Being a lady, and practicly clueless about cars, I figured this would be the place to get some useful opinions.

I'm was looking into the new 2006 Civic SI for my next car. I'm browsing the site at civiccoupe.honda.com. I'm now confused about the Hybrid and natural gas sedans. What's the difference between these, and which one is better on gas? I guess I just don't understand the whole natural gas thing - is that supposed to be different than regular gas? Like I said, I'm not exactly 'car-savvy' so sorry if my questions sound kinda silly, but I appreciate your help! thanks...

 

For natural gas, I'm not sure.
Hybrids....It would take 10+ years to recover the extra $$ for them over a standard engine. You do get a tax break, but that has shrunk big time.
Don't get a hybid cause it's better on gas. It might be, but it's not worth the cost.

 

It really depends on what kind of impact you want to make. Hybrids tend to run a little more money so in theory will take longer to save money. Nearly everyone that I know that has a hybrid bought one with the environment in mind (we'll see about the batteries though).

 

Natural gas runs on natural gas, not "gasoline".

I guess you have to get a filling tank or something installed at your house.

As for a hybrid, the only reason I would get one is for performance such as the accord or rx450h. You get better performance for about the same fuel economy.

Honestly, if I wanted to save the enviroment, I'd buy an bicycle.

 

Thanks for the advice But I thought hybrids weren't much more than the non-hybrids. I've heard this before that you don't save as much money as you think on a hybrid, but I still don't understand that. Maybe they use a bit more gas than I've been led to beleive that they do? Or maybe there are other costs involved with hybrids as opposed to regular powered cars? Plus, I'm hearing that the 2006 Civic Hybrid engine is supposed to have even better fuel economy. I do work for Honda, however, so thats where I'm getting my info and facts. Can you explain a bit more how the numbers work out with this kind of car? I appreciate it, and thanks again...

 

Base Civic Hybrid auto = $20,900 51MPG HW
Base regular Civic auto = $15,360 40MPG HW
That's a $5,540 difference.
Even if gas cost $5/gallon, It would cost you around $66 to fill up. It will take you longer then 5 years to make up that $5,540 difference. Even if you added in the Tax savings which I think is only about $2K now. That's still a big $3,540 increase. For only 11 more MPG.

 

RX400h I'm visiting my folks right now and driving the one they just bought 2 weeks ago....ITS AWESOME. I love this thing.

If youre looking at the civic si then go with it. I was just back visiting at the honda dealer i noce sold for and they let me sit in a new civic coupe.....the center console is a little cheap and plastic feeling, BUT the new interior is otherwise very HOT. very well laid out, nice storage, unique e-brake setup, and the new coupe is downright sexy as far im concerned.

I saw go the Si if you can find one when they come out. Word is its generating a ton of buzz. Where my parents are they are taking deposits, and in Back in LA i garuntee no less the 5-7g markups.

 

40MPG for base civic? really? i didn't know that. i thought they get about 34-36.

40 is not bad at all.

 

Window sticker i saw today said 30 city / 38 hwy

 

06 model direct from the Honda website

 

maybe it was a different tranny i saw?

 

That's not fair at all. The Hybrid is equipped better than the EX (Safety, Accessories, Body styling), and you're comparing it to the DX? The Hybrid is rated 50MPG city AND highway, but you've only shown the highway. Obviously the hybrid goes for a premium, but it's not that big a gap.

 

Although I am NOT a toyota fan, you should consider the Prius. This is a small gasoline engined car complimented by a fairly powerful electric motor. It runs on electricity when it can, and on gasoline when it must. The advantage that the prius has is that you never have to plug it into anything. While fairly oversymplifing things, alternators built into the drivetrain recharge the battery as you drive down the road or even brake to a stop. Be forwarned though, when you come to a stop for a stoplight, the car completely stops. But all you have to do is step on the "gas" and off you go again, and the Prius will get up to 70 mph as quickly as many gasoline only powered cars. The downside of the Prius is that it has a huge and expensive battery that usually needs to be replaced around 75,000 to 100,000 miles, and at 75,000 miles or so, without a new battery, resale value can fall off quite a bit. A co worker of mine owns one, and if gas keeps going up, I might trade the CLS for one.

Natural gas is fine, however, you better know where the propane stations are in areas you are not familiar with.

All electric is a very poor choice. You're tied to your charging station until the battery is "full", and even then you're not going to go very far. And when you get to where you want to go, there better be a charging station there also.