Honda Accord Hybrid

Here’s the formula for the Honda Accord Hybrid: take the second best-selling car in the country, offer it with as many luxury features as possible, and soup it up to make it faster than any other family sedan on the market. This approach—using hybrid technology to boost performance and to only moderately improve fuel economy—caught car reviewers and hybrid fans by surprise when the Accord Hybrid was introduced in Nov. 2004. Aren't hybrids supposed to be small, underpowered, econoboxes with great fuel economy?

One headline read, "Sips Gas. Hauls Ass." Environmentalists pinned the term "muscle hybrid" on the Accord. David Welch of BusinessWeek, as if shocked, wrote, "The car bursts onto the road. Yea, this car—an environmentally friend and fuel-efficient hybrid—really did burn a little rubber.”

Another First for Honda

Honda was the first to introduce a hybrid in the U.S. market: Honda Insight. They were the first to offer a hybrid version of a conventional vehicle: Honda Civic Hybrid. And suddenly, they were the first to show that hybrids could offer more performance, more amenities, and better fuel efficiency than other vehicles in its class.

"Hybrid" wasn't the point. The point was that a Honda salesman could point Accord shoppers to an option with a nine mpg boost in city mileage and a 15 horsepower boost in performance—all for a couple of thousand dollars more than the standard package. Honda set the realistic modest goal of selling 20,000 Accord Hybrids for the 2005 model year. The company seemed content to sell the premium hybrid option to relatively few customers—allowing Toyota to bask in the hybrid glory.

By the end of 2005, Honda sold more Accord Hybrids than Ford sold Escape Hybrids, and with a lot less fanfare (and green washing). The fact that sales were not nearly as brisk as the Prius's didn't mean that Accord Hybrid drivers weren't happy. By all reports, they are ecstatic. Dr. Oliver Sachs, who wrote The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, loves his. The Accord Hybrid converted auto economist Dr. Walter McManus (a blogger on this site) from a hybrid naysayer to a hybrid advocate. And Dr. Leon S.—he's not famous, but he is a doctor—who found the Prius and Civic short on power and amenities, finds his AH a pleasure to drive.

Comparison with Upcoming Camry Hybrid

The Accord Hybrid currently stands alone as the only hybrid in the family sedan category. That will change in mid-2006, with the introduction of the Camry Hybrid. The conventional Camry is the number one selling passenger car in America.

The size and shape of the two vehicles will leave little distinction for shoppers. The real story is in the technology designs. The Camry uses a smaller engine with a more robust full-hybrid system to produce better fuel economy results in the city, but less overall power. The Accord utilizes a milder hybrid system with a larger engine (that allows three of the engine's six cylinders to shut down during highway cruising) to produce a lot of power, with respectable fuel economy.

In the simplest terms, the Camry Hybrid will reign as the most fuel-efficient family sedan and the Accord Hybrid will retain top honors as the fastest family sedan. The two—standing side-by-side as hybrid versions of America's number one and two most popular cars—demonstrate the extraordinary capabilities of hybrid technology. And provide affordable well-appointed options for drivers who insist on extra legroom, additional oomph, and a few more miles on a gallon of gas.

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid Review - Honda’s Redesigned Civic

The 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid has been completely redesigned for 2006. The fact that the Civic Hybrid was named 2006 Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" speaks volumes about the results of Honda’s vision. I spent a week with the 2006 Civic Hybrid and overall it was a pleasure. From the new dash layout to the broad view of the road, it surprised me with each new feature. The standard Civic Hybrid has an MSRP of $21,850 while the Navigation-equipped Civic Hybrid begins at $23,350.

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid Appearance And Comfort

With its redesign, Honda has brought the Civic Hybrid to a new level. It is sleeker and smoother than the previous Civic Hybrid yet doesn’t look much different than the non-hybrid Civic. The antenna on the rear roofline, the hybrid badge, and the unique rims are the main differences from the non-hybrid Civic.

The Civic Hybrid has moved important gauges into an upper tier up on the dash. They are never obstructed by the steering wheel and the location requires minimal travel distance for your eyes to view. The upper tier contains the speedometer, fuel gauge and instantaneous miles per gallon meter. If you prefer, you can toggle off the mpg meter and instead show the temperature gauge.

The 2006 Civic Hybrid provides a larger feeling than any Civic I‘ve been in. The slope of the front windshield and the little triangle side windows up front provide a great view of the road.

While the front and rear seats were comfortable, I wish Honda would find a way to have rear folding seats in the Civic Hybrid. Since the hybrid battery is housed vertically behind the Civic Hybrid's rear seats they can not be folded down. This is the one feature that keeps this great hybrid car from attaining five stars.

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid Powertrain

The 2006 Civic Hybrid has a new version of Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) that allows this hybrid car to cruise solely on electric power under certain light load circumstances. This is something new for the Civic hybrid, and while not the same as the “electric mode“ in the Toyota Prius, it does move the Civic Hybrid into the Full Hybrid category.

Around town and on the highway the Civic Hybrid has adequate power for a small car. The 2006 Civic Hybrid’s 1.3-liter 4-cylinder engine combined with the electric motor produces 115 horsepower. Will it beat a Mustang or Corvette? Of course not! But it got me from one place to another just fine, and merging with traffic was never a problem.

This year the Civic Hybrid is only available with Honda’s Continuously Variable Transmission. The 5 speed manual transmission was dropped from the Civic Hybrid lineup.

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid Gas Mileage

I drove the 2006 Civic Hybrid during a warm part of the Wisconsin winter and averaged around 48 miles per gallon. This is not far from its EPA estimates of 49 mpg highway and 51 mpg city.

There were some trips in town where it did even better that EPA estimates, and if I hadn’t had a passenger with me I’m not sure I would have believed the 63 mpg trip we did on one 8 mile morning commute. Now this isn’t possible if you drive a lot of short trips or the car never gets up to driving temperature, but I believe that of all the hybrids I have driven, the Civic Hybrid offers the best chance for the average consumer to get near EPA rated gas mileage.

The 2006 Civic Hybrid is the first Honda hybrid that can, under certain low-load conditions, allow the car to cruise on electric power alone. This is possible at city or highway speeds. In the past the gas engine was on whenever the car was being propelled.

Conclusion

When the new Civic Hybrid drives by, most people will probably not recognize it as a Civic. It is sleeker and lager than its predecessor and has the look of something much sportier. The redesigned 2006 Civic Hybrid surprised me with how easy it was to get good gas mileage, even in cold weather. If the Civic Hybrid keeps evolving like this, it will continue to be a favorite among hybrid car buyers.

Source: hybridcars.about.com