I wrote about getting my new Honda Civic Hybrid in January. I got this model because I liked the body shape, the interior and the technology it uses in its IMA Hybrid Engine. I didn’t buy it to reduce the amount and cost of the fuel I used. The Honda sales guy kept offering to do calculations in a spreadsheet to show the fuel savings I would get. I kept telling him I wasn’t interested and I wasn’t getting the car for that reason.
Given the rise in petrol costs, I’m interested now! I filled the tank yesterday from reserve. It took 37.68 litres @ 117.98 pence per litre; or £44.42 to fill the tank. This is about £10 less than it took to fill the tank on my Renault Laguna late last year. Plus the petrol was around the 95 pence per litre price point then, if I recall correctly. One of my colleagues in work drives a large 4×4 Volkswagon and it costs him about £120 to fill the tank. Another one who drives a diesel Audi A4 (I think) fills his tank twice a week at £70 each time. He was asking me how I like the hybrid during the week…
Honda claim an extra urban miles per gallon reading for the Hybrid of about 65 mpg. Hmmm. For general start, stop driving around Belfast I’m getting (according to the onboard computer) about 42 mpg. Not too shabby all the same. I did some testing on longish runs recently and got the following fuel consumption figures:
Dual carriageway (50 MPH speed limit – cruise control set for 50 mph) = 55 mpg fuel consumption.
Motorway (70 MPH speed limit – cruise control set for 70 mph) = 46 mpg fuel consumption.
So the claimed 65 mpg is probably for 30 or 40 mph cruising. Still; I’m very happy. The Honda is a lovely car. It’s comfortable, well made and has enough grunt from the engine for normal driving. In fact it feels much the same as the 1.8 petrol Laguna’s I’ve driven for the last 6 years. The Honda has a 1.4 litre engine, drinks petrol like a 1.0 litre and drives like a 1.8. Works for me. Over the 3 years of the leasing agreement I have it on I should save quite a bit on fuel. If the cost of fuel continues to rise it’ll just get more beneficial.
Are you changing your car soon? Get a hybrid!
