Honda Civic IMA 1300

do not ever buy a Honda IMA. ive had nohing but trouble and all honda do is deny there is any problems.

window has coming off its guides at least three times.

IMA battery went flat so car wouldn't start. after two hours it came back to life. tock to honda who couldn't find any faults.

i made a big fuss and then all of a sudden it needs four computer updates.

biggest mistake ever. IMA system never worked right since.

can get no more than 40mpg IMA system boost hardly ever got enough power in particular when motorway driving when mpg drops. May as well have bought a 1.3 litre car as it has more power.

this car is the most dangerous i have ever drven as you just never ever known when the IMA power boost is going to work, so pulling out on a busy junction or roundabout is scarey.

I have had my 2004 honda civic ima for 2 years. i got the car with 50k on it in 2008 it now has 113k on it and has never had a falt.

the car returns between 50mpg and 60mpg.

i work for a warranty company and theas cars dont go wrong. the only problem i have been able to find is that some people in the us. have found that the 144v ima bat has over heated.

Have read many bad comments recently regarding hybrids and how they are not good cars, so now I'm going to put the record straight.

My best tank mileage to date in my Honda Civic IMA 1300 is 691 miles, this was an average of 67.2 mpg doing 25 mile round trips mainly on B roads, basically Leatherhead to Gatwick airport. Average tanks I get around 600 miles at a cost of around £45 to fill up.

Couple this with the tax and group 8 insurance this car is fantastic and would recommend it to anyone! If you do a lot of motorway driving and like to take your time you will get very good mileage, if you like in London you wont, but then again you save on the CC!

Using the economy gauge keeps your foot lightly on the gas and the use of the stop function is great down hills as the engine will cut out yet steering is still working! All saves fuel!

If your fed up with paying too much tax and spending your life filling up with fuel then buy this car!

Got this car to replace a diesel Mondeo and try and cut costs. We have three young kids and two booster seats and a big car seat fit in the back no problem. The only thing is the boot is relatively small (and I agree with another reviewer, I thought there was a trim panel missing on the boot lid and took it back to the dealers!) and rear seat doesn't fold due to battery.

To drive, it just feels like a normal 1.5 saloon with a couple of extra dials! It's not the fastest car in the world but that's not the point! I'm getting over 10mpg more round town than the diesel I replaced, add that to £35 a year tax and petrol being a couple of pence cheaper and there's some good savings.

One problem here in the hills is a bit of a lack of pulling, you need to work the gears but this may be just because I'm not used to a petrol! Also the clutch seems to slip a bit (the car's only done 19k) and has a high biting point which I'm told is normal. However all five of us plus a full boot did a few hundred miles on the motorway the other weekend and it had no trouble staying at 70mph in fifth, even on the hills. If you can afford the new shape it's more powerful & more economical, but seems to be at few grand more if you can find a second hand one.

So far so good, I'll update you if there's any change, we have the worst luck in cars so if anyone can have a dodgy Honda it's us!

Very pleased with my Honda Civic IMA 1300 overall, it's excellent for city driving, economical and absolutely reliable. In London this car cries out for an automatic version, which was made when I bought this one but not available in UK.

Has good build quality, even excellent in some respects. Very comfortable for driver & passengers with leather seats as standard. Climate control as standard is a nice touch. It's environmentally friendly so road fund licence now dropped to about £40, also highly economical if driven correctly. The constant mpg readout shows you when you're driving economically and when you're not. The ultimate in reliability. My IMA has not broken down even once in nearly three and a half years.

We've owned our Civic IMA since new from 1 Mar 04. Prior to that we'd owned mainly diesel cars so we were used to getting 50+ mpg. The average mpg according to the trip computer is 48.1 mpg since new. This is mixed driving, long and short journeys, sometimes with just the driver, other times with a full load. On occasion we've managed just over 60 mpg on a tankful of fuel. The car has been serviced once at 12,500 miles and this cost just over £120, quite expensive for what is not much more than an oil change. The next service, due at 25,000 miles, will probably cost nearer £250. The car is very liveable with, being smooth and comfortable. It has no difficulty in keeping up with other traffic except when hill climbing, when rapid drops down the gears are a necessity. The car suffers on occasion from a notchy gearchange. This was looked at on the first service but was never really cured. Other than this the car has been totally reliable.

As a company car driver, I find the Honda Civic IMA 1300 ideal. I previously had a people carrier but the emissions on the civic are so low that you even get a 1% bonus below the minimum tax bracket.

Also, at purchase time the Government paid £1000.00 towards the cost of the car, and you do not need to pay congestion charges.

The car itself is very nicely finished, nothing looks like cheap plastic. I have owned it for nearly 2 years now and have had no problems at all.

The engine is designed to cut-out when in neutral and stationary, it then starts again when you engage first gear, a bit like the old VW Formel-E. This can be a bit flakey, sometimes when coasting to a roundabout, you can put your foot down and nothing happens.

The boot is adequate for most things, but I do have to carry a large pram around sometimes, this practically fills the boot on it's own. The boot lid itself is not fully covered, when I first got it, I thought that a panel was missing.

The carpets are a very pale cream, almost white, which is a nightmare to keep clean.

Other than those points, the car is roomy, and just oozes build quality. I would not hesitate to ask for another Honda next time. I would prefer it if it was a true hybrid though.

We are a family of four including two lads under 10. Our Honda Civic IMA was purchased as a second vehicle to run around locally and provide a back-up to our MPV in case of emergency.

At the time of purchase we wanted a cheap car to run that would be reliable yet provide comfort. We were not too concerned about boot space or its ability to cover long distance and wanted an environmentally friendly vehicle.

The Honda Civic IMA was selected and we have been using it for best part of a year - overall we are pleased with it although we can certainly suggest some improvements.

Firstly congratulations to Honda - you produced a 'normal' car that IS usable as a family car, IS comfortable and IS environmentally friendly.

The IMA is a normal Honda Civic Saloon (wish they did a hatch version) with a 1300 petrol engine to which an electric engine has been added. The electric engine is used to assist the petrol engine rather than power the car in its own right. Honda claim that this gives the car the performance of a 1600; I feel 1500 is more accurate but this is splitting hairs.

To drive is just like any other petrol car and is reasonably quiet and very smooth. When you accelerate then the electric engine automatically cuts in and gives assistance (keeps MPG higher as well). This all works well - the main difference in driving is that whilst in stationary traffic, if conditions are right, the petrol engine stops. Select a gear and the engine is automatically switched on and off you go - clever as you save fuel and the car is quiet.

One concern is 'will it restart' - ours always does- very quickly. Even when cold, starting is instant and quiet - I am not technical but I don't think it has a starter motor - just uses its powerful electric motor to kick the petrol one into action.

Fuel consumption is between 47-50mpg - or so the onboard computer tells us. now I must confess that I was hoping for slightly better than this but it's not bad considering most of our journeys are under 10 miles. On longer journeys we have managed 52mpg - would have hoped for more but that being said it still provides for cheap motoring - bearing in mind the tax disc is only £65 and you can get exemption from the Congestion charge in London.

Where Honda have scored is in the cars finish; very good build with leather interior, good safety features (air bags all round, ABS, etc).

The annoying points are with the gadgets, examples being; the heated rear window does not switch itself off and is hidden from the driver. The electric mirrors (also heated) are a bit fiddly to use. Given the high level of finish it would have been nice to see radio controls on the steering wheel and cruise control would have been a benefit. Like most saloons, it does not have a rear wiper - and it could do with one.

The space for a saloon seems very good - passengers are not cramped and the boot is pretty roomy. The only downside is that the seats cannot be collapsed for long items - due to the sealed battery compartment behind the rear seat.

The car is also quite low to the ground which does not help visibility on the road - either for the kids or driver although not a major problem.

Brilliant on short journeys but we stick with our MPV on long journeys (>150 miles) as the additional space makes life more comfortable.

After one year of motoring, we are very pleased with the car - no major problems, cheap to run and nice to drive whilst being economical too.... and ... it's a bit different.