Part 4 of a six-part series on cool hybrids for 2008:
Honda Civic — Base Price, 24,350; Safety Features, Dual front, front side and side curtain airbags; Fuel Mileage estimates, 49-51 mpg; Warranty, Bumper to bumper, 3 years/36,000 miles; Powertrain, 10 years/100,000 miles, Corrosion, 5 years/unlimited miles.
Economy to design, functionality to comfort, the country's second most popular hybrid has as much to offer as any car on the road and at any price.
The 2008 edition (the Civic's 36th year) is the third year of the second generation of the hybrid and is part of the ever-expanding array of one the most enduring enduring vehicles on the road today.
Long gone is the Civic's former staid appearance. It's now a sporty, full-sized sedan that comfortably seats five. And it has a new overt quality — quietness.
During stops it seems like the Hybrid's engine has stopped. Instead, it's the engine operating solely on electric power. The hybrid Civic is equipped with a 110-horsepower, 1.3-liter engine with two relatively new features largely known by acronyms, IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) and CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). A five-speed manual transmission was previously available, but now the hybrid is only offered with an automatic transmission.
The IMA allows the vehicle to operate solely on electric power in certain situations. The CVT feature replaces conventional gears with a belt-and-pully system that continuously and automatically adjusts to provide a more efficient and nearly unlimited number of drive ratios.
The Civic's near-futuristic instrumentation panel offers a unique visual. The odometer and speedometer cluster panel is narrow, horizontal and contoured for the driver's vision just over the curved top of the steering wheel. It's a unique look, and it's one more reason why the Civic Hybrid just works.
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