Auto | Cars Digest … for four wheels

I drive a 2006 Honda civic hybrid, and I've got to say, I have never been happier than I am with my vehicle. Initially, I was thinking of getting a plain old 2006 Honda civic si. You see, it's not that I'm distrustful of new things. It's just that I feel like it is most prudent to let someone else try it out before I invest over 10,000 of my own money in it.

The 2006 Honda civic hybrid isn't exactly a proven vehicle as far as I'm concerned. The hybrid transmission, which uses both electric, and internal combustion engines to save energy, is really a very new invention. There were some concerns about the weight of all of the batteries and extra engines, the handling, and the life expectancy of all of the complicated electronics.

Well, it's much too soon for me to talk about the life expectancy, but everything else about my 2006 Honda civic hybrid is pretty fantastic. It handles quite well, and has better fuel economy than I had ever dreamed of. It has a few quirks, but none of them effect driving performance and I could go  anywhere I like just like on a popular summer vacation destination for golfers.

I'm not all that mechanically minded, but before even getting behind the seat of a 2006 Honda civic hybrid, I wanted to find out how it worked, to see what I was in for. Basically, it has a much smaller electronic engine than a normal gas burning car, which saves fuel. It makes up for the lower power of that engine by using a second, electronically powered engine. When you brake in the 2006 Honda civic hybrid, the energy that would normally be used up in braking goes instead to charge the batteries. The electric motor is then used when you accelerate again to add torque to the gas engine.

When I first heard this explanation, I couldn't figure out why it would be more efficient than a normal car. Wouldn't a 2006 Honda civic hybrid actually be less efficient, having 2 engines to power instead of the normal one? I asked my cousin, who is a mechanic, and this is how he explained it to me: Most cars have relatively large engines. They need the extra torque these engines generate to accelerate, but once they reach cruising speed, they actually just waste a lot of gas. The 2006 Honda civic hybrid (as well as the Toyota Arius) uses a small engine to provide power. When it needs extra torque, the electronic motors can be turned on briefly to help accelerate, but once the car is moving along, they turn off again. That way, the 2006 Honda civic hybrid is only using as much power as it needs, and not wasting power and gas.