Got myself a civic hybrid few days back and here is what i have experienced
i have been driving civic hybrid for last few days and i cant get above 15 km/l average??? i am amazed and believe me I've not driven hard, how some people can get 23+ mileage with the type of setup Honda has, max it can give me which i have calculated is like 18 something on highway at a steady speed.
secondly please clear one thing out that it needs fuel all the time except for auto stop and can run on battery on flat road for a km or so at 1.2*1000 rpm because battery is not powerful enough to run the entire car for longer periods (motor is small only like 20 hp)
thirdly i cant gulp what Prius has to offer running a car on battery for some time and then charging it for some time by running the engine is like a Ponzi scheme to me because the law of thermodynamics don't support the process as suggested by Prius
As for my experience i was not delusional enough to think this car would ever give some thing above 20 Km/l, and i must say i am highly impressed at what it does and how it does it, the whole beauty of this car is not mileage but the stealth look where you actually blend in and don't appear to be screaming your lungs out by buying other odd shaped vehicles such as the one discussed above. i have a manual local made reborn as well, but the level of detail in the UK import is mind boggling,
Something for future buyers of civic hybrid
As for the future buyer of civic hybrid i have some suggestions
1) The Hybrid technology of IMA in civic is mainly to boost engine performance, and yes it gives you better mileage than other 1.3 L cars but the numbers are not roof shattering "KEEP THIS IN YOUR MIND BEFORE BUYING ANY HYBRID VEHICLE". No matter what the dealers or sellers or anyone says, there is no such thing as easy money.
2) Ride of this vehicle is exactly like the local car as most of the parts are same, but number of security and luxury features are 10 times, which make driving it safer and more fun than local cars, as for me i would still prefer the local even with its pathetic fuel economy, for reference my reborn gives me 10-12 Km/l max and its 40000 driven and what ever is maintained is maintained by Honda
3) Main reason i would go for a Mehran rather than a Prius is because of the exterior and interior parts which are either not available or very costly, along with the fact i like my hybrid fuel saving car to be clandestine rather than a megaphone.
Bottom line is i like the car i was familiar with the way civic works and am profoundly satisfied with what I've got and once again don't buy it only because someone told you it's going to give you above 20 average