Honda Civic Hybrid

Anyone wanna save the Planet?, Well perhaps…

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Imagine that when we reach the end of this decade in 2010, there will be innumerable lists of significant events. From the vantage point of early 2006, I suspect that any automotive list will put the Toyota Prius at or near the top in terms of the seismic impact it’s had on the way consumers think about and buy cars.

From most angles, the Prius sparkles with sheer brilliance. Consider that Toyota clearly understood the undercurrent of interest in high economy and low emission vehicles. Toyota also understood that this interest had a strong emotional component to it, and therefore put its initial hybrid drivetrain into a separate and distinctive package. Naturally, part of being cool is being able to let other people know about your coolness, and this special package is about the only way to get there, realistically. Finally, Toyota made the Prius surprisingly practical – roomy, flexible and very affordable for such a cool car.

Honda rolled out its own hybrid at about the same time that the first generation Prius arrived. Like Toyota, Honda chose to put its first hybrid system into a distinctive package called the Insight. But unlike Toyota, Honda made its first hybrid distinctly impractical by only giving it two seats. I’d say it was a full 15-round bout between these two for the weird styling title, ending in a draw. In any event, since then Honda has continued to deliver hybrids, almost matching Toyota blow for blow, but Honda went with the more conservative approach of making each hybrid a variant on an existing car.

Both manufacturers now or will soon offer hybrids across their model lines, but with the Prius and the Civic just $100 off from each other’s base price, they made for a natural comparison. While the tickers may be the same size, the actual cars are not. The first thing I notice about the Prius is that it seems quite roomy inside, even though the exterior appears somewhat diminutive. With a 106-inch wheelbase, the Prius in fact is about the size of a VW Passat, so that sense of interior space isn’t artificial. On the other hand, the Prius has about an inch less headroom than typical mid-size cars, which you will notice if you’re taller than six feet.

Jumping over to the Civic, it seems a smaller car. The front seating is nice, but the amazing rear legroom of the Prius is missing. The Civic’s interior isn’t bad – about the size of the BMW 3 Series – but it isn’t great either. Fortunately, the Civic has a bit more rear headroom than the Prius.

While such practical matters will be important to most buyers, I’m curious about whether either car is at all entertaining to drive. When the word “economy” pops into my head, I don’t immediately associate it with “fun.” But, as Toyota has shown, combining elements you wouldn’t normally associate, like economy and cool, juices up consumer interest more than a little.

Not knowing what to expect, I jump into the Prius and spend some time tooling around town. The most noticeable handling characteristic is moderate body roll, but Toyota has made sure this is pretty well controlled, so that it isn’t objectionable. On corners taken at moderate speed, the Prius understeers as much as any car in memory, but thankfully the front and rear roll stiffness is nicely balanced so that the car doesn’t plow until you reach the (rather low) limits of the tires.

I switch to the Civic Hybrid, and I immediately find a very different driving experience. In corners, the Civic feels pretty flat with very nice turn in. Honda seems to have realized that many small car buyers want a sporty, nimble feeling car rather than a simulation of a luxo-barge, and they’ve made sure the new Civic’s handling is fun. Like the Prius, the Civic understeers, but the Civic seems to have higher limits.

After some time in both cars, I realize that the drivetrains have a similarity that no doubt results from the use of continuously variable transmissions. The Honda feels faster, but these transmissions are alike in feeling. CVTs are different from other transmissions: press accelerator, listen to engine rev to set point, wait as engine drones monotonously at set revs, continue waiting, then readjust throttle when desired speed is reached. If, as some would say, VW/Audi’s DSG is the best transmission currently available, I’d nominate CVT as the worst. CVT may help fuel economy, but that is where its virtues end.

As I get onto twistier and faster roads, my prior feeling about these cars doesn’t change much. In simple form, the Honda, except for CVT and general lack of power, is a joy. The Toyota falls in a different camp. It qualifies as “not bad,” which may be ideal for some buyers in this category. In the Prius, the general relationship between steering inputs and what the chassis does might best be described as remote. The Toyota drivetrain seems a bit coarser, and its ride, while softer than the Civic’s, is no smoother on bumps. You might not notice these differences until you drive both cars, of course, but the differences are real.

While I suppose that only a few people buy these cars because of their driving dynamics, if you want some fun, and you like the Civic’s sedan layout, then I think you choice is easy. At least assuming that absolute maximum economy isn’t a major concern. If it is, the EPA says that the Prius has a big advantage in urban fuel economy (60 mpg vs. 49 mpg for the Civic), which is where hybrids make a difference. On the highway the two cars have identical 51 mpg ratings. From my experience, you won’t see those kind of numbers, but mid-40 mpg economy is possible, with the Prius doing slightly better.

On the other hand, if you want high fuel economy but are willing to trade a little economy for driving fun, I would also check out the VW Jetta TDI with the DSG transmission. It costs a few thousand dollars more, but has more passenger and cargo room and is in another category entirely in driving pleasure, thanks to a torquey motor (30 percent more torque per ton than the Civic and 90 percent more torque per ton than the Prius) coupled to a superb transmission. None of these cars has it all, but with a choice of cool, balanced or responsive, you now have economy car choices than didn’t exist in any form just 12 months ago. That’s progress.