A hybrid car combines a petrol-powered engine with an electric motor to provide substantially better fuel economy with substantially lower emissions. Specifically, the Civic Hybrid utilizes Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) technology, which uses a 1.3-liter VTEC engine for primary power, with an ultra-thin electric motor providing additional power and torque. [back to top]
Never. The Civic Hybrid battery pack is recharged automatically when decelerating through regenerative braking, as well as when cruising. The driver never needs to worry about recharging the battery; the Civic Hybrid does this by itself in the usual course of driving. [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid runs on the cheaper 91 octane unleaded. [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid should achieve an average of approximately 18km/ltr on highway driving and 15km/ltr around town, but like any car it depends how you drive it. Better figures than this can be achieved, e.g. In the 2002 EnergyWise Rally the Civic Hybrid achieved an average fuel economy of 21.46km/ltr (4.66 litres per 100kms or 60.6 mpg). [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid feels and drives like a normal automatic non-hybrid Civic with the exception that when stopped, the petrol engine cuts out automatically. [back to top]
No. Although the Civic Hybrid is made with a manual transmission for the US market, a right hand drive version is not available in New Zealand or out of Japan. [back to top]
No, the Civic Hybrid always drives using the petrol engine with the electric motor only assisting. Like any other car, drivers should be sure to keep petrol in the tank of their Civic Hybrid at all times. [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid is equipped with many advanced safety features. The Civic Hybrid helps avoid accidents altogether with a standard Anti-lock Brake System (ABS). Approximately 50 per cent of the Civic Hybrid's "Smart-Linked" body structure is made of lightweight, high tensile steel - notably the mid-floor cross members and floor gussets - for excellent impact protection and body rigidity. In an accident its front & rear crumple zones, side intrusion bars and driver & front passenger multi-stage airbags help shield its occupants from harm. The battery pack is sealed and has built-in security measures that completely isolate it from the rest of the car to prevent any chance of shock in the case of an accident. The Civic Hybrid has an NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) rating of 4 stars. This is the highest rating given to a car of its year. The only cars that have achieved the maximum rating of 5 stars are current models (2003 onwards) like the new Toyota Prius. [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid needs no more servicing than a conventional car or in other words every 15,000km or one year, which ever comes first. [back to top]
Any reputable mechanical workshop can do the standard servicing, as the Civic Hybrid is no different to any normal modern car in this respect. The Civic Hybrid's we sell are the same as the one's sold new in New Zealand by Honda so in the unlikely event of any problems with your Civic Hybrid The Clean Green Car Company can provide a list of Honda franchise service centres that will have all the knowledge and tools to get the problem sorted. [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid is designed to be as durable as any other Honda, which considering Honda's reputation, is a pretty long time. [back to top]
To quote from the Honda website: "The battery pack is designed to last 10 years under normal driving conditions." [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid is able to tow, in the same way a non-hybrid Civic can tow; nothing heavy. Some people have fitted with tow bars to their Civic Hybrid's but this is normally only to put a bike rack on or tow a small utility trailer. Although they are not designed for towing heavy loads they still have plenty of power under normal driving conditions. Anyhow with the money you are saving on petrol from owning a Civic Hybrid you will be able to pay for a hire-ute on those occasions you need to carry a heavy load. [back to top]
Yes. Should you need it, the Civic Hybrid can be jump-started with any standard 12-volt DC power source, and it actually requires less power than a conventional car due to the fact that the 12-volt battery in the Civic Hybrid is not actually starting the car - it's only turning on the computer. Simply connect the jumper cable the 12-volt battery (located in the usual place under the bonnet) and turn the key, just like you would any non-hybrid car. [back to top]
 ALL cars we import have had the odometers inspected in Japan by JEVIC. The New Zealand Automobile Association has entered into a joint venture with JEVIC to protect consumers against odometer fraud and fully endorses the JEVIC Odometer Inspection process. To further guarantee the highest standard of technical ability and quality assurance is maintained, JEVIC have achieved internationally recognised ISO/IEC 17020:1998 accreditation specifically for Odometer Inspections. All our cars have been issued with genuine mileage certificates by OIS Ltd. [back to top]
Yes. All our cars are fully serviced, have a new WOF, are given a new registration at the time of purchase, given a full tank of gas, and include an AA backed Hybrid Car warranty. The price on all our cars is a drive away price. [back to top]
A LEV is a vehicle that is certified to meet the "Low Emission Vehicle" standards that are set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). A ULEV is a vehicle that is certified to meet the "Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle" standards that are set by CARB. The ULEV standards are more stringent than the LEV standards. A SULEV is a vehicle that is certified to meet the "Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle" standards that are set by CARB. A AT-PZEV is a vehicle that is certified to meet the "Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle" standards that are set by CARB. A car that has a AT-PZEV certification (like the New Prius) has near-zero tailpipe emissions and zero evaporative emissions. It is one step cleaner than the SULEV certification. [back to top]
The Civic Hybrid sold in New Zealand and Japan meets California's stringent ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) standards. Significant emission reductions have been obtained by use of the following: an advanced hydrocarbon (HC) absorbing unit a vapour-reducing fuel tank with a plastic liner to minimize gas vapour a small, light-weight battery pack a very efficient catalytic converter the advanced Honda Hybrid System. [back to top]
Yes. We have sold a number of cars to customers who live outside the Auckland area, some as far away as Christchurch. The process that seems to be most popular is: We send the customer a current list of all the cars we have in stock that includes the cars' make, model, year, miles, colour, and price. If there is a car that the customer is interested in then they inform us and arrange to get it inspected by an independent inspection company like the AA. These inspections tend to be very thorough and highlight even the smallest scratch. If the inspection results are satisfactory to the customer (So far there has not been an unsatisfactory result from an inspection performed on one of our cars) then they come to Auckland to do the final inspection themselves and make the final purchase transaction. This process has proved to be a popular way of going about buying a car for our out of town customers. There is no need to travel to Auckland until a car that meets your criteria is found. Others have found that because we carry a good range of cars with a wide variety of mileages, year and price we generally have a Hybrid car to suit everyone. Generally our cars can be registered and driven away on the day of purchase. [back to top]
Simply put, the Toyota Prius drives using just the electric engine or just the petrol engine or both together (The car decides which it drives on to achieve maximum efficiency - you just drive it the same way you would drive any non-hybrid car). Honda hybrid's on the other hand always drive using the petrol engine and the electric engine only assists the petrol engine when power demand is high. [back to top]
You don't get to see your friendly petrol station attendant as frequently. Seriously though; there is no downside. [back to top]
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