2009 Honda Civic Hybrid User Reviews

Pros

Gas Milage, Styling, Service Ease, Stealth Hybrid

Cons

Driving Position (hard to get right), Power, Auto Locks, Wheels

Purchased As New

2008 / 24,500 in 9 months, per computer averaged 44.6 for last 12,500
55% non highway. The car has been great so far, however, just a few things to keep in mind, it is not a sports car. The solid feeling of construction is about 90% there, do not feel it when closing driver door, trunk lid or hood. However surprisingly solid during normal driving conditions. Very surprised with handling in winter driving, handled the snow quite well. I have noticed that many speak of gas mileage not meeting expectation, well, my experience over the seasons have shown that really cold days effect quite a bit, different gas mixtures make difference, and how high the fan is (whether air conditioning or heat), rainy day, or warm sunny dry. Overall, this vehicle has delivered what I expected, a economical car for driving 96 miles round trip each day to work. As you can see by the average mileage since middle of January the numbers are good, and I do not drive to get best mileage, 70 to 73 mph highway and a bit above speed limit on secondary roads....read morehide

Purchased As New

PLEASE CECK OUT THIS CARS REPAIR HISTORY ON THE WEB(TIRE WEAR and ALINGNMENT ISSUES)

I have 31,000 miles on my 2008 Civic Hybird, Three sets of tires TOO, this car burns though tires very fast. Inside of the rear tires will wear very fast, front tires will become chopy and thus LOUD. This car also is very wash boardy, and breaking will through you in other lanes if you have to stop quick. BEWARE BEWARE

HONDA KNOWS OF THESE PROBLEM, AND THEY WONT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT

DON"T BUY IT!!!!!!!!!! BUY A FORD or TOYOTA...read morehide

Pros

44.5 mpg for 7,000 miles

Cons

car is very low--no fold down back seat

Purchased As New

Great mpg--getting over 50mpg on hwy around 60mph--44-48 in town depending on traffic and terrain--you must learn how to drive it to get good mpg--you don't buy a hybrid to drive it like a normal car and expect to get the great mpg--little window in front of front door window is too small to be practical--they enlarged the 09 Fit one from the 08 Fit to make it useable--along with the a-post it creates a blind spot....read morehide

Pros

Fuel Economy, Overall Performance, Heated Seats, Back Seat Room, Driver Controls/dash layout

Cons

A bit sluggish, No Folding Rear Seats,

Purchased As New

I've had my Civic Hybrid for 2 weeks and 420 miles. So far I'm very impressed. I'm getting 44 MPG in the city even with the A/C on (it's been hot in Denver the past week). I haven't radically changed my driving style except trying to limit HARD acceleration.

A/C still functions when stopped and the auto/stop engine feature activates though a bit weaker.

Handling is what you'd expect from a compact car. Typical acceleration is OK, incline acceleration from a stop is sluggish. Seats are firm but comfortable, plenty of room in the rear seat (especially with the flat floor). Controls are logically placed and easy to reach, love the split dashboard.

This purchases was heavily based on the availability of the Honda Financial incentives currently being offered; the new Ford Fusion Hybrid was my 1st choice. Even though I would have preferred the larger Fusion the Civic is a close second....read morehide

Pros

performs as promised

Cons

don't expect pep

Purchased As New

When I first bought my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, I drove it as perfectly as I could in order to see what mileage I'd get. Honestly, I probably annoyed other drivers on the road, and I probably missed a few lights, but I did get 52 mpg. Really. There were no maintenance issue other than one recall. I changed out the tires recently, and changed my driving habits to be less challenging for other drivers on the road. The tires are notably heavier, as the car's performance has changed. That and the driving changes has reduced the performance to 45 mpg.

Be aware that this car has no pep whatsoever. It generally gets out of the starting block okay, but not always. There is a hill I need to climb on the way home from work with a stoplight at the top. By the time I get to the stoplight, the battery charge is always at zero. After a stop, the car is extremely sluggish, and I have to floor it (with the engine whining like crazy) to get through the intersection at more than 5-10 mph.

There is also the problem of the battery charger not functioning in cold weather until the engine warms up. I can be coasting downhill, and the charger kicks off, the car suddenly picks up speed, and the charging drops to zero.

Don't expect miracles. This is a cute, comfortable, reliable car, but with some trade-offs....read morehide

Pros

Ride, Finish and overall Quality is superb

Cons

Read seat don't fold. Lacks power but it's hybrid

Purchased As New

MPG in 40 in city and 48 in highway (need to keep speed under 65 to achieve this).
Love VSA, smooth suspension and disc brakes at all wheels!

Pros

Great fuel economy, extra smooth ride, and excellent cargo space

Cons

No Problems.

Purchased As New

This car is definitely an excellent choice for those on the go who drive approx 25-50 miles a day. It is very fuel efficient in the city (39.4 mpg) and on the highway (48.7 mpg). The car has excellent suspension which makes for a very comfortable ride. I would recommend this car to anybody. As a former Prius owner, I would never buy another car but Honda....read morehide

Pros

Great Fuel Economy

Cons

Some but overall can be overlooked for the fuel savings!

Purchased As New

I initially leased one for my wife to replace her 2007 Honda CRV. She is averaging 38.25 mpg/combined which means she now only fills up every two weeks @ $17.00 vs. the CRV was weekly at $27.00. Along with the saving in the monthly payment of $121/mo + $74/mo in gasoline savings this was a no brainer a total of $195/mo savings overall!

I was so happy I then traded in my 2007 Honda Accord LX Coupe (4cyl) for one as well. The 2007 4cyl Accord I only got 21mpg city I too am averaging 38.25 mpg/combined city/hwy. Yes it would have been nice to average the claimed 42mpg/combined city/hwy but both cars are new so maybe when they both break-in it will achieve better mpg all around.

The car is not the fastest accelerating car due to the tiny 1.3L motor and 20hp electric motor assisting. No rear-folding seat is the only thing I would have liked to have myself. I highly recommend these cars as I now have TWO!...read morehide

Pros

Nav, Bluetooth, Controls, Dash, Seating, Fuel Mileage

Cons

Braking, Audio, Trunk, Service Interval, Boring Colors

Purchased As New

This is our second Civic Hybrid, other one is nav but no leather or heated seats (2007). We looked at the Fit and Insight but for our needs, Civic is still the best choice. The biggest change is the addition of VSA (vehicle stability assist) and rear disc brakes, and now you have bluetooth hands free and USB in the glove box with the 2009 at this trim point.

My first impression of the 2009 is that there is nothing to dislike but that this is also not the most exciting ride around. I like everything especially the integration of audio, nav, hands free, satellite radio. The seating is good esp. if you are small and don't need a lot of room. In other words, if you have a big spread down below you might not be comfortable. But this car will never have the knockout appeal of some other cars. It is the stealthy quiet hybrid.

Small complaints: brakes do not have the progressive omph of non-hybrids. Audio doesn't have enough bass. Trunk is small, no fold down seats. Service interval (oil change) can be under 7,000 miles if you do constant city driving. Hills and mountains expose the problem of an uncharged battery pack.

Pros: Fuel mileage is anywhere from 30 to 44 mpg, with the exception of cold weather. Now listen up lunk heads. Honda DOES NOT PROMISE fuel mileage - those numbers come from the EPA. If you live in a cold climate and have a cold winter like this year, you will get some low mileage unless you have a heated garage. This is because the fuel mixture is rich and the engine keeps running until the catalytic converter gets hot. This is done to reduce emissions.
Winter is rough on hybrids because they don't heat up fast and the batteries don't charge when cold either. Hybrids do best in moderate temperatures say between 45 and 85 degrees. Also if you drive only a couple of miles to work, there is the chance that you will never even have the engine shut off mitigating the 10% advantage you get from shutting off the engine while stopped.

Having said that, I think all my cars will be hybrids from now on. Being able to commute and go on vacation and only use 180 gallons of fuel a year and only produce 3409 pounds of CO2 is cool. A Ford Explorer will create over 11000 pounds of Polar Bear killing emissions, not to mention the fact that they use more gasoline and take up more road.

Other bonuses: Fit and finish are amazing. Honda knows how to put these together and don't give me this BS that they are not American made. Even a hybrid made in Japan has 60% American content! Most other Civics are made in USA or Canada. So get a grip on this, Americans in Ohio make these cars and do a great job....read morehide

Pros

It has "HYBRID" symbol

Cons

Very poor mileage

Purchased As New

This car does not belong to hybrids. It gives poor mileage. Major disappointment. Currently giving less than 30 MPG in the city.

The company should be ashamed of advertising 40-45 MPG.