Sean O'Grady: Honda hybrid passes test with flying colours

[Honda News Feed]

We've just had to say goodbye to The Independent's long-term Honda Civic Hybrid test car. It has been with us for a year, done 9,000 miles, and nothing has gone wrong with it. Which isn't that surprising - it's a Honda, after all. They always were reliable, and nowadays, I reckon that Hondas have caught up with the German brands on build quality, too. I would also guess that the likes of Honda and Toyota are ahead of BMW and Mercedes-Benz when it comes to integrating electronics in their cars, but I can't prove that.

More...

[BlueMan]

Why do we have to keep seeing this rubbish trotted out by journalists about poor fuel economy from the hybrid?

It is not an ordinary car. If you drive it like you drive a Type-R it will give poor fuel economy. You have to get into the mindset of the car. It provides the tools to get the most out of gentle smooth driving but the driver has to use those tools. The instant mpg gauge is a fantastic device for showing just how sensitive mpg is to throttle position. You can make very small throttle adjustments that have no appreciable effect on your speed or rate of overall progress but improve instantaneous mpg by 20 or 30 mpg.

Once you get the hang of it you can easily keep up with typical traffic flows in SE England and get 55mpg. If you are prepared to put even more effort in and keep to 55-65mph on motorways and dual carriageways you can get 65-70mpg. I know, I have done it several times.

In comparison, the Ford Focus 1.6 hire car that I had for several months after blue van man wrote off my Type-R last year could do no better than 40mpg, even if you kept to 60mph on a 200 or 300 mile trip on dual carriageways and motorways. It just doesn't have the tools built in (cyclinder shut downs, regenerative braking etc) to take advantage of that style of driving.

In summary....if you want to drive 'normally' get a diesel. If you are prepared to work with the car, but still keep up with the traffic flow, try a hybrid.

Rant over!