My 06 HCH Test Ride: Interested in Feedback?

On my second tank. First tank I got 48.8 MPG so far on the second (it's early, I just filled up) I'm right at 51 MPG. I live in the NW Denver area which is pretty hilly. Certainly not flat at any rate. I'm trying to drive with an eye towards fuel efficiency but I haven't jacked up the tyre pressure yet. Haven't needed to use climate control much either way.

 

I have a 05 that I got about 2 1/2 weeks ago.
I am just ready to fill my tank for the second time, over 400 miles with 1/4 tank left. My first tank got an overall average of 49.6 , and this tank has 54.2 :lol: showing at this time. Total of over 700 miles so far. I hope I do get a heafty increase after it is broken in.

 

It's impossible to get 100 mpg when the engine is running, so that's all the confirmation you need to know no gas is being consumed. Plus, 99 is just the maximum the car can display -- it's actually infinite since no gas is used yet the car is moving forward. It sounds like the car is working correctly, you just expected it to act like the other hybrids, which it doesn't.

 

Yeah I saw that thread; he posts a billion extremely large pictures of the Magnetic Pearl. Anyway I've heard many people getting 30 mpg initially with the regular 2006 Civic and then having it increase to 36, so hopefully the mileage of the HCH will increase more as it breaks in.

 

Given Honda's better gas engine technology and smaller displacement, assist vs full matters less here and one could almost expect better consistent MPG from the Honda build, for constant on highway speeds.

 

I am getting constantly around 57mpg each tank. My best tank was 59.8mpg, I never averaged lower than 54mpg. I've got 9600 miles on the car. I guess my car is broken in??? MY first tank was 54.3 mpg. This is mostly highway driving. I think I will go and test the Civic and see my results.

 

Check the thread again, he now reports 51.2 mpg after learning how IMA works.

 

That's not bad... we'll just have to see if there's a good way to pulse and glide the civic...

It seems that most of the initial breaking in happens to the hardware behind the steering wheel .

 

I saw an 06 HCH today at a car show and if I didn't need the room the prius offers, it would have been a more difficult to choice. NAV was included at 23k, which is pretty nice.

 

I see your point.. but they are different....
When going to toyotas page and picking prius, then going to edmund comparisons..
I see some basic differences I don't like:

Honda is 1.3L Prius is 1.5L
Honda is 110HP at 6000 rpm Prius is 110HP at 5000 rpm HCH has to work harder!
Honda is 8 valve singe OHC Prius is 16 valve Double OHC
Honda is 50MPG Prius is 60MPG

And yes the prius is roomier.... espec with the fold down seats.
Look at the page I attached.. many other options are not even availiable on the honda.

 

Returning to the pros & cons of the Honda Civic Hybrid, some factors that I did not see mentioned in the above posts relate to safety features. From reading the specs, I note that the Civic (Hybrid or not) does not offer traction control nor vehicle stability control. As someone who puts auto safety paramount, thise are two major drawbacks to this vehicle and where the Prius wins (though admittedly VSC is only available in some options packages).

These are two features you hope you never need but which could make all the difference in preenting accident or injury. Just my two cents worth.