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Battle of the Eco Compact Cars
Battle of the Eco Compact Cars
Battle of the Eco Compact Cars
Battle of the Eco Compact Cars
Battle of the Eco Compact Cars
Battle of the Eco Compact Cars
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid driving
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco driving
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI driving
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid front 3/4 view
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco front 3/4 view
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI front 3/4 view
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid rear 3/4 view
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco rear 3/4 view
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI rear 3/4 view
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid front 3/4 view
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco front 3/4 view
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI front 3/4 view
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid rear 3/4 view
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco rear 3/4 view
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI rear 3/4 view
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid side view
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco side view
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI side view
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid front view
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco front view
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI front view
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid rear view
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco rear view
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI rear view
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid grille
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco grille
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI grille
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid logo
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco logo
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI logo
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid headlight
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco headlight
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI headlight
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid wheel
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco wheel
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI wheel
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid wheel
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco wheel
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI wheel
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid side mirror
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco side mirror
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI side mirror
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid door handle
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco door handle
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI door handle
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid taillight
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco taillight
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI taillight
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid badge
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco badge
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI badge
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid engine
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco engine
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI engine
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid engine
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco engine
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI engine
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid engine detail
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco engine detail
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI engine detail
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid interior
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco interior
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI interior
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid interior
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco interior
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI interior
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid interior
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco interior
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI interior
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid gauges
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco gauges
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI gauges
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid navigation system
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco instrument panel
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI instrument panel
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid shifter
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco shifter
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI shifter
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid shifter
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco shifter
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI shifter
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid front seats
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco front seats
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI front seats
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid rear seats
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco rear seats
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI rear seats
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid door
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco door
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI door
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid keys
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco keys
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI keys
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid trunk
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco trunk
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI trunk
As we’ve stated before, there’s truly no greater sin in the automotive world than replacing a worthy vehicle with an inferior machine. According to Consumer Reports, that’s exactly what Honda has done… again.
With the 2012 redesign, the Honda Civic Hybrid has fallen off CR‘s Recommended list. Its score of 62 – one point above the 2012 Honda Civic but ten points below CR‘s rating for the 2006 Civic Hybrid – forced Consumer Reports to drop its Recommended tag from the gas-electric Civic. In CR‘s words:
The new Honda Civic Hybrid gets an impressive 40 miles per gallon overall, 3 mpg more than the previous Civic Hybrid and even better than Honda’s smaller Insight and CR-Z. But the car has gone down hill overall, with sloppy handling, a choppy ride, long stopping distances and a cheap feeling interior. With its low test score, we no longer can recommend the Civic Hybrid, even though we expect above-average reliability.
And with the Honda Insight scoring only 54 points and the CR-Z grabbing just 57 points, Honda no longer has a single hybrid on CR‘s Recommended list. For reference, the Toyota Prius scored 80 points, landing it in second place in CR‘s “small hatchbacks” category.
The only “small sedans” to score below the 2012 Civic Hybrid in CR‘s evaluation were the Mitsubishi Lancer EX (62), Honda Civic LX (61) and Volkswagen Jetta SE (60).
Honda will most likely be none-too pleased with the Civic Hybrid’s low score and we even expect the Japanese automaker to, once again, respond to CR‘s ranking of its redesigned Civic. That is, unless Consumer Reports‘ chronicling of Honda’s decline has convinced the Japanese automaker that the Civic just ain’t as good as it once was.