The Weekly Driver video review: 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. Here's a two-minute video review of the 2008 Honda Civic hybrid. Commentator: James Raia, author of The Weekly Driver review; Videographer, Bruce Aldrich.
The 2008 hybrid
Civic is equipped with a 110-horsepower, 1.3-liter engine with two
relatively new features largely known by acronyms, IMA (Integrated
Motor Assist) and CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). A
five-speed manual transmission was previously available, but now the
hybrid is only offered with an automatic transmission.
The IMA,
as previously mentioned, allows a vehicle to operate solely on electric
power in certain situations. The CVT feature replaces conventional
gears with a belt-and-pully system that continuously and automatically
adjusts to provide a more efficient and nearly unlimited number of
drive ratios.
Since its redesign in 2006 (the 33rd year of the
vehicle's distribution in the Unites States) the Civic no longer looks
staid. It's now a sporty, full-sized sedan that comfortably seats five.