Honda Civic IMA CAR (2007) review

I have recently acquired a Civic IMA as a company car. This would not have been my choice of car but as a new starter in the role that I do, I had to "make do" with this "pass me down" car
I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with it. The engine is nearly silent under normal usage - only getting a little raunchy under heavy acceleration when the engine revs like crazy
The build quality is very good and the interior is quite roomy. The car definitely has a quality feel about it
All in all this is a good car, however there are a few points that let it down just a little:-
First of all the fuel economy is actually not that good at all – I cannot achieve better than 50mpg average when really trying to conserve fuel. Typical driving returns about 45 mpg. Way below the claimed figures
Handling is generally acceptable with the exception of the cars behaviour over uneven road surfaces and potholes, both of which cause the car to drift sideways but not alarmingly
From time to time the electronics within the cabin give an audible buzz that lasts about 2 seconds. I suspect it is something to do with the electric motor control, but whatever causes the noise would be best placed away from the cabin, maybe in the engine bay
The boot space is not too bad; however there is no provision to fold the rear seats for the occasional bulky object because the battery pack is located behind the rear seats
The cars ability to run on battery alone is very limited, that is you must keep below around 29 mph and maintain only the lightest of pressure on the accelerator pedal. Dropping your speed below around 15 mph causes the engine to cut back in
The battery is easily exhausted, for example when encountering much uphill travel – when this happens the engine really needs to work very hard to keep up a reasonable pace. Conversely if you encounter much downhill travel then the battery soon becomes fully charged. When this happens the brakes feel underrated without the assistance of the battery regeneration
The factory fitted Bluetooth hands free kit looks like an afterthought being bolted onto the driver’s pillar. It has an annoying blue LED light that illuminates when connected to a compatible phone. The light is approximately at eye level and is particularly distracting during night time travel
Last but not least is the cars exterior design – it looks horrible. It is not a car that will gain you any admiring gazes from anyone else
To leave with a few positives:-
The car is capable of cruising at 70 mph at only 2500 rpm (on level ground). This is incredible for a small 1.3 litre petrol engine. The engine cannot be heard under these conditions as the reasonably low noise from wind and tyres drown it out – so distance can be covered with ease in this car
The automatic gearbox coupled with the hybrid system gives the car a decent amount of low down torque that allows it to pull away from rest reasonably briskly
The road tax is only £10.00 per year
So at the very least, this car is worth considering as a buy – it is certainly worth considering as a company car as the benefit in kind tax is very low