2006 Honda Civic

It's no easy task, picking a car of the year among the hybrid contenders. After all, hybrid drivers hold such strong emotional ties, and many believe their choice of transportation will be a major factor in saving the planet. In the still relatively new world of affordable hybrid automobiles, the market place is getting better with each passing model year, and expectations are growing from consumers and critics. Still, the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid has so many things going for it -- from a complete design overhaul to exceptional fuel economy and reliability -- the choice is easy. It's the 2006 hybrid of the year.

While the Toyota Prius still dominates the marketplace and is truly the most identifiable car of the hybrid movement, the Honda Civic is going to put some serious heat on the competition. With a complete redesign of one of the best selling and most reliable cars in the world, the standard and hybrid Civic went from being one the most vanilla cars on the road to a true work of art. For a car company that in recent years seemed to shun design risks, Honda dove head first into reinvigorating one of the most important cars in its fleet. The 2006 Civic is a gracefully modern car. Its cabin forward design gives the Civic the appearance of forward movement even when standing still. The new Honda is larger, smoother and more refined than its predecessor. Aside from a few minor cosmetic differences between the standard and hybrid versions -- the most obvious being the flat faced aerodynamic rims -- it's not easy to tell the difference between the normally aspirated car and its electrically assisted brother.

The Civic is powered by a 1.3 liter 110-horsepower four cylinder gasoline engine. That is supplemented by a 15-kilowatt electric motor that runs off a battery that is recharged by capturing the energy gathered while coasting and braking. All of this translates to a claimed average highway and city fuel economy rating of 50 mpg. While we are leery of the testing standards used to get these often inflated ratings, it would be safe to assume that the Civic will get in the mid-40 miles per gallon range no matter what road you are traveling. The power delivery is far from overwhelming, but it is smooth and seamless when the car switches from electric to gasoline propulsion. The Civic is more than capable of keeping up with traffic and has enough pull to make lane changes at highway speed without causing overwhelming stress to its occupants.

Speaking of passengers, the Honda easily fits four adults and treats the passenger to modern surroundings equal to the restyled exterior. Clean-sweeping moldings surround the cabin and passengers alike. The engaging two-tier instrument panel displays speed, fuel level, instant fuel mileage, a tachometer with IMA(tm) battery level and information about audio, climate and time. The instruments have a pleasant blue back light and all fall exactly where you would expect.

This is an exciting and transitional point for the automotive industry. As hybrid technology improves and gets cheaper, more and more consumers are sticking their toe in the pond. With the all new 2006 Civic, we have a feeling the masses will soon be diving in head-first.

--Chad Doering