Tech savvy Honda

Hybrid is the latest everyday application in Honda's quest to produce lighter, more powerful petrol engines which produce fewer emissions and deliver improved fuel economy.

Honda's Hybrid system is called IMA, which stands for Integrated Motor Assist. On a combined cycle, the Insight is capable of 83 miles per gallon - the highest fuel economy for a mass produced vehicle in the world. It also emits just 80 g/km of CO2. To put that into context, the average car today emits more than double that.

Hybrid is the combination of a petrol engine with an electric motor. The integrated electric motor assists the engine by giving it a boost during acceleration to improve fuel economy. It also runs the car at idle to reduce emissions, so when a driver stops in traffic the engine falls silent. Not only that, the battery that powers the electric motor charges itself up with regenerative energy from deceleration and braking, so the Hybrid never needs to be recharged from an external power supply.

The result is a car that behaves like a petrol-engined car in terms of performance, emits less CO2 than an equivalent diesel and delivers mind-boggling fuel economy.

Hybrids also use the existing fuel supply infrastructure - you just fill it up at the petrol station as normal - so there are no barriers to its use.

The team of designers at Honda created the bold, striking and stylish Civic Hybrid - proving that green can be beautiful. But it's not all about image. Honda's clever new IMA system produces more power than a typical 1.6-litre engine (115PS), but only uses the same amount of fuel as a 1.1-litre car (61.4mpg combined). It also drives, sounds and behaves like a conventional petrol-engined car. It's no slouch either: the Hybrid has a top speed of 115mph.

The Civic Hybrid is based on the four-door saloon version of the eighth generation Civic. It is wider and lower than the old Civic IMA, which means it has a sleek, futuristic appearance that also benefits packaging, efficiency, handling and rich quality.

The refined styling incorporates a sweeping roofline, a sleek, sharply raked windscreen - 23.9 degrees - and short overhangs that emphasise the vehicle's advanced monoform profile and low, wide stance.

Like the Civic 5-door model, the Hybrid features a two tier, 'dual zone' instrument panel with the dashboard split into functional upper and lower 'links'. Priority gauges like the speedometer are positioned high up in the driver's field of vision. The design takes advantage of the generous dashboard space from the steeply raked windscreen.

Unique to the Civic Hybrid, instantaneous fuel economy can be displayed in the upper level of the instrument panel, while the lower level displays battery charge level along with instantaneous IMA 'charge' and 'assist' displays, and 'Auto Stop' to indicate when the engine is in idle stop mode.

All models are equipped with ABS and, for optimum performance, Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) to achieve maximum braking performance and stability. It also features, across the range, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) designed to assist the driver in maintaining control during cornering, acceleration and sudden manoeuvres by applying braking to the right or left hand wheels as necessary and managing the throttle and brake systems.

For more information contact Associated Motors Ltd, Mriehel ByPass (tel. 2278 1222).