Honda Car Forum

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article <4825b408$0$30507$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
> Don R <don@nowhere.com> wrote:
>
>> Of course many or most of the hybrids
>> get 40 mpg in the city. As you probably already know, their mileage is
>> better in city than on the highway.
>
> Nope.
>
> Driving the Prius the same way I've driven every car for the last 30
> years, with the climate control set to keep ME comfortable, the Prius
> gives 45mpg in the city and around 50mpg on the highway.
>
> Colder weather will see lower numbers, but colder weather will also
> cause other cars to see lower numbers, too--presumably by the same
> percentage.

It may be by a higher percentage. I believe the Prius has to have its
motor running more because the batteries don't store energy as well when
they are cold (the voltage is lower) and the engine has to be on to give
heat.

> The thought originally was that the savings from a hybrid drivetrain
> would be in the city, and that may be for the Honda's drivetrain, but it
> certainly isn't for the Prius.

While you are correct that many (but not all) hybrid cars and trucks
still have better highway mileage, more fuel is saved in the city. If a
car gets 20 city/ 30 highway without a hybrid system and 30/35 with a
hybrid system, the car will save 17 gallons of gas every thousand miles
driven in the city, but only about 3 gallons every 1000 miles driven on
the highway.


> The Prius is like every other car

Some hybrids still get better city mileage than highway mileage, like
the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute. Of course, these are trucks, not cars.

Jeff

> --get
> it on the highway, set the cruise control, and see better mileage than
> you see in the city.
>

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article <4825b408$0$30507$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
> Don R <don@nowhere.com> wrote:
>
>
>>On a personal note, my 1975 Honda Civic, bough new during the last gas
>>crunch, got 30 mpg no matter where I drove it.
>
>
> Yep.
>
> I had a bunch of 79 Civics. Great cars. Manual choke worked great.
> And you couldn't kill the engines. Know when it's time to add oil?
> When you take a hard right turn and the light flickers on the dash. Oil
> changes? Naw, the car does that itself. Just add as needed.
>
> The front frame member, though, now that was another matter. At least
> Honda owned up to it and replaced it free of charge, even years later.
> THEY understood that was cheaper than paying for the lawsuits and
> getting a bad rep.
>
> Same with the gas tanks that rusted underneath the metal straps.
>



My first Honda was a '76 Civic CVCC that I bought from a friend who
bought it new. It had 88K on the odometer when I got it and it survived
until it hit 160K a few years later in '87 when the rust was truly
becoming a safety issue.

It got a solid 30mpg around town and could do about 35mpg on the highway.

When I put my "reconditioned" '82 Gen 2 Civic on the road, I have been
getting a consistent 40mpg in mixed driving. I do notice a slight
increase when I dropped my average speed to 60mph as opposed to 70mph
and a little more.

If I were to put the original engine back in, I expect that I would get
closer to the range that Honda claimed for the FE models, (42 city and
55 highway). I base this on a friend's experience who bought an '82 FE,
loaded it up with personal possessions and headed to California. He
average around 50 mpg.

So, as long as my little beater keeps on tickin'... I'm gonna avoid the
banker that rides in so many back seats..

<G>

JT

Waiving the right to remain silent, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
<elmop@nastydesigns.com> said:

> So the smart fortwo, here in the US, is just a big, expensive scooter.
> I guess if you have the cash for a spare two seat scooter and have the
> garage space for an occasional toy, that's fine.

They DO NOT offer air conditioners. During our 5 months of above 90 degree
temperatures here, they'd be useless.

A Toyota Corolla 1.8 automatic with AC gets 26 mpg/35 mpg, costs about the
same, and will easily seat four adults.

--
Larry J. - Remove spamtrap in ALLCAPS to e-mail

"A lack of common sense is now considered a disability,
with all the privileges that this entails."

If you want good city mileage the Civic Hybrid or Prius is the way to go,
here is a link to the civic hybrid mileage data base

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/m...a-civicii.html

you can get the Prius data by clicking on the prius along the top bar.
I prefer the Honda Civic to the Prius, it feels more like a real car not a
video game, has a better driving position & more headroom. The difference
between the EX & Hybrid is very small as I believe there is still a 1050 tax
incentive. You do loose the sunroof but gain a nicer 2 tone interior,
automatic a/c, remote trunk release, and smooth as silk CVT transmission.

With the Civic hybrid, you are also gaining a smartway plus car which is the
cleanest car (I believe) on the road right now per the EPA.
My current lifetime mileage (1 year) in a Civic Hybrid 95% city driving is
42.2, the Civic LX auto. I drove while my car was in the body shop for a
month got about 23mpg in the same conditions.

As far as those that suggest driving an old beater till the wheels fall off,
you are not asking that question, you are asking what new car do I want to
buy.....keep in mind that he Honda has high safety ratings as well, with
front, side curtain and side airbags....yes, I know you are the safest
driver in the world, but not necessarily everyone is, we have to protect
ourselves from them and there is no way to prevent someone from t-boning you
while you are going through your green light......I would rather be in a new
Civic or Prius with all those unnecessary airbags any day.

"Jeff" <kidsdoc2000@hotmail.com> wrote in message
newsS8Vj.63$ll1.21@trndny06...
> 2000 Civic hatch wrote:
>> On May 9, 7:12 pm, komobu <curra...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi;
>>>
>>> We are considering buying a 2008 civic. Could you please tell me the
>>> gas mileage you get for city driving? My wife drives mostly around
>>> town and is hoping for about 30 mpg. The sticker EPA Estimate reads
>>> 25, so I will probably get something else if that is all it gets. I
>>> was told the EPA estimates have changed and it will probably get
>>> better than that, but guess who told me that...yeah ...the salesman:-)
>>>
>>> We are looking at the LX model with a 4 cylinder 1.8 engine.
>>>
>>> Thanks for any knowledge.
>>> Pat
>>
>> I don't have one but alot will depend on driving style (jack rabbit
>> starts, low tire pressure etc.) really eat up gas (MPG)
>
> Low tire pressure isn't really driving style.
>
> However, where one drives in the city makes a big difference, too. I
> suspect that cars get better mileage around downtown Allentown PA than
> downtown New York. And of course, Jack Rabbit starts do make a big
> difference.
>
> You might consider the Honda Civic Hybrid. It is only about $1300 more
> than the Honda Civic Si and gets 40 mph city and 45 mph highway.
>
> Jeff

Waiving the right to remain silent, Grumpy AuContraire
<Grumpy@ExtraGrumpyville.com> said:

> My first Honda was a '76 Civic CVCC that I bought from a friend who
> bought it new. It had 88K on the odometer when I got it and it survived
> until it hit 160K a few years later in '87 when the rust was truly
> becoming a safety issue.
>
> It got a solid 30mpg around town and could do about 35mpg on the highway.

My first Honda was an AN600, bought new in 1971. $1,300 out-the-door, and
one of the first 200 Honda cars ever imported into the USA.

http://flickr.com/photos/larrythefrog/477777904/

It got an easy 40mpg, closer to 50mpg downhill, with a strong tail wind. ;-)

--
Larry J. - Remove spamtrap in ALLCAPS to e-mail

"A lack of common sense is now considered a disability,
with all the privileges that this entails."

Larry in AZ wrote:
> Waiving the right to remain silent, Grumpy AuContraire
> <Grumpy@ExtraGrumpyville.com> said:
>
>> My first Honda was a '76 Civic CVCC that I bought from a friend who
>> bought it new. It had 88K on the odometer when I got it and it survived
>> until it hit 160K a few years later in '87 when the rust was truly
>> becoming a safety issue.
>>
>> It got a solid 30mpg around town and could do about 35mpg on the highway.
>
> My first Honda was an AN600, bought new in 1971. $1,300 out-the-door, and
> one of the first 200 Honda cars ever imported into the USA.
>
> http://flickr.com/photos/larrythefrog/477777904/
>
> It got an easy 40mpg, closer to 50mpg downhill, with a strong tail wind. ;-)

My dad's Pontiac Bonneville gets 70 mpg going downhill, according to the
computer display.

And it does well going uphill, if it being towed by a tow truck. ;-)

Jeff

In article <w-mdnUSnGY3qarjVnZ2dnUVZ_siknZ2d@comcast.com>,
"Justbob30" <NoThank@you.com> wrote:

> With the Civic hybrid, you are also gaining a smartway plus car which is the
> cleanest car (I believe) on the road right now per the EPA.

Mmmmm, I would doubt that.

In article <Xns9A9A78E9227F6thefrogprince@69.28.173.184>,
Larry in AZ <usenet2@DE.LETE.THISljvideo.com> wrote:

> > So the smart fortwo, here in the US, is just a big, expensive scooter.
> > I guess if you have the cash for a spare two seat scooter and have the
> > garage space for an occasional toy, that's fine.
>
> They DO NOT offer air conditioners. During our 5 months of above 90 degree
> temperatures here, they'd be useless.

Ah, I forgot.

Indeed. So you can have 33mpg with no AC, or 45mpg WITH AC.

Fascinating. And yet, people still buy them.

> We are considering buying a 2008 civic. Could you please tell me the
> gas mileage you get for city driving? My wife drives mostly around
> town and is hoping for about 30 mpg. The sticker EPA Estimate reads
> 25, so I will probably get something else if that is all it gets. I
> was told the EPA estimates have changed and it will probably get
> better than that, but guess who told me that...yeah ...the salesman:-)

My wife's 2005 civic EX coupe with 5 speed gets 26-28 mpg
in town (she hotrods it) and 35+ on the road.

Lynn

Waiving the right to remain silent, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
<elmop@nastydesigns.com> said:

> In article <Xns9A9A78E9227F6thefrogprince@69.28.173.184>,
> Larry in AZ <usenet2@DE.LETE.THISljvideo.com> wrote:
>
>> > So the smart fortwo, here in the US, is just a big, expensive
>> > scooter. I guess if you have the cash for a spare two seat scooter
>> > and have the garage space for an occasional toy, that's fine.
>>
>> They DO NOT offer air conditioners. During our 5 months of above 90
>> degree temperatures here, they'd be useless.
>
> Ah, I forgot.
>
> Indeed. So you can have 33mpg with no AC, or 45mpg WITH AC.
>
> Fascinating. And yet, people still buy them.

Most people don't really need AC.

--
Larry J. - Remove spamtrap in ALLCAPS to e-mail

"A lack of common sense is now considered a disability,
with all the privileges that this entails."