2008 CiVic Hybrid

Toyotafanboi

Hi all,

I'm going to look at one of these tomorrow, this one to be exact http://www.lewismotors.ie/vehicles/honda/civic/dublin/1596610 .

I know it's an old loose and pathetic attempt at being a hybrid but never the less, what I'm actually more interested in is a 2008 civic saloon with a reasonably good spec whether it be 1.3 or 1.8. I have a 07 1.8 hatch currently and I just think the saloon looks well.

Has anyone owned one of these? My only real concern is the batteries, i've read everything from they're absolutely bulletproof to they're very prone to failure and anecdotal evidence of Honda extending the battery warranties to 12 years etc.

Also if worst came to worst and a battery did fail, will the car still work as ICE only or would you need to replace the battery to keep driving. I only ask as the batteries are probably thousands of euros and the warranty on a €7k car isn't worth the paper it's written on so I'd like to avoid that pain.

Id love to hear any other info or experiecessation people have had with these too I can see that particular car is ex UK, has a whopper dent in the passenger sill but it has a FSH and 3 owners, 2 Irish, 1 UK.

colm_mcm

Haven't owned one but nearly bought one. Glad I didn't tbh. It would be a step back from what you have in a lot of ways.

Toyotafanboi

They're not as out there as the hatch, granted. They also don't seem to hold value nearly as well. A change is as good as a rest though

n97 mini

I've a 2004 with around 130k miles on the clock. Still returning the same mpg as it did when I bought it in 2007. A little low on power but a fantastic car if you're after economy. The fact they don't hold their value makes them an excellent 2nd hand buy.

Very simple mechanically compared to the Prius. The only thing that can fail really is the battery, which almost never happens, but if it does a place in the UK refurbs them for £500, and it's a 30 minute job to swap out if you're handy with a screwdriver. Cheaper and easier than replacing a clutch, dpf, dmf, turbo etc.

Mine never dips below 55mpg and if I drive it like I drive the Leaf it tops out at about 75mpg.

n97 mini

About battery failure, it doesn't fail catestophically, it just wears down. To answer your question, yes the car will drive fine even if you remove the battery altogether, but your economy will suffer considerably.

colm_mcm

n97 mini wrote: »

I've a 2004 with around 130k miles on the clock. Still returning the same mpg as it did when I bought it in 2007. A little low on power but a fantastic car if you're after economy. The fact they don't hold their value makes them an excellent 2nd hand buy.

Very simple mechanically compared to the Prius. The only thing that can fail really is the battery, which almost never happens, but if it does a place in the UK refurbs them for £500, and it's a 30 minute job to swap out if you're handy with a screwdriver. Cheaper and easier than replacing a clutch, dpf, dmf, turbo etc.

Mine never dips below 55mpg and if I drive it like I drive the Leaf it tops out at about 75mpg.

Yours is the previous gen manual?

Soarer

By all accounts, the gen 2 Prius is a better car.

Not poo pooing your potential purchase or anything. Just letting you know.

corks finest

Can't be compared to a Prius ,the insight can

slave1

Would you consider further afield OP, looks like a great buy here, FSH, one owner, 57,000miles, £3,950 = ~€4,702+€455VRT+€420 transport = ~€5,577.
Great selection in the UK and you can load the spec without impacting the VRT as the car is greater than 4 years old...

zilog_jones

Soarer wrote: »

By all accounts, the gen 2 Prius is a better car.

I wouldn't be so sure. The Civic has independent rear suspension and should be a much better car to drive compared the Gen 2 Prius which was below average in this respect (also better than the Civic hatchback, which only has rear torsion bar like Prius), and although it's a much cruder hybrid than the Prius (pretty much just a motor stuck in-between the ICE and gearbox) it still delivers respectable fuel economy and performance (combined power is equal to the NHW20 Prius because the ICE is more powerful). I always thought the seats were a bit crap in the older Prius too - not sure how the Civic compares with interior.

n97 mini

colm_mcm wrote: »

Yours is the previous gen manual?

Yeah. Mechanically not a lot of difference. The biggest is the newer one only comes with a CVT transmission. Engine, IMA, and battery differences don't amount to that much.

ActingDanClark

I had a 09 model, brought it in myself in 13 and sold it last year having done 50000 miles on it. The only thing that went was a brake pressure sensor, very economical, quite lovely. Highly recommended. I also imported the previous generation civic hybrid, replacing a brand new Passat TDI and it returned comparable fuel consumption

n97 mini

zilog_jones wrote: »

I wouldn't be so sure. The Civic has independent rear suspension and should be a much better car to drive compared the Gen 2 Prius which was below average in this respect (also better than the Civic hatchback, which only has rear torsion bar like Prius), and although it's a much cruder hybrid than the Prius (pretty much just a motor stuck in-between the ICE and gearbox) it still delivers respectable fuel economy and performance (combined power is equal to the NHW20 Prius because the ICE is more powerful). I always thought the seats were a bit crap in the older Prius too - not sure how the Civic compares with interior.

I wouldn't call it cruder... it's simpler. Which means less to go wrong, while still delivering very decent economy. You're right about the drive though, there is really no comparison.

colm_mcm

corks finest wrote: »

Can't be compared to a Prius ,the insight can

Because they're both hatchbacks?

I would have thought a civic hybrid and a Prius should be compared, given that they were rivals when new, both are automatic, both are hybrids, and cost roughly the same

n97 mini

colm_mcm wrote: »

Because they're both hatchbacks?

I would have thought a civic hybrid and a Prius should be compared, given that they were rivals when new, both are automatic, both are hybrids, and cost roughly the same

Civic was always a few grand cheaper than the Prius.

Costs when new (UK):
Civic IMA (2003): £15,000
Prius II (2004): £17,500
Civic Hybrid (2006): £16,300
Prius III (2009): £19,100

colm_mcm

We would be comparing the 06 onwards civic hybrid (£16300) with the Prius 2 (17500) in this case.

Chippy01

My other half had one for a year (only sold it in the last couple of weeks).
She loved it, and changed to a Prius because she wanted the greater flexibility the Prius offered, as she didn't like the Insight.
At 100,000 miles it was still tight as a drum and running very smooth, and the IMA system never faltered. As yourself OP, I did some checking online before she bought, and found nothing to be scared about.
Hers was the EX version (leather, nav, Bluetooth, etc) which is a bit rarer than the ES you're looking at, and also a UK import.

corks finest

colm_mcm wrote: »

Because they're both hatchbacks?

I would have thought a civic hybrid and a Prius should be compared, given that they were rivals when new, both are automatic, both are hybrids, and cost roughly the same

Sorry, missing my point,as an insight driver, afaik, insight is a more complete hybrid,compared to the 08 civic hybrid,at least my 10c insight is, engine etc changed from 09 on

colm_mcm

corks finest wrote: »

Sorry, missing my point,as an insight driver, afaik, insight is a more complete hybrid,compared to the 08 civic hybrid,at least my 10c insight is, engine etc changed from 09 on

What do you mean by more complete hybrid?

The early insights had the iDSI engine I think (8 spark plugs)
I don't think there's that much difference between an FD IMA and an insight like yours. In terms of engine power, motor power, battery capacity etc.

I still don't get why you don't think comparisons should be made between an FD Civic hybrid and a Prius, given they're both auto, both hybrids, both in the same age bracket and price range.
The Insight is a more natural comparison fair enough, they're both hatchbacks and both have overtly hybrid-y styling.