Honda - Civic Euro NCAP - 4 STAR
Space-age looks inside and out, excellent performance and a vast boot the civic has it all.
The 3 and 5 door hatchback is available with a choice of four engines - 3 petrol (a 1.4-litre, 1.8-litre and a 2-litre), and a single 2.2 litre diesel. Don't forget the frugal "green" Hybrid. The environmentally friendly Hybrid IMA is offered in a single 1.3 Saloon, which provides the performance of a 1.8 petrol engine but the efficiency of a 1.0 litre engine.
Honda's new civic Hybrid was voted World Green Car for 2006. A panel of 46 journalists adorned this environmentally friendly vehicle with the title as part of the World Car of the Year Awards. With a B rating on the VED Banding scale and emissions of only 109g/km the Civic Hybrid is one of only a handful of cars with exemption from the London congestion charge.
Honda uses the latest technologies to help save the planet as well as your wallet. It achieves a combined fuel economy of 61.4 mpg, is capable of travelling 720 miles on a single tank of fuel and emits fewer carbon emissions than most cars on the road - all this and it still achieves an excellent top speed of 115mph. When cruising, the Hybrids electric motor stops the pistons firing and provides power from recycled energy, reducing emissions and improving fuel consumption. The recycled energy comes from the battery pack which is charged when the car is slowing, travelling downhill or braking. This clever car even switches itself off when stationery and idling saving fuel and of course there are no emissions - it restarts as soon as you depress the throttle!
The new Civic offers class-leading luggage space and will transport 5 people with relative ease. The hatchback is available with a number of trim levels and options to suit most drivers. All Cvics have electric windows and a clever trip computer. The Civic Hybrid is only available in ES trim but provides alloy wheels, cruise control, climate control, four electric windows and
a six-disc CD player as standard. Leather upholstery is optional.
As you'd expect from Honda the Civic ticks most boxes from a safety and security perspective, and received an excellent 4 star Euro NCAP rating - Hybrid version has yet to be crash tested. All models are equipped with multiple airbags, deadlocks, immobiliser, central locking, ABS, electronic brake force distribution, electronic stability control (to prevent skids), seatbelt pre-tensioners and Isofix child seat mounting points.
With a fantastic reputation for reliability, you are almost guaranteed worry free motoring. However just in case something unexpected should happen every new Honda car is protected by a comprehensive warranty. In addition to the 3 year or 90,000 mile (whichever comes first) Mechanical Warranty, a 3 year Paint Surface Warranty protects the external paintwork and a structural corrosion warranty covers any corrosion perforating the body from the inside out. On the Hybrid version the IMA unit is covered by an 8 year manufacturers/100,000 mile warranty.
About the manufacturer
Honda - the green thinking persons manufacturer - is committed to environmental technology and is at the forefront of changing advances in fuel, low emissions and alternative energy sources for the future.
Not only are they looking to cut environmentally damaging emissions but in association with The Carbon Neutral Company Honda are promoting projects that absorb, neutralise and offset the carbon dioxide emissions produced by cars. Greener driving gifts offered by participating dealers to new owners, the planting of forests in the UK, and swapping Kerosene burners for solar panels in Sri Lanka are just a few of the initiatives.
Honda were the first manufacturer to launch a hybrid car, and lead development of fuel-cell cars. Their Swindon factory has cut the amount of landfill waste from 60kg per car to just 7kg since 1996 and is on target to reduce this to Zero by 2010.
All major Honda plants worldwide already meet the toughest international environmental management standards (ISO 14001), covering a host of environmental areas, such as waste disposal, water treatment and energy use.
Honda is committed to recycling materials and conserving resources and energy at every stage of its products, from research, design, production, sales, services and disposal, to minimizing and finding appropriate methods to dispose of waste and contaminants. For example reuse of leftover raw steel from stamping for engine and brake components, the use of returnable shipping containers, the development of emission reducing door and truck-sealer materials and on site solar panels. Honda has annually received up to $1.2 million in revenue from recycling paper, cardboard and plastic alone from its facilities.
Having recently won the What Car? Reliability Supertest 2006 Honda has also won the Fleet News survey in its FN50 report - for the second year in succession - for most reliable manufacturer, thus reducing the volume of old oil and other used parts in circulation.
Honda has introduced a new generation of petrol engines around the world that provide extremely low emission levels and increased fuel efficiency while still improving driving performance. To improve energy efficiency even further they have developed gas-electric hybrid vehicles that achieve ultra-high fuel economy. This includes the Civic Hybrid, the first mass-market car with hybrid power.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles have huge "green" potential for the future and it was Honda that developed one of the first fuel cell electric vehicles in the world.
Honda has also produced another fuel-cell first: the ground breaking FCX fuel cell electric vehicle. Likely to be in production in the next few years, this is the first car of its kind to obtain approval for commercialisation in the US.. Propelled by electricity, that is generated by a hydrogen-oxygen chemical reaction, the FCX fuel cell vehicle releases absolutely no damaging emissions. The only by product is harmless water vapour; the exhaust virtually vanishes into thin air.