Honda’s hidden hybrid

I didn’t attract much attention when I hit the road in my 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. Aside from the discreet badge on the tail, there was very little visual evidence that the car even was a hybrid. And you know how hopped up people get when they see a Civic.

According to the Washington Post, the Toyota Prius is "the hottest ride in hybrids." Mark McCready, director of pricing strategy at CarsDirect.com, notes that there’s a six-months-to-a-year wait to snag a Prius — and no line for the Civic. "The Honda Hybrid is not the ‘it’ car," he said. "It hasn’t gotten the publicity of being the Motor Trend Car of the Year award like the Prius."

Toyota is expected to sell 45,000 Prius cars this year, and has had to increase production. The Civic Hybrid is still awaiting a sales explosion, but Honda has not lost its faith in the technology. This fall, the Civic will have a stablemate in the Accord Hybrid, which is expected to sell for $30,000. The sheer popularity of the Accord, one of America’s best-selling cars, should help hybrid sales.

Honda president Takeo Fukui says that hybrid drivetrains work better in passenger cars than they do in SUVs, such as the competitors‚ Ford Escape Hybrid, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX-400h (just introduced in Hawaii). "I would imagine that more vehicles will have hybrid versions," says Fukui.

The Civic hybrid may not be flashy, but it has many advantages. Yes, the car costs $3,200 more than a standard Civic, and you’ll probably have to drive 180,000 miles on $2.15 gas to realize a savings, but the benefits for the environment are undeniable. The federal www.fueleconomy.gov Web site estimates annual fuel costs at just $599 and gives the car high marks for emissions (it’s an ultra-low emissions vehicle) and a stellar 3.1 rating (near the top) in terms of greenhouse gas production. Models sold in California have super-clean AT-PZEV status, making them near-zero polluters.

Beyond all that, it’s just a fun car and practical family transportation. The trunk is reasonably big, the kids aren’t crammed into a dinky, inaccessible back seat, and there’s clear visibility all around. We took it everywhere, and soon got used to its quirks (like shutting down at intersections). One tradeoff for the trunk-mounted battery pack: Rear seats don’t fold.

With the optional continuously variable (CVT) transmission, the $20,000 Civic Hybrid will deliver EPA mileage of 48 miles per gallon in the city, 47 on the highway. Power comes from the Integrated Motor Assist drivetrain, which combines a 1.3-liter, four-cylinder 85-horsepower gas engine with a lightweight eight-horsepower electric motor.

Unlike the Prius, the Civic runs its gas motor all the time, using the electric power like a supercharger. The result is a 650-mile cruising range. We took it from Connecticut to Princeton, N.J., then to Boston without needing a fill-up.

There are still a lot of misconceptions about the hybrids. My own brother asked me about plugging it in the other day. For the record, you never need to plug hybrids in. That’s their advantage over the battery cars that failed so miserably in the marketplace. No plug-in. Ever.

Traffic worsens!

Even hybrid cars can’t cure gridlock. A new study reports that snarled traffic is costing American travelers in 85 big cities 3.5 billion lost hours per year (up from 700 million 20 years ago). The worst offender: Dallas, where congestion grew from 13 hours annually in 1982 to 61 hours in 2002. The average urban commuter spent 46 hours a year stuck in impenetrable, on-the-brakes gridlock.