So yesterday I testdrove a Civic Hybrid and I really enjoyed it. I wasn't really surprised but I'm happy it met or exceeded

WOW!
Where did you find Civic Hybrid to test drive it???
I understand your concern regarding battery pact but do you REALLY expect to keep Civic that long until battery pack dies? If Civic last 10 years without issues I am sure advanced battery technology and other advancement will make current Civic totally obsolete and question would be will you be ABLE to find suitable battery pack.
I would not worry about battery pack at all...

What is way more important: did you like car? How was the steering? Did you feel it is 'notchy' and had same defect as Civic? Did it turn ICE off when you stopped or slowed the car? Did it slow down when you used paddles? How was navigation? Do you have to PAY to use Google navigation?

 

Even the sh*ttiest of sh*tboxes need to last 12-15 years. Yes, I intend my Honda Civic to last about 15-20 years before anything serious needs attention. My Mazda3 is 10 years old now and drives like it did when it left the dealership. I would be profoundly disappointed otherwise. Since OEMs have a obligation to supply the public with spare parts for a minimum of 10 years, I just hope future tech will make retrofits possible. Anyway, another discussion I suppose.

My local dealer actually had two to test drive; a Sport and a Sport Touring. I took a white Sport for the test drive since that'll likely be the trim I get.

It drove very well. A lot of steering precision, but zero feel. Not notchy at all. I wish it had a more tactile feel but then again, no new cars this side of a Porsche have much feedback. Power was pretty responsive (not a GMA T50 but still quite impressive). The torque was surprisingly strong. It actually doesn't feel like an economy car at all; more like a GTI competitor than a something you cross shop with a Corolla. Paddle regen works well; I think I,d appreciate an even stronger regen, but no complaints there. Interior is a little lower rent than my current Mazda3 but very very nice notheless.

With regards to navigation or any gadgetry, I'm really unsure. I'd be happier if my car didn't have any of that.

 

The hybrid battery is situated under the rear seat cushion and bolts to the body. They can be removed without any heavy lifting equipment as they’re really not that big (slim and long). Another pair of hands would be helpful if removing/installing.
They are 263v, not 144v.

 

Maybe my concern is misplaced or filled with misinformation, but having a battery pack right underneath the seats while it's continuously charging/discharging, would that pose a health concern to rear-seating passengers with regards to electromagnetic radiation? My kids will be sitting there 100% of the time; I'm wondering if Honda has done their due diligence with proper insullation.

 

Most hybrid shops rebuild battery packs instead of replacing them. This keeps the cost dow

 

This would be great, honestly. I expect this battery pack to be rebuild as much as needed to make the whole car last as long as possible. We'd all win economically, environmentally, socially if we made our things last as long as possible, and learned how to do so.

 

Buy the Si, you can keep your third pedal, it’ll still get good fuel economy, simpler to repair and maintain than a hybrid. The main issue with DIY hybrid repair is that the voltage can kill you, this isn’t like a normal 12V car battery. Best left for the pros unless you own specialized PPE.

 

I need an automatic this time around; it's a problem that my wife can only drive 1 out of the 3 cars we have in the driveway and...no...she won't learn. I have a Miata 6-speed on the side which won't get sold ever. Besides, I'm looking to reduce my fuel consumption greatly; not increase it.

I'm not at all concerned with DIY repairs If I need to have special tools, I'll get them; our fleet will only ever be more and more electrified so I better get used to working on electrified vehicles.

 

I have no reason to believe it will happen, but I am hoping as hybrids gain popularity and increase in production numbers that the price of replacement batteries will effectively decrease. Demand for replacement battery packs will increase in the coming years, but so should the supply, including (hopefully) aftermarket alternatives to OEM batteries, and (again, hopefully) more independent shops will offer battery swaps as part of their regular services.

You could think of the long-term prospect of having to replace the hybrid battery pack as part of your ownership cost. It may end up canceling out the savings from your increased fuel efficiency, so you're basically breaking even vs. buying a ICE Civic now instead of a new hybrid. But think of the non-ownership cost benefits: lower emissions, less pollution, fewer stops for gas on a weekly or monthly basis, and the secret joy you'll derive from knowing you're getting better fuel economy most other drivers around you!

The other thing I'd say is just a bit of advice: start stuffing an envelope with $10 every week. Most people who can afford a new car can afford to tuck $10 away weekly for whatever reason. Mad money, anniversary dinner, vacation fund, a secret purchase for yourself no one else has to know about, etc. In your case it could be the 'new battery pack fund,' and by the time you actually need a new battery pack, you already have the money set aside for it.

 

very much agree with all of that.

 

If you're worried about the battery replacement cost in a hybrid just wait until vehicles are fully electric $$$

 

yeah exactly what I mean. I'm confident the aftermarket will step in with individual cell replacement solutions but battery packs need to be designed to accommodate a standardised cell, as well as being easily removed.

We have the power to design electric and hybrid vehicles with the end user and longevity in mind. Going full electric is the long-term solution to personal transport but we need to design these cars properly.

 

So not the same but I can say that I'm not a hybrid fan. I purchased an '07 Civic hybrid because I drove 200 miles a day, 5 days a week for 5 years. The first battery pack went after roughly 200k miles/(5 years) costing $3200 + labor and get this, they charge me freight for getting the battery so after tax this is a $4k replacement. Then at around 289k/(10 years after replacement) battery pack is shot again. So in the end, you end up paying more IMO.

 

Did they give you the option not to replace the battery but just remove it and have a non-hybrid?

 

Dealership said that car will not continue to run if the hybrid battery pack completely fails. I ended junking the car in April since the battery pack replacement was 3x the blue book value of the car.
My point was that in my situation, a hybrid did not save a dime in the long run. I've been averaging 14 years on holding onto my cars, the replacement was a '24 HR-V. Still have an '09 Pilot in excellent condition

 

I’d argue that over the long term a 2.0 hybrid will be less problematic than the 1.5 turbo. The ICE runs at low loads and with decent oil changes will literally last forever. Battery packs can be rebuilt for cheaper than a full replacement, and the rest of the hybrid components are perfectly stout and can be replaced with used parts if needed (and safer than buying a used replacement turbo for example).

For example on my old Prius the battery pack consisted of 27 smaller cells wired in line. Instead of replacing the entire pack, if you walk into a hybrid shop (with cash in hand of course) they can measure the cells individually, and then replace typically 1-4 weak cells in the pack and it costs a fraction of a full pack replacement. I was told by a local shop something like $500 was their typical cost of rebuilding a pack, vs $2000 + labor to swap in a remanufactured one.

 

I looked into repairing or rebuilding the hybrid battery on a friends 15 year old Camry. It's not as simple as it seems. There may be only two or three bad cells but you can't just replace them there is a whole balancing routine that has to be done and while there is a ton of DIY info out there it takes some equipment and quite a bit of time. There is a whole underground community of old Prius owners who are fanatical about this stuff. So I was turned off on hybrids until I drove this Civic. I just saw a lot of positives in the complete lack of belts, starters, alternators, turbos and gobs of power with a highly under-stressed engine. I made the leap and I guess we'll see. I've only had the car two months and already there's a recall but it appears to be a relatively minor issue (steering) So far I am very happy with it and I've done a lot of road trips through all conditions outside of foul weather. Just did a trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas and back over 10k foot Tioga Pass and across -283 foot Death Valley and got 50 mpg!

 

They really should have been building hybrids in a way such that when the battery fails, it can be removed and act as a traditional non-hybrid ICE. Obviously this isn’t really possible with the new civic since it’s an eCVT, but some hybrids were built with a traditional transmission such as the older mild hybrid Insights which even came with a manual transmission.

 

You must lay awake a lot at night worrying about stuff huh?

 

not at all, why?

edit : hahhahahahahahahahhaha

just saw you own an Alfa, a Ferrari, an old Ford and a Land Rover. I see you're not too concerned about replacing expensive hardware.

 

Here’s how I look at it. Honda warranties the battery for 8 years/100,000 miles. By that time the car will be well paid off and I could afford to replace it.

 

Worry less, drive (and enjoy) more!

 

I can tell you as a 2007 Civic Hybrid owner, in year 2025, I am now going to replace its battery.
When I first bought the civic, it was $5000 to replace. Now it costs $1000-$1500, where $1500 option offers slightly more capacity batteries and supposedly better life/reliability. I used to get 50mpg during the first 5 years, the last 12 years I get 35-40mpg (there was a large drop when Honda did a software update to prolong the battery life)... I suspect when I put the new battery it will bump back up to 45-50mpg, which is a bit funny since newer cars today are not doing much better than this (though I admit the new hybrids do have more power and/or can drive on partial electric).
I wish I could upgrade the car to a newer battery technology, but that isn't easy (new software, new battery management system, new battery hardware). The insight has this partial DIY option, but not civic.
Key inputs from me:
1. Battery prices for my car dropped significantly by the time its ready for a replacement. It will not cost $8000 by the time you are ready to replace, more like $2k or less.
2. Yes, there are plenty of re-made/refurbished options now and will be even more in the future.
3. There will be better technology in the future, but does it really matter? That new technology comes at a large cost and will not even come close to offering return savings compared to you changing out your battery.
My suggestion is to buy the hybrid civic if you like it, which I suppose you did already. I've seen the reviews, it is a great car. My old civic still handles better than most new cars (the stock suspension system is much beefier than the non-hybrid Civics), and every time I think about selling it, I change my mind a few days later.
4. For reference I have an Ionic 5N and a 2023 Tucson plug-in. I am going to sell both, make improvements to my 2007 Civic Hybrid, and continue driving my Civic. So I'm getting rid of a 640hp Ioniq 5N to drive a 97hp 20-year old civic. That's how much I like the car.