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Yes, I know. The redesigned 2012 Civic is about to arrive, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to try out the 2011 Hybrid model, which we haven't driven for a few years. Since the introduction of the Insight, Honda pretty much abandoned the gas-electric Civic in Canada.
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| If you really, really want a 2011 Civic Hybrid, you can still order one. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
Curiously, Honda Canada is still peddling the 2009 model on their website, but you can order a 2011 model if you (really) want one. At $27,350 before taxes, freight and delivery charges, buying one must be the result of nothing less than a burning desire. Not because it's a bad car.
A 20-hp electric motor shares propulsion duties with the smallish 1.3-litre 4-cylinder engine, and together they produce a combined output of 110 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque. All this muscle is managed by a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).
That's 30 horses down from a regular Civic, but peak torque occurs from 1,000 to 2,500 rpm, which compensates nicely. The hybrid model performs almost as well as those equipped with the 1.8-litre unit.
Now, about Honda's Integrated Motor Assist system; its lack of an EV mode like in the hybrid systems offered by Toyota and Ford might seem like a shortcoming. However, you have to try it out for a while before realizing that it's about as effective.
The IMA's name says it all: it assists the gasoline engine during launches and under light accelerations, moments when you're consuming the most fuel. It recharges the battery while you're coasting or slowing down. It's simple, and it works. If rumours are true that Honda would like to add IMA to every vehicle in their line-up at some point, and we'll stop calling them hybrids so the average consumer will consider them as normal cars, I'm all for it.
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| The 1.3-litre engine and electric motor combine for 110 horsepower and 123 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |