IndiBlog

Honda has slashed the price of the Civic Hybrid by a hefty Rs. 8.14 lakh with immediate effect. This is a year end offer from Honda which will only last till the end of december 08. Honda had launched the Hyrbid Civic as a imported CBU in July 2008 and it has since sold only 60 units thanks to its shocking sticker price of Rs. 21.5 lakh which was almost Rs. 10 lakh more than the regular Civic's base model. At that price point going green with the Civic Hyrbid did not make sense but at a price of Rs. 13.36 lakh it is a very tempting offering. Honda is going to absorb the custom duty on the car till December end as it wants buyers to experience the Hybrid and gain the technological lead in the Indian market.

The Civic Hybrid has earned good reviews from the automotive media and is a capable rival to Toyota's Prius which however is not on sale in India. The Hybrid tech works like this - During acceleration, the electric motor assists the engine, providing greater fuel economy and lower emissions. As soon as the brakes are applied, re-genrative braking charges the batteries even as the engine’s four cylinders are shut off. When the car comes to a stop, the engine switches off totally, saving fuel. It re-starts automatically as soon as the brake pedal is released (this is a CVT automatic, remember).

One of the new features of Honda’s new Civic Hybrid system is that during low-speed cruising, it is possible for all 4 cylinders to be shut off and the Civic Hybrid to cruise on the electric motor alone, making it ideal for stop-start city traffic. Fuel economy would vary greatly depending on your driving cycle but is expected to be as much as 15kmpl in city driving conditions. At Rs. 13.36 lakh the Hybrid Civic makes excellent value and is almost a must buy.