HONDA CIVIC HYBRID

The Honda Civic Hybrid entered the Canadian market in 2003 as a follow up to their Honda Insight which entered the market in 2001. The Honda Accord Hybrid entered the market in 2005. Honda aims this hybrid at the mass market by using the same body as the standard Honda Civics.

The car incorporates a series-type hybrid system. The hybrid features include idle stop, regenerative braking and the integrated motor assist (IMA). The Hybrid Civic comes with either a continuously variable transmission (CVT), or a manual transmission. The fuel efficiency of the Civic Hybrid with a CVT is better in the city than the manual transmission.

Novex Couriers in Vancouver is currently operating 17 Honda Civic Hybrids in their fleet.  View a Video about Novex Courier Hybrids.

The Civic Hybrid battery pack is comprised of 120 1.2-Volt Nickel – Metal Hydride batteries which provide 144 Volts of energy. The power pack is stored beneath the rear seat in a self-contained area. The batteries are charged via the engine as needed or from the regenerative braking system when the brakes are applied.

Performance
The Civic Hybrid couples a 1.3 litre 4-cylinder gasoline engine with a 13 horsepower electric motor. In total the Civic Hybrid has 93 horsepower compared to 110 for a Civic Sedan LX. The Civic hybrid accelerates 0-60 Miles per Hour (95 km/h) in just over 11 seconds. This performance is very comparable to non-hybrid Civics.

2004 Honda Civic Hybrid 1.3L 4-Cylinder Engine with IMA (Photo by American Honda Motor Company, Inc.)

Fuel Consumption
The Civic Hybrid consumes considerably less fuel than non-hybrid Civics. It should be noted that Honda Civics are one of the most efficient vehicles in their class with four models in the top ten of the Energuide ratings of vehicle fuel efficiency.

Make Model	City (L/100km)	Highway (L/100km)
2004 Honda Civic Hybrid (CVT)	4.9	4.6
2004 Honda Civic Manual	7.5	5.7
2004 Honda Civic Automatic	8.0	5.7
Source: NRCan Energuide Ratings

Note: Honda's use of the series hybrid architecture, results in better fuel performance on the highway than it does in the city. This is opposite of the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape Hybrid which use parallel hybrid systems. Read a detailed explanation of the differences between series and parallel hybrid systems.

Emissions Ratings
The Civics available in Canada meet the ULEV emissions standard.

Warranty
The Hybrid Components of the Civic are under warranty for 8 years/ 130,000 km. The balance of the vehicle has a 3 year/60,000 km warranty.

Availability
The Honda Civic Hybrid is available from Honda dealers across Canada.