, or run down, the battery. For those of you with more maturity, this could wear thin quickly, but not for me.

The car itself is, as I’ve alluded to often, pretty much the same as other Civics otherwise. That means it’s an intelligently designed car, one easy to feel comfortable in, that should give you years of worry-free ownership. The Advanced Technology/Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle version sold here starts at $20,050 for the 5-speed manual, $21,050 for the CVT. Destination and handling will add $515 to the sticker. Given that it runs on regular fuel, the occasional visit to the gas station shouldn’t be much of a hardship.

The Civic Hybrid was also named one of the top four “Greenest Vehicles for 2005” by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy – more reason to feel virtuous, if inconspicuously so.

I hate “inconspicuous.” Maybe Honda should paint each Civic Hybrid green and put flashing lights on it, just so self-centered people like myself will know it’s cool. Let me illustrate what’s bugging me. I pulled up to Connecticut Coffee in Wilton in the Civic Hybrid, right next to a Prius driven by actor Joe Pantoliano. Joey Pants was sitting in front of the store, explaining to some guy all about the Prius. The guy didn’t even cast a sideways glance at the Civic Hybrid. I’d pulled in nose first, so to him, it was just another Civic.

I know I should be satisfied with that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing that by driving the 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, I’m helping to create a better world for my grandchildren, helping to make sure no one’s child has to go to war to protect our oil supplies, helping to recreate a planet where clean air can once again be taken for granted. I know it shouldn’t matter - that in fact it adds to the mitzvah – that no one knows I’m doing such good deeds. But who am I, Mother Teresa? I want some flash for the Civic Hybrid.

But that’s never been Honda’s way. They’d rather make good, understated cars you can rely on. So for those of us with the need to show off, the 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid sedan proves you can’t always get what you want. But you do get what you need.

posted by Andy Mais @ 12:27 PM