Road test: Honda Civic Hybrid

11:43am Friday 13th July 2007

The jury is still out on the vexing question of how our cars will be powered in the great green environment of future years, and we should not expect a verdict for many years to come.

For the time being, this is the age of experimentation, in which huge hydrogen tanks are being stuffed into big luxury saloons, crops are feeding cars, clean diesel is stretching the number of miles we can do on a gallon and there are even promising developments of electric city cars.

In the end, petrol and diesel will probably be replaced by hydrogen-powered fuel cells, which will produce nothing more than water so clean that when it comes out of the exhaust it is good enough to drink.

Amid all the current experimentation is the hybrid, so-called because it uses both electricity and petrol to propel the car. The hybrid is not the answer to our ills, but it is a relatively simple way of increasing the power of a petrol engine, stretching the miles per gallon and reducing CO2 emissions. And as the prices continue to fall, the hybrid is becoming economically viable.

Sales of hybrid cars in the UK have doubled in the last 12 months - making cleaner cars the fastest growing sector in the industry. Year to date results for the hybrid market show an increase in sales from 3,117 to 6,568 cars - or 111 per cent.

Continued growth in the sector was reflected by Honda's performance in May, when the company sold more hybrids over one month than ever before. A total of 604 of the low-emission Civic Hybrid saloons were registered during May, bringing year to date sales to 1,136.

At the same time, Toyota - the pioneer of hybrids among the manufacturers - was able to announce that it has now sold more than one million hybrid vehicles worldwide.

These Japanese motoring giants seem set to be joined by more and more car-makers in producing hybrids, which are now being viewed as a viable economic alternative. Let's do the sums: The Honda Civic ES CVT Hybrid costs £16,300 and offers fuel economy of 61.4mpg. Thought that fuel figure might grab your attention.

Its nearest standard equivalent is the Civic 5-door i-shift 1.8 ES, which returns 44.1mpg and is priced at £16,100. So the non-hybrid is cheaper in the showroom, but over three years of use with petrol prices edging close to £1 a litre, the sums makes happy reading for the hybrid customer. That customer would save about £1,000 in fuel costs, plus have no worries about congestion charges and get a lower insurance price.

The hybrid is only available as a four-door automatic, and some of the exterior drama of the regular hatchback is lost. Gone are the sexy futuristic lights and big curves, but inside all is spaceship-shape and - with the must-have leather interior option - it feels classier.

Combining the 1.4-litre petrol engine with the electric motor means there is plenty of power on tap, and in effect the hybrid drives with the performance of a 1.6-litre Civic.

But the high-revving engine gets noisy as the figures on the digital speedo begin to climb.

With a composed ride and sharp reponses, the hybrid is a pleasant driving experience, and when you want some fun it has an ace up its sleeve.

Selecting the S mode shifts the transmission into a lower range of ratios for better acceleration (or when you are going down a steep hill). The engine sounds even noisier, positively whining, but the effect is dramatic.

The other setting for the gear stick is L, which gives more power when climbing and provides the maximum braking power when going down steep hills.

The driver need not concern themselves with that complex engineering under the bonnet, saving fuel and reducing C02 emissions, because the car itself is a doddle to drive.

When you come to a halt with your foot on the brake, and engine shuts down and a small green Auto Stop sign flashes on the dash. Lift your foot off the brake and before it can reach the throttle the engine switches back with almost undetectable ease.

There is a feelgood factor about this feature. At city centre traffic lights, where pedestrians and cyclists abound, there is nothing coming out of your tailpipe. You just sit there in silence until it is time to press on.

The electric motor assists the petrol engine through what Honda calls Inegrated Motor Assist, which employs the electrics to help the engine accelerate. Braking and deccelartion both help recharge the power supply, and all this is shown in digital read-out bars on the display. It's all very fascinating to the driver coming across this technology for the first time.

Further demonstrating its confidence in hybrid cars, Honda plans to sell more than three times as many Civic Hybrids this year than in 2006.

Supply of the petrol-electric Civic has been increased to meet customer demand in the UK, meaning sales of the car should reach 3,000 during 2007.

At a glance

Model: Honda Civic Hybrid £16,300. One model only, with leather option £17,100. Standard Civic hatchback range from £12,685 (1.4i-DSI).

Engine: 1339cc, 93bhp four-cylinder mid-engine, with 20bhp electric motor, and driving front wheels through CVT automatic gearbox.

CO2 emissions: 109g/km.

Performance: top speed 115mph, 0-62mph in 12.1 seconds.

Economy: city 54.3mpg, country 65.7mpg, combined 61.4mpg. Fuel tank: 50 litres.

Insurance group: 7.

Warranty: three years/90,000 miles.

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