Honda Car Forum

We recently puchased a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid with an automatic transmission. All the manuals say it is supposed to get 47 city and 48 hwy mpg. We are getting less. Any ideas why and what has been your experience with gas mileage and other things about the Honda Civic Hybrid? We would like to hear from any Honda Civic Hybrid owners. Thanks

Gas mileage varies by use. The stated gas mileages are approximations based on simulated average use or personal experience. It's not exact.

All EPA estimates are generated in a very unnatural way, that is basically on a dynomometer in a lab. They are ideal numbers under ideal circumstances. Most cars don't regularly achieve numbers like their EPA estimates at all unless you drive them very deliberately with the goal of saving fuel all the time.The only vehicles I have seen regularly meet or exceed their EPA estimates are modern direct injected diesels. I suspect that it's a function of the diesels natural superiority when it comes to flexibility/efficiency and the fact that diesels can vary their air/fuel ratio a lot more than gasoline engines can in response to load.Hybrids are especially disappointing when it comes to living up to the hype of their EPA estimates. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the type of driving and the amount of work the electric motor is doing can vary wildly. This is especially true of the Toyota system which actually shuts the gasoline engine off at times.I would check your owners manual for tips on driving for fuel economy, make sure your tires are properly inflated and use only full-synthetic motor oil. Have all of those things going for you, then see what kind of results you get.

Thats going to depend a whole bunch on how its driven and where. Hybrids are designed with urban use in mind, not so much over the road distances. You might want too, to check prices on replacement batteries in determining your fuel costs.

if you would like to get much better gas mileage you should get a diesel and run it on vegetable oil i drive my car about 1 mile then flip a switch and i run the rest of the day on vegetable oil and its free

Based on manufacturer claims, the mileage is 32km/litre. How true is this I am not really sure. Even if it is not as good as it claims, you will still achieve a fantastic figure compared to conventional petrol engine cars. You can have you share of the pie & still have excess. Actually hybrids are designed for city driving. It's pick up is not very impressive although the low end torque is still satisfactory. Don't expect any performance from a hybrid.