Honda Civic e:HEV 2023 review – Could this hybrid EV hatch put the shine back on the Honda badge?

We do use more than 10 of our brain capacity and Hondas arent necessarily too expensive case in point: the 2023 Honda Civic Hybrid. In fact, this new hybrid is actually cheaper than the Civic EK GLI, Auto hatch was 25 years ago to find out. Why keep watching and Ill explain using my newfound brain capacity. As always, you can like And subscribe use the chapter, markers or time codes here on the screen to get to any point of the video youd like and dont forget to read the full review at carsguide.com now lets get down to it Music. Now, if you remember life before the internet, funders used to be premium and the Civic used to be a premium small car that transcended price and class, then in the 2000s it went all mainstream. But now Honda is chasing that premium Dragon once more, that all changed. When the current shape 11th generation Civic launched in late 2021, only the single vti Alex turbo petrol grade was released at 47 200 drive away and many people thought Honda had lost the plot, as it didnt really offer much above what the Mazda 3 equivalent did, costing. Thousands of dollars less, it might cost 7 800 more than the petrol powered vti LX matching luxury Brands like the base, BMW 118i Audi A3 and Mercedes Benz A180. But the Japanese hatchback is loaded with features Inc, including digital instrumentation, a panoramic sunroof, leather upholstery, heated and power with adjustable front seats, ambient lighting and a heated steering wheel.

It also comes with an app based telematic subscription service called Honda connect. So you can locate the car remotely lock and unlock it and turn the lights and climate control on or off as desired, amongst other things, theres, even a Geo fencing Zone to let the owner know if your pride and joy isnt, where you want it to be Clever stuff and its free for the first five years plus compared to the non hybrid Civic, theres extra safety like front and rear parking, sensors, a broader view, camera system, better pedestrian and cyclist detection traffic, sign recognition with electronic speed, limiter technology and 11 airbags, which must Be some sort of record, including one located between the front seat, occupants and thats all before you consider the hybrid powertrain that makes the ehev the most powerful Civic ever sold in Australia after the legendary type R. Of course, foreign generation Civic, is longer wider, sleeker and smoother than before, plus being a hybrid. The ehev loses the twin tailpipes that the regular vti petrol version has thats. One way you can identify it, otherwise it looks pretty much just like the petrol version. If you look more closely, though you might also pick the blue highlights, as well as the subtle ehev badging were just glad. This Civic has the aesthetic restraint to take on its long established premium competitors. Try saying that in a hurry, its certainly the most refined to wear the half century old badge since that classic EK of the 1990s, except, of course, this one is a heck of a lot larger and roomier.

All round lets check that out in more detail. Now, just like the exterior, the interior has become a lot more elegant and less fussy than before. I love this new digital instrumentation. The multimeter system is absolutely the easiest Ive ever used in a Honda, and the hybrid has some very specific items such as this drive by wire gear selector, as well as a center airbag a rear seat airbag, and, oh, basically, all the amenities you can need it Really is lacking for nothing for its 55 000 Drive Away price tag, and that is a real bonus. The other thing is this car feels like a medium sized hatch in terms of interior space. Theres lots of shoulder room and leg room. The vision out is really good. Theres easy reach for the controls, theres plenty of storage and just the general Ambience is fitting for a car that is priced against things like Mercedes, BMWs and Audis. So in this regard, Honda hasnt dropped the ball. Its really done its own work. Comfort is a high point with these excellent sport seats keeping their occupants firmly in place, while still offering a wide range of adjustability to help. You find your Ideal Driving position and heres a big thumbs up the climate control system. Thankfully, doesnt fall into the same trap as many of the Civics Rivals. Hello golf in that it has big, simple knobs that you can access instead of having to stab some fiddly touch screen all without needing to take your eyes off the road and the ehv hybrids standard, panoramic sunroof showers, the interior, with natural light, which is all the Better for showing off the exceptional, build and material quality that is evident all over this car, its all about, relaxing and not intimidating the person operating this vehicle in this day and age, thats a refreshing change or it might just being old fashioned.

I guess well never know. Likewise, the rear seat area has all the amenities youll need, such as face level, air vents, USB Outlets cup holders, a folding Center armrest and, of course, the obligatory overhead grab handles. But more importantly – and this absolutely underlines the fact that this has a longer wheelbase as well as wider tracks than the old Civic, you get plenty of leg room now on 178 centimeters tall and Im sitting behind myself and yeah theres more than enough space, and even Though this car has this panoramic sunroof, I have enough Headroom, so my scalp is easily cleared, so this car can definitely double up as a family car, because this is a hybrid, you do lose some boot capacity, but the 405 liters you see here is actually the Same as a regular petrol version, its just that this underfloor storage is 45 liters smaller than before. Otherwise, given this is a hybrid, you do get a lot of luggage capacity for the size of this car, thats, clever thinking, Music. Now the regular Civic has a 1.5 4 cylinder turbo engine, while this one is a 2 liter, naturally aspirated engine that combines two electric motors and a lithium ion battery pack weighing just 132 kilograms over the regular version. The hybrid delivers a system total of 135 kilowatts of power and 315 newton meters of torque to the front wheels fire. An electronic CVT continuously variable transmission, while thats just four kilowatts more than the regular Civic Turbo.

It pumps out a handy 75 newton meters, more torque and thats, immediately obvious from behind the wheel. Now, unlike say, Toyotas series. Parallel hybrid setup Hondas system can drive in purely electric mode for long periods of time, especially at slower speeds around town. In these situations, the petrol engine acts just like an electricity generator keeping the battery topped up as the electric motor does all the driving. However, when you need more acceleration, the petrol engine seamlessly takes over with electric motor now providing extra power or helping to save fuel. Its a three way: Balancing Act between EV, hybrid and petrol motivation, as dictated by the prevailing conditions. Honda says the hybrid Sprints to 100 kilometers an hour from standstill in 7.8 seconds officially, but that figure seems to be a very conservative estimate with independent tests, as well as our own seat of the pants feel suggesting that its at least a second quicker than that Speaking of Phil, the front suspension consists of macphersons style, struts up front and an independent multi link design Outback, just like in the regular petrol models, foreign, so whats. The new Civic Hybrid like to drive well, if youre familiar with the previous Civic Hybrid sedan from 2006 to about 2015. well, this is nothing like it. That thing was all about: Eco, goodness and not much else. Really, this car is a grand tourer. That also happens to be an Eco Warrior. Now, by that I mean that not only is it amazingly Frugal at a 4.

2 liter per 100 kilometer combined average rating, which, by the way, is only a liter per 100 kilometers more than the ultra Eco two seater Insight, which was the first hybrid vehicle ever sold In Australia, 2001., its also fast like it is almost hot hatch fast in the way it accelerates, theres, just always torque, available and thats, because the electric motor is working in the background to give you that extra punch when you need it so around town, its mostly In electric mode uh you just toodle around and its quiet and seamless, and then when you need a little bit more acceleration, you put your foot down the petrol engine kicks in seamlessly that CVT transmission is really smooth its its always in the right gear ratio, and It just moves it just takes off. There are three modes: theres uh, Eco and normal, and then theres sport mode. The sport mode, which were in now uh is amazing because you put your foot down and foreign it sounds. It reminds me of those classic screaming V Tech Civics from the 1990s or something like an S2000 it just its a fake noise, but it just is such an evocative sports car sound. It adds another layer of enjoyment to a car that is already dynamically, so sorted the steering is light yet its got feel, and it has Poise and finesse it it could. It goes through corners, like you know, it just flows along the road like its its a sports sedan, and it actually rides really well Ive, been on hard, like cragly service, like this theres, a lot of road noise that comes through at times through these quality Mission Tires, but generally, it is at least as good as an Audi A3 or a Mercedes, A Class or BMW one Series: this is just an excellent car to drive and a car that has really good engineering associated with it.

One last thing is that, when youre driving around town, it has these paddles that uh increased amount of regenerative braking to slow you down, just like it would in an electric vehicle and that continuously charges the battery. So this never needs to be plugged in or anything like that. All in all Honda has just done its own work and its really sorted out this hybrid thing. If youre after a hot hatch, maybe you should consider the Honda Hybrid and you know it is definitely the better of the two Civics in terms of the way it drives um and its probably the best Civic weve ever had that isnt, a Type R, so thats A huge step forward for the series – and it really restores Honda to the position of being one of one of the better car makers. Fifty five thousand dollars for all this, it just seems actually almost like a bargain, its that good to drive and one more thing. Honda should have called this: the Civic Euro hybrid, because viewers weve finally found the modern day replacement for the legendary Accord Euro, and that is excellent news. Music. The Civic Hybrid manages a combined fuel consumption figure of 4.2 liters per 100 kilometers thats, pretty impressive. Now there are two things to keep in mind here: firstly, thats a whole 40 percent less than the 6.3 liters per 100 kilometers that the regular vti model returns and secondly, the Honda is tuned to run on regular 91 Ron.

Unleaded petrol yep no fancy expensive fuel for this Miser by the way the Hondas average carbon dioxide emissions average is just 97 grams per kilometer or almost 43 percent less than the normal Civic Vehicle Safety Specialists and cap in Australia has yet published a rating for the Latest Civic, but over at Euro NCAP, the new hybrid has recently been awarded a five star result. As mentioned earlier, the ehev UPS, the safety antique compared to the regular Civic on a number of fronts with 11, rather than eight airbags, including a front center item. To stop occupants colliding into each other during a side impact and improved driver assist safety technology. They all built on built in active safety like great forward Vision afforded by the thinner windscreen pillars and that low dashboard design, Music Honda offers an industry standard five year. Unlimited kilometer warranty with servicing pegged at every 12 months or 10 000 kilometers and just like BMW, theres, even an engine, monitor light to alert the driver when thats, due as every car is driven differently and some may need a mechanical attention earlier than others. Importantly, from the 1st of October this year, Honda Australia has dropped the price of dealer scheduled servicing to just 199 dollars per visit for the first five years of your new car ownership and thats across the Honda range involving an oil change, brake fluid and filter changes Along with detailed mechanical checks and inspections, this explodes the myth that Hondas are expensive to service.

Oh yeah, after 50 years on the market, the Civic has finally refound its engineering chops Im, just going to say it. This used Civic is one of the best premium. Small cars out there and Im, including hatchbacks, like the BMW, 1 series, Audi A3 and Mercedes Benz A Class as a result, this new Civic Hybrid, is a big hit and thats no myth. The final score is on your screen right now, dont forget, if you like what you see to subscribe and also you can read the full review at carsguide.