CD Article: 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid and 2006 Toyota Prius

[CD_Editor]

You may discuss our cover story of the day in this thread....
Hybrid Long-term Test:

CanadianDriver has added a Honda Civic Hybrid and a Toyota Prius to its long-term press fleet with the goal of finding out the differences and similarities with conventionally powered vehicles and hybrids. "Over the next four months we'll be tracking their fuel consumption, driving characteristics and everyday practicality," says Hybrid tester, Paul Williams.    More...

[si]

I support the green automakers for taking risks and providing the public with efficient alternatives.

The new Civic looks to be less of a performer than the Prius, but for so much less money it looks like a winner. 

We are now on a stepping stone from gasoline to alternative fuels.  Pioneering companies, thank you.

[wing]

I've had the pleasure of being inside this "bone stock" Hybrid civic and I have to say I was impressed.  The blue interior is very nice, the dash materials and layout is wonderfull.

The seats though a little hard on the bottom at -20 below early in the morning.  The engine start feature after a stop is interesting, I suppose you would just get use to it after awhile but it does introduce a slight delay on acceleration from a stop and if you are creeping being a bunch of cars at a stop sign waiting your turn for a corner it could get annoying as it turns off and on constantly.

[Shnak]

The engine start feature after a stop is interesting, I suppose you would just get use to it after awhile but it does introduce a slight delay on acceleration from a stop and if you are creeping being a bunch of cars at a stop sign waiting your turn for a corner it could get annoying as it turns off and on constantly.

Yeah that is my concern too... does the gas engine only start up when you reach 20-30kph or does it immediately start up as soon as you release the brakes/touch the gas?

[wing]

Immediately as you apply the throttle.  The prius will start up a little later, the Honda can only run on battery alone at a constant cruising speed of below 50km/h with a light foot, any acceleration requires the engine to restart.

[stickshift]

I got to drive the Prius for a few days. That's actually nice car - very smooth on the road, and quiet too. Not fast, though. This is a car for those with a light right foot. Fuel economy is nowhere near what's advertised (4-ish L/100 km city) as I got low 6.x L/100 km when I had it. Still, good mileage for the city, but I think it'd take a while to recoup the extra cost over, say, a Corolla or Yaris, which aren't much worse in the city.

[wing]

I think you have to compare the Prius to a Camry though as it is Camry sized interior wise is it not?  That's what driving television said.

[stickshift]

I think you have to compare the Prius to a Camry though as it is Camry sized interior wise is it not?  That's what driving television said.

Yeah, I think it is about as big inside as the outgoing Camry. Still, not as good a performer power-wise as a four-banger Camry is. Mileage is a real draw.

[Shnak]

I think you have to compare the Prius to a Camry though as it is Camry sized interior wise is it not?  That's what driving television said.

Yeah, I think it is about as big inside as the outgoing Camry. Still, not as good a performer power-wise as a four-banger Camry is. Mileage is a real draw.

but did you drive the Prius like it was a F1 or did you go moderately on the throttle?

[safristi]

I'm amazed that those companies can ask so much fer so little..........the extras on Civic $515 extra Audio System,$817 fer 8 disc player,$504 fer auto mirror/compass ,$628 Fog Lights and body kit...and Prius $4,800 in extras......... I quit reading the article after that....


   AS was said EARLIER....being GREEN is FOR THE RICH....wot a farce.......98HP and weird driving feel...a CITY RUSH HOUR CAR to get any gas benefit and the seats HURT !!!!..meh call me in 3 years when the clean Diesel hybrids show UP  OR I'll settle fer a nice torquey long distance onna tank plain oldNEW style diesel.....

[Howswedeitis]

Let's face it hybrid technology is a 'stop gap' solution until fuel cell technology comes on stream.
The truth is that hybrid cars only get marginally better fuel mileage (in real
world driving conditions) compared to their conventional counterparts. Add to this their
higher cost and untested long term reliability, one really has to wonder what advantage
they bring to the consumer aside from what I guess you'd call the "feel good" factor in
light of their "GREEN" image. The fact that the replacement battery pack runs as high as
seven thousand dollars and it's estimated that they last no more than 5 or 6 years has
got to factor in here somewhere. To which those actually thinking of buying one of
these vehicles should ask themselves what is the true cost of these vehicles and
yeah what to do with the dead battery pack once that has reached the end
of it's short life cycle...

[stickshift]

I think you have to compare the Prius to a Camry though as it is Camry sized interior wise is it not?  That's what driving television said.

Yeah, I think it is about as big inside as the outgoing Camry. Still, not as good a performer power-wise as a four-banger Camry is. Mileage is a real draw.

but did you drive the Prius like it was a F1 or did you go moderately on the throttle?

I went as light on the throttle as I could without pissing off people behind me when the light turned green.

[Shnak]

hehe ok just checking... 

There are so many people complaining about fuel economy while driving as though they're being chased by cops, I just had to ask to make sure... 

[CD_Editor]

You may discuss our cover story of the day in this thread....
Hybrid long-term test update:

With temperatures lurching from +7 degrees Celsius to -27 in the space of twenty-four hours, and conditions ranging from dry cold to freezing rain, Ottawa's extreme weather is the perfect place to test the limits of CanadianDriver's two long-term Hybrid test vehicles.  "If you want to see how a hybrid stands up, this is the place to be," says Paul Williams.      More...

[Prius]

I got to drive the Prius for a few days. That's actually nice car - very smooth on the road, and quiet too. Not fast, though. This is a car for those with a light right foot. Fuel economy is nowhere near what's advertised (4-ish L/100 km city) as I got low 6.x L/100 km when I had it. Still, good mileage for the city, but I think it'd take a while to recoup the extra cost over, say, a Corolla or Yaris, which aren't much worse in the city.

How many kms on the car? My summer's best was 4.4L/100km and my winter's worst is 5.8L/100km. This winter's slightly better since it's not as cold and my current tank is 4.8L/100km.

[rovermark]

Beautiful colour, beautiful interior - blue on beige and black. Too bad about the childlike, star trek dashboard with those gimmicks and the somewhat ugly nose. Otherwise it would be wonderful.

I also noticed that the trunk lid is not covered. Typicall Japanese cost-cutting...

[Prius]

Beautiful colour, beautiful interior - blue on beige and black. Too bad about the childlike, star trek dashboard with those gimmicks and the somewhat ugly nose. Otherwise it would be wonderful.

I also noticed that the trunk lid is not covered. Typicall Japanese cost-cutting...

Typical Honda. Even the Accord doesn't have a cover. (Although I think that was amended in 2005?). While all companies try to cut costs, I think some do it better than others. Some know how to cut costs in areas that will never be seen or felt by the consumer while others seem to do it right in the consumer's face.

[wing]

Welcome to the Forum Prius, I'll  find out for you how many km on that Prius

[CanadaPrius2001]

I would really like to know how the heck people are driving these cars to get such poor mileage??    I'm in Ottawa as well, with a 2001 Prius and this winter, I've been getting 5.3 L/100km on the MFD and 5.39 L/100km calculated..   In the summer, I normally get 5.0L/100km or better..   The only times I get worse are if I take many short trips or the few occasions when I'm really in a rush and have to push it...   I would expect that a 2006 model would do far better than my old 2001 model..   In the winter, certainly, some of the degradation may be blamed on the cold weather and the increased warm-up that the engine must do, as well as the lower energy winter formulated gasoline, but my own observations are that warm-up and gas formulation aside, I tend to see *lower* instantaneous mileage readings during the winter vs. the summer in my car:  people tend to drive a bit slower in the winter which has a direct contribution to gas mileage and in the winter, the Prius' battery management system changes its battery usage strategy, which also has an effect..

On the topic of pricing, I agree that the Canadian pricing of the Prius is way too high, especially considering the US MSRP and exchange rate..   Even with import taxes, etc, it probably *would* be cheaper to buy a US Prius and import it, plus you get a much wider choice of options vs. what Toyota Canada offers..

Luckily, I'm not in any hurry to swap my car- it's been utterly reliable, and the hybrid battery is still just fine after 5-1/2 years and close to 200,000 km on it, although I think the gas engine is due for a valve adjustment this year..   In any case though, my next car definitely will be another hybrid- I wouldn't pick a conventional vehicle ever again..

[Jameel]

Seems like pretty poor gas mileage on the civic, "381.6 kilometres per tank".  That's not good at all.  If I drive very, conservative I can get 487 km per tank on my 2003 Civic (non hybrid), in summer. 

When Hybrids first came out I thought they were a great idea, but when you factor their cost to the fuel savings it doesn't seem worth it at all.  You might as well get a diesel golf or jetta.  You can get from 700 to 900 km on a tank.