Honda Civic Hybrid Mileage

"Honda Civic Hybrid Mileage - Fact or Fiction..."

Hybrid vehicles are here at last.  Behold the Honda Civic Hybrid Mileage.

.........After years of recognizing the need for cars that provided better mileage and cleaner air, manufacturers are building them and drivers are buying them.  The demand for hybrid vehicles continues to grow.
 
With new driving techniques combined with hybrid engines, many cars are delivering the mileage estimates which the makers promised. 

The hybrid vehicle relies upon batteries for their source of electric energy.

Those batteries now have longer warranties and replaceable modules, which allow hybrid owners to replace just a module when need and not the entire battery. 
 
The waiting lists and prices for hybrid vehicles are slowly coming down. The car companies now have confidence that consumers will buy the cars, so more makers are coming to market with their own versions of a hybrid car or SUV. 

These factors are changing the way that drivers think of hybrids; however, the emergence of hybrid engines into the auto mainstream has not been without some disappointments.  There are many hybrid owners who feel their cars have not delivered the benefits they expected when they bought them.

Honda Civic Hybrid Mileage

What is their primary complaint?  Hybrid fuel economy!  Some hybrid owners say they are not getting the advertised mileage from their vehicles.   Some hybrid cars that manufacturers claimed would get 50 mpg are getting closer to 30 mpg. 

One owner of a Honda Civic Hybrid is an example of a disappointed driver. After a few months of commuting to his job in a large U.S. city, he says the Honda is delivering just over 31 miles per gallon.  The Honda Civic Hybrid is rated by the EPA as delivering 47 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway and that is what the owner expected to get when he bought the car.  

Many owners of other makes of hybrid report a similar experience.

Inflated mileage expectations are most likely the fault of the EPA.  The almost 20-year-old EPA tests for mileage actually gauge vehicle emissions and not road tests to arrive at an estimated fuel-efficiency rating. The tests measure the waste substances emitted from consuming the fuel, not the actual fuel consumed.  From the measurement of emissions the EPA says it can estimate the average miles per gallon a vehicle will deliver. 

If owners have a gripe it appears they should take it to the EPA and not the Honda or other can companies. There's more...

Hybrid drivers are experiencing frustration as they actually learn how to drive these new cars.  They must learn how to “pulse and glide,” to balance the car’s use of electric and gas when driving at speeds ranging from 30 to 40 mph.  A combination of tricky pedal work and keeping an eye on dashboard instruments make many drivers feel like they are learning how to drive all over again. 

There is another factor to consider and that is hybrid vehicles acceleration.  Although many of the hybrids can provide quick acceleration, a heavy foot on the gas pedal  chops mileage performance.  If you want to get great gas mileage on a hybrid, then you must learn how to drive with patience.  You must avoid hard breaking and give careful attention to use of the gas pedal to get the most out of your hybrid.

How do hybrid vehicles perform in winter weather?  There have been complaints of hybrids performing badly in certain weather conditions.  Apparently, the battery used in hybrids needs some warming up.  In full hybrids, or hybrids which can operate completely in either electric or gas mode without needing the other, the battery problem appears to have been solved.   For mid hybrids, where the electric or gas components are unable to work independently from one another, there have been cases of the hybrid performing poorly or below expectations in cold weather. 

On the other hand, too much heat has been known to diminish the life of a hybrid’s battery.  Manufacturers are counteracting this problem with thermal protection systems. 

Toyota has had to contact Prius owners concerning a stalling problem. Apparently stalling or unexpected shutdowns of the engine are being caused by a software problem.  Toyota took precautions by inviting owners of that specific Prius to return to dealerships for a free repair.  It seems only a small number of drivers actually experienced the stalling problem.

Can you believer this - Some people have complained about one of the delightful side-effects of driving a hybrid: the silence.  Because of the efficiency of hybrid engines there is near silence when at an idle.  A few of these drivers complain that although motorcycles and some models of regular cars are too loud, at least you can hear them.

The negative side of the silence is that people are often not aware of the approach of a hybrid vehicle.   This, for example, can be dangerous for pedestrians.  It may seem illogical, but makers are already considering ways to put the noise pollution back into hybrids for safety reasons.  

It should not come as a surprise that hybrids have had a few glitches.  After all, don't we hear of conventional vehicle recalls every few months?

Drivers who are willing to take the chance with a hybrid vehicle should not be concerned that their car will be obsolete in a couple years as the technology evolves.  Problems have actually been few and the benefits of driving a hybrid vehicle far outweigh the few negatives.

Hybrid Fuel Economy next...

      Honda Civic Hybrid Mileage