2012 Honda Civic Hybrid to test brand’s new lithium-ion battery strategy

2012 Honda Civic Hybrid

It turns out that the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid will be a very important ‘green’ model for the Japanese brand. Despite being the first on the market with a gasoline-electric hybrid in the United States with the first-generation Insight, Honda’s recent hybrid models have started falling off.

However, the 2012 Honda Civic is the first test of whether Honda’s new strategy of lithium-ion batteries can take off.

Previous Honda hybrids have fallen short in fuel-economy as the new Honda Insight did with the Toyota Prius. Other models like the Honda Accord Hybrid didn’t do too well in the power section.

Click here for more news on the Honda Civic.

The 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid average 44 mpg in both city and highway driving, beating the previous Civic Hybrid’s 40/43 mpg (city/highway) rating. Prices for the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid start at $24,050.

Refresher: The 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid is powered by the company’s IMA system with a new lithium-ion battery pack that replaces the nickel-metal hydride pack used in the previous two generations of Civic Hybrid. The 2012 Civic Hybrid also gets a larger 1.5L i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine making 110-hp at 5,500 rpm and 127 lb-ft of torque at 1,000-3,500 rpm. The electric-motor provides an addition 23-hp. The 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid averages an EPA-estimate fuel-economy of 44/44 mpg (city/highway) or 44 mpg combined. Prices start at $24,050.

2012 Honda Civic Hybrid:

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– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive news