Toyota Prius and Honda Civic - Hybrids (May 2005)

The green room

Wheels Magazine
May, 2005

Toyota was the first manufacturer to mass-produce a green car (the Prius I was launched in 1998) and by 2002, 100,000 had been sold worldwide. The company expects that by the end of next year (2006) 300,000 Prius will be sold, and up to two million units worldwide by 2010. Sister brand Lexus will shortly launch a hybrid-powered version of its RX330 SUV Down Under. The RX400H is claimed to deliver V8 performance with four-cylinder economy.

Compatriot car company Honda has a similar penchant for environmentally-friendly drives and produced its first green car in 1999. The electric-powered Insight was largely a 'novelty' car with sales restricted almost entirely to the US market, in particular California. Since then Honda has launched a more worldly hybrid which last year arrived Down Under. The Civic Hybrid has helped the maker to top the 100,000 unit sales mark for hybrids worldwide.

With world and local fuel prices on the rise, interest in both Toyota and Honda's compact hybrids has increased. Indeed, as overseas waiting lists grow, reports are now widespread of US consumers paying up to $3000 over the price of a new Prius for low mileage examples of the sought after five-door hatch. Here, the hybrids have had a less enthusiastic reception. So are they a legitimate choice for Australian consumers or do they remain a 'novelty' for the well-to-do -- more electric soapbox than shopping cart?

What are the hybrids like to drive? And live with? Wheels' drive reviews of the Civic and long-term test Prius follow...

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID

One step closer to the mainstream
When tested: April 2004
Priced from: $29,999

What price the warm inner glow that comes from knowing (and showing) you're taking a stand on fuel consumption and exhaust emissions? Priceless, perhaps, but with the $29,990 Civic Hybrid, Honda's brand of environmental empathy starts $7K less than Toyota's.

It's easy to see where Honda's latest petro-electric model achieves some economies. Firstly, the Civic Hybrid's technology isn't as advanced as Toyota's Prius. Then, miss the subtle nose job, distinguishing wheels, modest boot-lip spoiler or green-edged nameplate, and the Hybrid could be just another GLi sedan.

For the sake of travelling almost incognito, the petro-electric Civic keeps its important stuff under the bonnet and in the boot. Hybrid driving couldn't be more user friendly.

After the key's turned, a touch of the accelerator reveals that the engine is in fact ready to go, having started with none of the usual churn. Engage 'D' and the Civic Hybrid pulls away with the
stepless fluency expected of an efficient CVT transmission.

Even without mashing it, the acceleration is on the lively side of adequate. Yet to be confirmed locally, 0-100km/h should be in the mid- to high-12s, with a top whack around 165km/h.

What is certain is a very respectable 6.5L/100km for our 300km introductory drive around urban and outlying Sydney, with air-con on and hills included.

Hybridisation hasn't rocketed Civic's chassis dynamics to near top of class, but the roadholding springs no surprises, the handling is confident, if unassuming, and the initially jiggly ride seems to smooth with familiarity.

Despite the switch to rear drums, braking is up to the task, helped by the generator's noticeable drag every time you're on overrun or the brakes. Balancing battery drain against recharging is part of the game, as is learning to relish the engine shutdown and magical restart every time the car stops from more than 16km/h.

So, a different kind of Civic. Even more economical than its stablemate and, in its own way, a technically rewarding drive.

TOYOTA PRIUS

How green was our hybrid?
When tested: Throughout 2004
Priced from: $36,500

Is the world a cooler place because Wheels spent the last year driving 17,157km in a Prius and burning less than 1000 litres of unleaded to do it? Our year-long examination of the global-warming credentials of Toyota's petrol-electric hybrid has come to an end, and it's time to address the big question.

The answer may shock those who view hybrids as a way to significantly curb motoring's greenhouse-gas emissions without cutting down on the amount of driving we do. For sceptics who dismiss the technology as unnecessary or irrelevant, the next paragraph will probably reinforce this prejudice.

No, driving a Prius hasn't made one bit of difference to the amount of carbon dioxide present in the earth's insulating atmospheric mantle. Well, at least not yet anyway.

Obviously this isn't because the Prius burns so much fuel. With inner city and urban driving comprising about 70 per cent of the kilometres Wheels drove, the Toyota's 5.7 litres per 100km average consumption is mightily impressive. But it's a fact that SNH 000 will only begin to make a difference in the next owner's hands.

According to Toyota - and the company is commendably frank about its car's environmental equations - Prius doesn't even begin to break even on greenhouse gas emissions until it's been driven around 20,000km. This is because extracting and manufacturing the raw materials to make a Prius consumes more energy than a conventional car. The extra energy required means more carbon dioxide is emitted to make a Prius than a conventional technology car.

Obviously, the Wheels long-term Prius - with its odometer showing 18,549km - is in its prime. And over the remainder of its useful life, it will make a considerable difference. Toyota's Life Cycle Assessment data shows that it will cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 31 per cent over 100,000km compared with a car that consumes fuel at double the rate it does. This is a significant cut, and the greater the number of kilometres driven, the greater the hybrid advantage.

As a car, the Prius isn't perfect. Ride comfort, steering feel and weighting, and handling finesse are all areas needing improvement. Visibility is compromised by its aerodynamic shape and thick but-crashworthy A-pillars. And radio reception on the AM band is very poor.

But the complex, sophisticated drivetrain is profoundly impressive. The constant blending of petrol and electric power is so subtle that most people can't tell what's going on under the Toyota's aluminium bonnet. And performance is strong enough that the car's traction control system is helpful, especially in the wet. And we can report that the car will run to an indicated 170km/h on the flat.

The Prius's year with Wheels wasn't entirely without drama. Its rear bumper fell victim to an incompetent parker outside Wheels editor Ged Bulmer's house. Insurance covered the repair job, which involved replacement and repainting the large chunk of gouged plastic. A Sydney antenna thief unscrewed the Toyota's fixed mast and made off with it. Replacement cost was $50. And, finally, the car's colour LCD touch-screen - which incorporates the controls for the audio, heating, ventilation and airconditioning systems - eventually failed after a period of intermittent trouble.

The entire screen was replaced under warranty by Sydney City Toyota, the massive, but pleasantly efficient, dealership that also carried out the Prius's 10,000km service. This cost $170, the biggest single expense during our year with the car.

There's no reason to expect that it will cost any more than a conventional car to service in the long term. If Toyota is correct about the life of the hybrid system's battery, both car and battery will be ready for the scrapheap at the same time. (Battery disposal, by the way, is handled by Matsushita, which manufactures it.)

In the meantime, the Toyota has a single planetary gear that functions as a continuously variable transmission. It is much less complex than a conventional stepped-ratio auto or, indeed, a conventional CVT. A check of its lubricating fluid every 40,000km is the only servicing requirement. And the Prius, which uses regenerative braking to recharge its battery, should be very, very easy on its supplementary hydraulic brakes. Pad and rotor life should be exceptional. The front pads on the long-termer were barely worn when we returned it.

FAILING THE SCREEN TEST
First, the good news. Replacing the Prius's stolen radio antenna - with a genuine part, naturally - wasn't expensive. A new screw-on mast cost just $50, including GST.

And the bad news? While Sydney City Toyota had the part in stock, they didn't have a new centre-dash touch-screen display. The dealer's diagnosis of the misbehaving colour LCD unit indicated that it, rather than a wiring or sensor fault, was the reason behind the Prius's only major problem in our time with it.

In case you didn't catch the December issue report, here's a recap. In a Prius without sat-nav, like ours, most of the time the screen puts the petrol-electric hybrid's virtue on display. There's a choice between a graphic representation of the car's drivetrain, with moving arrows to show what its parts are doing.

Alternatively, there's a rolling five minute fuel-consumption-update chart, complete with little symbols to show how much electricity was stashed in the battery through regenerative braking. All very interesting, but not as important as the screen's other functions.

Buttons flanking the screen give access, when needed, to the fine controls for the car's HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-con) and audio systems. Basic control of both systems is possible via buttons on the Toyota's steering wheel, but without the screen there's no way of knowing the set temperature of the climate control air or the frequency of a radio station you're listening to.

While the problem was at first intermittent, it soon became full time. As you can imagine, it was rather annoying. After the initial visit, the dealer was to source a new screen from Melbourne then call us to make a date for installation. When we made a call to inquire about progress, it was clear the part hadn't been ordered as promised.

While waiting, another Prius driver told us his car suffered from a similar screen failure.