Gas mileage is amazing. We save hundreds of dollars every month just by having a Hybrid.

Size. As with all compact cars it's, well, compact and can get kind of tight but we have fit three carseats in the back seat for the last three years.

Absolutely the best $20,000 we ever spent. We bought our Hybrid at the beginning of 2003, when gas was at the "outrageous" price of $1.25/gallon. We use it as our commuter car and for our travel car for vacations. This car has paid for itself, especially now that gas is $3.50/gallon in our area.

We take it in to the dealer for regular maintenance and have never experienced any trouble at all.

We are about to outgrow the car (it seats only 5) for travel purposes but it will still be worth it for commuting purposes.

We will definitely purchase another Hybrid, perhaps the Toyota Highlander unless Honda comes out with a larger Hybrid of their own.

good power and quite

transmition and hard to find 0-20 oil. The standard tires give a hard ride. The front end suspension is week.

I purchased the 2003 Honda civic hybrid in 2003. I had transmition trouble the last two years I owned it. I also had to do front suspention work. I know that Honda knew, that there was a problem with the transmitions, but pushed the problem on other things. They flushed the transmition which worked for about a week. I decided to just trade it in.I will never buy another hybrid car again.

When you change those over inflated tires for regular tires you will loose about ten miles per galon.

Drives like a Civic, comfortable seats, visually stunning brilliant blue dash display, and obviously great mileage (though not quite up to the EPA numbers - though what car is?). Also, doesn't shut down spontaneously like the Prius has been observed to do.

Limited availability of ext./int. colors, rear seat doesn't fold down, factory sound system is unimpressive.

This car catapulted me into my adult life as a driver. Ever the environmentally aware consumer, I decided to get a new car that would ease my troubled conscience - my previous vehicle was a voraciously thirsty pickup truck. The instantaneous mileage feedback offered by the Civic's user-friendly display turned everyday driving into a game where feel compelled to maximize the little blue "MPG" number at all costs. After much trial-and-error, I developed a sense of what it takes to squeeze all the mileage out of each drop of gasoline that I can - it's too bad I hadn't figured this out while I was driving the gas guzzler. After all, good driving habits yield better gas mileage no matter what vehicle one drives. The Civic Hybrid is the perfect car for someone who needs something practical and not-too-flashy. That said, this "compact" car serves up a surprising degree of refinement and generally oozes deliberate quality from the ergonomically perfect display panel to the comfortably contoured gearshift. The Honda engineers, in typical fashion, did not overlook a single feature in the car in their quest to make everything thoroughly well-designed for its particular function. The interior of the car sports a basic comfortable fabric (not much to brag about), intuitive controls and latches, and one of the best dashboard configurations I've ever seen. The rear seat offers a deceptively roomy ride with plenty of leg room for two passengers, but three is an uncomfortably tight fit. The most important aspect, though - the driver's experience - is hard to beat with a Civic. My Hybrid handles like the Civic it is - grippy and ultraresponsive, even with the special gas-saving low rolling resistance tires. Though it won't win any drag races, I was personally surprised by the amazing response it has from a stop. The electric assist motor's high torque at low RPMs really shines here. The best part about driving the Civic Hybrid is that it's almost exactly like driving a regular Civic - a positive quality to have by anyone's standards. The difference, obviously, is the incredible gas mileage, and the high-tech game of getting the best MPG possible in any circumstances. Recently, I had to drive my brother's car, and every time his engine failed to automatically shut off at a stoplight or his brakes wasted the energy of forward motion as heat instead of funneling back into a hybrid battery, I found myself feeling very wasteful. That mentality, more than any other benefit, is the best thing that the Civic Hybrid has contributed to my driving life. If you're buying this car for its financial feasibility, be warned - you probably won't recoup the premium of the Hybrid powertrain in gas savings, unless gas prices skyrocket even further (or you get an amazing deal like I did). Rather, the appeal of this car is mostly philosophical in nature. I can't think of a more fun way to proudly participate as an evironmentally friendly citizen of our planet.

Fuel economy, quiet, climate control is a great option for an economy car.

It uses 0W20 oil which is difficult to find, but needed for the fuel economy - but well worth the extra effort. I'm hesitant to list this as a weakness.

I've driven the car with manual transmission for two years and have 68,000 miles on it. Actual fuel mileage has ranged from 40 to 50 mpg with the average overall at 46.5, mostly highway, some hills. I've been very impressed with the performance, handling and quiet ride especially considering the economy. At 35K miles/year it saves me over 1000 gallons of gas vs the 25 mpg pickup I drove before. I will definitely buy another one of these.

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Mileage, and (surprisingly?) off-the-line performance. Battery motors are TORQUEY! I love flying off the line with this car, using PRACTICALLY FREE electric power (braking at the next light gives the battery a charge). It's a hoot to see the faces of neighboring drivers when they realize that they've been crushed by a hybrid (my vanity plate rubs makes this particularly obvious).

As a skier, the battery pack barrier between the trunk and passenger compartment means that the boards need to go on the roof. As such, it requires a rack up there during ski season, which drops the gas mileage substantially. Furthermore, snow tires (studded, preferably), are a must in the rockies in winter. They too drop the mileage considerably.

at 38k miles I'm generally very pleased and impressed with the car. That said, after my 3 year lease runs out I'm moving to a 2005 Toyota Prius (already on order), for reasons discussed later. For me, the mileage is (obviously?) the great appeal. My mileage has ranged from a low-low of ~38mpg (with studded snows and ski box on roof), mid-low of ~42mpg (with bikes on the roof), to average ~47mpg (mixed around town and highway), to high-average ~51mpg (highway driving btw Boulder/Denver and Aspen), to an all-time high of ~56mpg (cross-country road trip through hilly parts of Kansas). Basically, it's a Honda Civic with regenerative braking and battery boost, meaning that it requires a smaller engine to keep it moving.

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1. Audi A4 Quattro (huh?!). Seriously, this car is great in the snow... but only with studded snows. Sans snows (i.e. with the super-efficient summer tires) this thing is just short of an upholstered coffin 2. My bike! ;-)

Great gas millage, low general maintenance costs, good looking dash board, interesting conversation about the car at parties

Transmission replacement, front struts.

Purchased the car in July, 2002 and have 48,000 miles. Gas milage ranges from 38-46, with better milage in the summer. Car has adequate power (but you won't be taking it to NASCAR) for the driving I do on Long Island. Had two problems with the car. First, front struts had to be replaced at about 30,000 miles. Next, the car needed a new transmission at 48,000. Glad I had the extended warrenty. These repairs were totally unexpected from a Honda, which is known for its reliability. Maybe this is the problem with buying a car which was on the market with a brand new technology for only 3 months when I purchased it. Overall, I a satisfied with the car, and maintenance costs have been very low. Oil changes are more costly, and the dealer often puts the wrong oil in which requires them to redo it.

Great Car, superior ride, lots of fun to drive.

MPg if driven carefully

poor cold weather performer. Batteries do not charge and discharge as well when it is cold

I have driven this car for 23,000 miles now. No real mechanical problems up to this point. My actual at the pump mpg has been as low as 35 during very cold weather and as high as 58 mpg on a backroad 150 mile trip adv speed 45-55. If you live in cold mountainous areas I would not recommend this car to you. If you live in Florida you should be able to enjoy 50+ mpg if you drive reasonably all year long. The CVT transmission does take some getting used to, both the way it shifts and its slow warm-up tendencies. I do have a rattle on the right side of the dashboard that comes and goes otherwise very happy with the entire fit and finish of the car

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Um, the $2,000 tax rebate?

Rattle noise, transmission problem, low mileage, small gas tank, poor handling in snow/ice, terrible performance in mountains.

Regrets in CO! I have huge buyers remorse about this car! Already two visits to the repair shop, unimpressive mileage and terrible performance in the mountains. I made the mistake of taking this car on a weekend trip from Denver to Steamboat - trust me, do not buy this car!! I even bought the extended warranty - I feel stuck w/ this piece of crap!

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Great gas mileage.

Expensive maintenance, negates the extra money that should have been saved in fuel; noisy, ineffective ABS brakes.

When I first got the Civic, I loved it, got great mileage and was fairly comfortable. My main reason for purchase was the savings I would get with it's fuel efficiency. My last car was a Jeep Cherokee. What I found out later, was that I must pay $100.00 for maintenance every 10,000 miles, with another (expensive) oil change in between. Gone are the savings I was looking for. So, in winter I get a mediocre handling vehicle with noisy, useless ABS brakes.

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