Business review: Honda Civic IMA Hybrid

Click to view our video review of the Honda Civic IMA

Hybrid cars combine a conventional internal combustion engine with a battery-powered electric motor, with the two power units combining their efforts to produce greater efficiency than is possible with the engine alone. While hybrids are more expensive to build and to buy than an ordinary car, they can provide financial savings for company car drivers through reduced fuel bills and lower taxation.

Some employers are already starting to encourage staff to select more efficient vehicles for their company cars, both to cut costs and as a demonstration of increased corporate social responsibility. Accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers, for example, recently put a cap on the CO2 emissions of cars available through its company car scheme. If this trend continues, hybrids of various shapes and sizes are likely to become more prominent choices for business buyers over the next few years.

Honda’s Civic IMA Hybrid has been on sale in the UK since 2006, but is far from a familiar sight on British roads. Its main rival is Toyota’s Prius, which has become relatively common in Central London, where its petrol-electric underpinnings earn it exemption from the £8-per-day congestion charge. The Honda likewise limbos under the exemption bar, but has yet to find as many fans. Both cars will retain their exemption from the congestion charge when the rules change on 27 October 2008.

The Honda deserves to be considered by Prius buyers. A starting price of £17,100 including VAT makes it about four per cent cheaper than the base model Prius. The Honda’s official CO2 output of 109g/km puts it into the same Band B tax bracket as the Prius (which boasts a 104g/km figure). Both cars cost just £15 per year in road tax and qualify for a discounted 12 per cent company car tax, reducing to 10 per cent in the 2008/2009 tax year. Insurance and running costs are virtually identical, as are projected percentage residual values after three years.

Whereas the Prius is larger than the average five-door hatch, the Honda is a little smaller than most four-door saloons, roughly matching a BMW 3-Series saloon in size. Certainly the Civic’s 350-litre boot is not very accommodating. The resulting lack of versatility may be one reason for the Honda Hybrid’s rarity on UK roads. Another is that the Hybrid is easy to overlook when parked next to a Civic hatchback. The striking, wedge-shaped three- and five-door Civic hatches were designed from scratch with European tastes in mind, while the booted Hybrid is a global car - offered in the US, Japan, Europe and even China with only minor cosmetic changes. It is unsurprisingly more bland in appearance as a result.

It is also worth considering that the Honda hatchbacks are assembled in Swindon, whereas the Hybrid is built in Sazuka. The CO2 involved in shipping finished cars from Japan to Europe does blunt the Hybrid’s green credentials somewhat - and the same is true of Toyota’s Prius.

There are two versions of the Civic IMA to choose from: the reasonably well-equipped ES and the top-spec EX. The more expensive car is a better bet for business users, given its Bluetooth phone facilities and built-in satnav. The EX costs £19,600 including VAT.

So, what is the Civic Hybrid like to drive?