Honda Civic IMA (2007) CAR review

The poor man’s Prius?

The Civic IMA is certainly cheaper than the better-known Prius, starting from £16,300 to the Toyota’s £17,765. Its propulsion principle is the same; IMA stands for Integrated Motor Assist. Both cars are petrol-electric hybrids and use batteries to store the energy that would otherwise be lost during braking. That energy is then sent to an electric motor which can either power the car on its own at low speeds, or help the petrol engine by adding 20bhp to its standard 95bhp when more go is required. Either way, fuel consumption and emissions should be cut.

So what’s the difference?

The Toyota uses a slightly more sophisticated system to integrate the petrol and electric motors. This allows the petrol engine to come to a complete stop and the Prius to power itself silently. The engine in the Honda keeps turning, and it lacks the Toyota’s incredible array of graphs that chart just how much rainforest you’re saving. The Civic uses a slightly smaller petrol engine – 1.3 vs 1.5 – and claims to do 61.4mpg and produce 109g/km of CO2 – slightly behind the Prius’s figures.