http://thetruthaboutcars.com/content/11477...06557/index.php

Mmm...I guess the Japanese automakers aren't getting a free pass from Mr. Farago's site after all....

Edited May 16, 200620 yr by enzl

i wouldnt go as far as to say that :AH-HA_wink:

but the message is still crystal clear. gas mileage. his biggest complaint dealt with the nature of driving a boring, fuel sipping car. the hills and the cvt transmission, the boredom of trying to drive fast... harkening back to the old days when efficiency wasnt even a thought musch less a concern...

the reality now is that it does matter and we should probably get aquainted with uneventful nonchalance of a car that does nothing special other than conserve natural resources and go from a to b. which this car does quite well.

That's pretty funny. At least to the civic's credit it did get good gas mileage but I can't argue with most of his other points.

47mpg is good considering he was probably romping on it because he hated the car so much

Driving the HCH at highway speeds is also a challenge; any kind of incline drives the CVT transmission crazy. There is simply no way to maintain a constant pace without resorting to cruise control. Even then, the tach ascends to 6000 rpm or more when mounting significant grades.

Ya know why? Because you have 110hp at 6,000 RPM....that's with the IMA running.

Electric motors aren't very good at high rpm power.... they're all about low rpm torque....

Electric motors have 100% of max torque at 0 RPM. It only goes down as RPM increases. At 6000 rpm, I doubt the IMA is contributing much at all.

In conclusion, heading uphill, you're most likely relying completely on a 1.3 litre torqueless wonder to get you up the hill.