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Popular Mechanics took the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid out for real world testing recently, and I'll post the results here.
They took the car on a two-day, two-route, 550-mile test to challenge the two fuel economy. One route covered the city streets to approximate a week's worth of commuting; the other was an all-highway blast to replicate a road trip.
The Highway Drive
Beginning in Santa Monica, we cruised up the California coast to U.S. Route 101 and pressed onward, north of Santa Maria. To even out any differences in driving style between PM's testers, we switched cars often and locked the cruise control at or below 70 mph whenever possible.
The Civic may have an all-new, more aerodynamic skin, but beneath it the chassis tuning feels quite similar to the last Civic Hybrid we tested. Actually, of any hybrid we've tested, this new Honda comes the closest to the ride quality of the Prius—partly because they ride on the same 196/65R15 Bridgestone Ecopia tires.
The Civic's new dash and display look much like the Prius's, except they are located in front of the driver's sight line and easier to read. The Prius's futuristic dash lets everyone know that you've got plenty of advanced tech onboard. But the fresh, modern dash and center console of the Civic is more inviting if you prefer a conventional car, which we do. Both cars are far from luxurious, however. Hard plastic covers most of the interior.
Slide into the backseats, and the two cars appear to have equal headroom. But there's a bit less legroom in the Honda, and its roofline requires that taller passengers duck as they exit the rear doors. In terms of cargo, the Civic's trunk holds 10.7 cubic feet—an increase from the previous model, but just half the capacity of the Prius.
After 354 highway miles, we decided that the Civic was the more comfortable of the two—the Prius feels a bit more susceptible to crosswind and generally produces more freeway noise. The Civic delivered a very respectable 47.1 mpg.
The City Drive
The next day, we headed east and hit the streets. For this test, we'd drive an all-city route from Santa Monica to San Bernardino, and back. We never put a tire on a freeway and never exceeded 45 mph—a true test of city fuel economy.
On these roads, the Prius was nearly silent most of the time, creeping along in electric-only mode. The Civic always needed its gas motor to idle, but the smart and aggressive engine stop-start system would often cut power when we were coasting up to a light under light loads. As soon as the light turned green and our foot released the brake, the engine started quickly. And once under way, the Civic stays in electric mode longer than before.
On a few of the backroads near Glendora, the Civic was the more engaging partner. Neither car will be mistaken for a sport sedan, but spirited driving just feels more natural in the Honda.
After 198 miles and ten hours of traffic congestion, the Prius once again came out on top when we refueled back in Santa Monica. This time, the Honda delivered 43.7 mpg.
The Bottom Line
In out test, both hybrids exceeded their EPA ratings. Averaging our two loops, the Prius delivered 50.8 mpg while the Civic returned 45.4 mpg. The Prius remains the unequivocal hybrid fuel economy king, but the Civic is closing the gap.
If gasoline prices continue to rise much beyond today's $4 per gallon national average, both Toyota and Honda should see sales of these two hybrids skyrocket. But if we could have just one of these cars to drive every day, our pick would be the slightly-more-fun Honda.
They took the car on a two-day, two-route, 550-mile test to challenge the two fuel economy. One route covered the city streets to approximate a week's worth of commuting; the other was an all-highway blast to replicate a road trip.
The Highway Drive
Beginning in Santa Monica, we cruised up the California coast to U.S. Route 101 and pressed onward, north of Santa Maria. To even out any differences in driving style between PM's testers, we switched cars often and locked the cruise control at or below 70 mph whenever possible.
The Civic may have an all-new, more aerodynamic skin, but beneath it the chassis tuning feels quite similar to the last Civic Hybrid we tested. Actually, of any hybrid we've tested, this new Honda comes the closest to the ride quality of the Prius—partly because they ride on the same 196/65R15 Bridgestone Ecopia tires.
The Civic's new dash and display look much like the Prius's, except they are located in front of the driver's sight line and easier to read. The Prius's futuristic dash lets everyone know that you've got plenty of advanced tech onboard. But the fresh, modern dash and center console of the Civic is more inviting if you prefer a conventional car, which we do. Both cars are far from luxurious, however. Hard plastic covers most of the interior.
Slide into the backseats, and the two cars appear to have equal headroom. But there's a bit less legroom in the Honda, and its roofline requires that taller passengers duck as they exit the rear doors. In terms of cargo, the Civic's trunk holds 10.7 cubic feet—an increase from the previous model, but just half the capacity of the Prius.
After 354 highway miles, we decided that the Civic was the more comfortable of the two—the Prius feels a bit more susceptible to crosswind and generally produces more freeway noise. The Civic delivered a very respectable 47.1 mpg.
The City Drive
The next day, we headed east and hit the streets. For this test, we'd drive an all-city route from Santa Monica to San Bernardino, and back. We never put a tire on a freeway and never exceeded 45 mph—a true test of city fuel economy.
On these roads, the Prius was nearly silent most of the time, creeping along in electric-only mode. The Civic always needed its gas motor to idle, but the smart and aggressive engine stop-start system would often cut power when we were coasting up to a light under light loads. As soon as the light turned green and our foot released the brake, the engine started quickly. And once under way, the Civic stays in electric mode longer than before.
On a few of the backroads near Glendora, the Civic was the more engaging partner. Neither car will be mistaken for a sport sedan, but spirited driving just feels more natural in the Honda.
After 198 miles and ten hours of traffic congestion, the Prius once again came out on top when we refueled back in Santa Monica. This time, the Honda delivered 43.7 mpg.
The Bottom Line
In out test, both hybrids exceeded their EPA ratings. Averaging our two loops, the Prius delivered 50.8 mpg while the Civic returned 45.4 mpg. The Prius remains the unequivocal hybrid fuel economy king, but the Civic is closing the gap.
If gasoline prices continue to rise much beyond today's $4 per gallon national average, both Toyota and Honda should see sales of these two hybrids skyrocket. But if we could have just one of these cars to drive every day, our pick would be the slightly-more-fun Honda.
so take that opinion w/ a grain of salt. i DID however have one of those damn Prius' for a rental once when my '01 Civic was in the bodyshop for 2 months after a wreck (my buddy wrecked my Civic then, i was at work that day!). the car was utter garbage IMO. i WILL admit they've improved on gas mileage drastically over the years. but that's about it.