[Mpower]

After all this drama how do they expect any sane person to pay 22 for it come next year.

Bizzare experiment by Honda. Couple of execs must have had a few drinks and bet that they can sell them like hot cakes at 14 lakhs.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

The Prius is the original hybrid while Civic Hybrid is a Civic modified for hybrid capability. Also unlike the Prius which makes higher mileage inside the city, the Civic Hybrid makes more mileage on the highway - its practical for US highway commuting. Drive @ 65-70mph (most highway/expressways have speeds of 65mph or 75mph). So if its your daily 1hour commute back and forth, the Civic Hybrid does very well and gives you very high mileage relative to a regular Civic w/o sacrificing a regular car look and form.

Here is an interesting video comparo on performance of the 2 :-)
YouTube - Toyota Prius v.s. Honda Civic Hybrid

That was a nice video. However one very interesting fact is that the civic hybrid is the faster than prius in the drag but in the reverse mode.

No offenses to anyone, just found the reverse part little funny and also the first time I have come across

[samyakmodi]

Isn't the "H" badge that sells in India??

Anything with a Honda name on it sells like hot cake here. they are made a benchmark by all the auto journalists.
agreed that the quality is by far the most consistent, but then there are other companies too with the same consistency.

10 years ago, a very expensive car was launched in the indian market.
was uncomfortable, didn't offer great fuel efficiency, and the component quality wasn't top drawer.
some couple of years later they offered the same vehicle with a new headlamp and tail-lamp and it was a big hit.
then they gave us an ugly looking car with no power at all, and we made it a hit again.

they gave us a bigger version of the same car, and we bought it.
with almost next to horrible fuel efficiency, ridiculously expensive to maintain, and not too great on creature comforts, still we made it a hit.
they changed the way it looked, though good front and horrid back with the same efficiency, we didn't complain.
the back changed from bad to worse, still it was a hit.
and before you could realise what happened, they rolled in an all new model, discontinuing the previous one.

they gave us an SUV with absolutely no off-roading capabilities, horrible fuel efficiency and with just an automatic transmission, again we hailed it as a winner.
then the manual transmission was released just prior to discontinuing the model.
then they gave us a redesigned and confused SUV which IMO looks a bit trans-sexual and we again hailed it as a winner.

they never gave us an option between petrol and diesel engines. they simply gave us the cars in which they could make maximum profits, and we nodded and hailed and proudly bought one without complaining.

they give us a mid-sizer, which no doubt is the best looking car ever made. has almost everything right with it. they try to give us the latest technology and this is when we start complaining??
agreed its over-priced.
agreed its unethical to cut prices like this.
but then aren't we all in the rat race of owning a honda??
i am sure most of us had called up the dealership to find out whether we can get our hands on one atleast.


the point what i am trying to make here is, that honda for once tasted failure and retraced its steps. shouldn't we as a consumer start raising our standards above honda and expect them to meet them rather than grin ear to ear after buying anything and every other lemon they offer us???

no doubt honda's reliability is far superior than the competition. but is the competion just suzuki and hyundai??
have you ever come across any toyota owner who has ever complained about the vehicle's quality or reliability? atleast I haven't.

whatever i know of honda siel is that its an arrogant company and we people just help them fuel their arrogance each time by making their mundane cars a celebrity.

time we start voicing our opinions to the arrogant japs, and make them realise we indians cant be taken for granted.

P.s: even i m right there in the spot. have a honda cbr600rr, the 2nd generation city, and the 3rd generation city. and contemplating between the newest city and the civic.
and yes even i made a call to the dealership for the civic hybrid. without knowing crap about the vehicle but wanting like hell to own one. just a rat in the race.

[GTO]

10 years ago, a very expensive car was launched in the indian market.
was uncomfortable, didn't offer great fuel efficiency, and the component quality wasn't top drawer.
some couple of years later they offered the same vehicle with a new headlamp and tail-lamp and it was a big hit.

The OHC? I have to correct you : It is a very fuel efficient car, primarily due to its light weight. Yup, trim level wasn't the best but then, neither was its competition loaded at the time either (Baleno, Lancer and to a lesser extend, the Ikon). That said, I do agree with you that the OHC was poorly equipped for its price and Honda could have taken spec'ed it better.

then they gave us an ugly looking car with no power at all, and we made it a hit again.

That ugly looking car was very relevant to the market. We enthusiasts may pooh-pooh it, but the NHC was very fuel-efficient, had fantastic interiors and was a comfortable ride. In terms of urban practicality, the NHC has its competition beat. I would never buy a car like the NHC, however I do respect it. In fact, I insist that the ANHC is NOT a fitting replacement to the practical NHC.

they gave us a bigger version of the same car, and we bought it.
with almost next to horrible fuel efficiency, ridiculously expensive to maintain, and not too great on creature comforts, still we made it a hit.

What bigger version of the same car are you talking about? And I don't know of any City that has been "ridiculously expensive to maintain" either.

they gave us an SUV with absolutely no off-roading capabilities, horrible fuel efficiency and with just an automatic transmission, again we hailed it as a winner.

Again, relevance to the market. The CRV didn't exactly rope in large numbers, primarily due to its price. However, it was the most successful from the segment. Why? Honda reliability, car-like to drive & fantastic ride / handling. It didn't have any competition either. In recent times, the Captiva, Endeavour & Pajero have given the CRV a tough (and successful) fight.

they never gave us an option between petrol and diesel engines.

Agreed. And their excuse of "diesel quality" was even more lame. When a Merc & BMW run properly on the same diesel, what's Honda complaining about?!

hey simply gave us the cars in which they could make maximum profits,

That's the purpose of every business, and each car maker, isn't it? No one is selling cars for charity.

shouldn't we as a consumer start raising our standards above honda and expect them to meet them rather than grin ear to ear after buying anything and every other lemon they offer us???

whatever i know of honda siel is that its an arrogant company and we people just help them fuel their arrogance each time by making their mundane cars a celebrity.

time we start voicing our opinions to the arrogant japs, and make them realise we indians cant be taken for granted.

Far fetched statements if you ask me. First, you need to study their sales figures for the last 12 months. Indians aren't exactly lapping Hondas up blindly. They have lost the dominance they used to enjoy in each segment of presence.

Personally, I think Honda's rock! The ANHC, Civic & Accord would probably be my choice from their respective segments. Not only because of the badge, but because of the inherent reliability, longetivity & driving pleasure associated. The ANHC appeals to me because of its power & looks, though I don't think it will appeal to the NHC category of customers (lesser practicality, lesser FE + higher price). I'd pick the Civic over the Altis because its more pleasurable to drive. And the Accord, well, according to me is the most sensible luxury car you can buy today. More room than the E-Class, comfortable ride and reliability / low cost of ownership that other luxo-barges can only dream about.

I'd add in the same breath that Honda ain't no angel. The cars are clearly over-priced in India, and their management has overlooked (shockingly) default trim levels for the segment. Especially when you look at the ANHC vis a vis its competitors (no clim-control, alloys!!) or the Civic versus the Altis. In addition, their after-sales quality & dealer arrogance needs redressal. Honda obviously have a lot of thinking to do.

[harry10]

Just to add to what GTO has said, yes the Honda dealers are a bit arrogant and the cars a bit overpriced but then they make very good cars. Just TD the ANHC and you will get to know. As for the Honda badge i think as the recession is going on people have become more quality and VFM conscious than brand conscious.
Infact i saw a couple and there daughter arguing at Honda dealership when i went for a test drive,the arguement the lady was giving is that Verna which she has just drove 2 hours back is a better drive than ANHC and the husband agreed but was obsessed with the Honda badge. So there are all sorts of people and i feel with the coming of Linea Honda will face the heat to cut some prices.

[Ym-enjn]

Any companies’ cars don’t sell only because of the value of its brand, on the contrary companies brand value increase when it gives us better cars and better service. Honda gave us latest international models regularly at the time when other companies were giving us outdated products. Their cars were the best in each segment and therefore they made a good brand of themselves and became segment leaders and used to charge premium.

Only recently like everyone else Honda also thinks that their cars sells for the 'H' badge and not because of better product, they start giving us substandard product ('trims' and experience) and want to charge premium. Nop, consumer is smart. Expressing likes and dislikes is a different thing and spending money and buying is different. There was never so much voice against Honda as in recent past. I hope they concentrate more on building their brand then cashing on it.

[samyakmodi]

@GTO
by the bigger version i meant the first generation honda accord.

@harry and ym-enjn

trust me when i say this, but i put my money where my heart is. mentioned earlier that i do have a couple of hondas in my stable and simply love to drive and own them. inspite of their flaws which at times pinch a lot, i still love them.
no doubt hondas are super reliable. my second hand cbr 600rr is yet to have any problem in past 7 months of ownership. not even the slightest problem. just had a puncture a couple of times. where as a friend's brand new r6 has been giving him lots of problems every now and then.

i say again!!

honda sells simply because its a honda.
does anyone remember the rolls royce advt.? the one where the vehicle goes around in the city and after a while stalls??
IMO it suits honda more than any other brand!!

[sridharps]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

i say again!!
honda sells simply because its a honda.

Originally Posted by Mpower

After all this drama how do they expect any sane person to pay 22 for it come next year.

If a lot of people go and buy a Civic Hybrid for 22 lakhs next year, then, samyakodi, your point would be indisputable.
I would be stunned, if that happens though.

[Ym-enjn]

I saw first Civic Hybrid on road toady. It had latest number. I was able to identify it by its different alloy wheels. It was being parked inside a house so belong to a customer.

[akg7091]

Guys, the IMA light on my Hybrid just lit up. It's ~7 years old ( Nov 2008 ) and 40K run. Has anybody got their battery replaced ? What's the warranty period ? 4/10/12 years ? What's the battery cost ? I just can't find the warranty details anywhere in the manual.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by akg7091

Guys, the IMA light on my Hybrid just lit up. It's ~7 years old ( Nov 2008 ) and 40K run. Has anybody got their battery replaced ? What's the warranty period ? 4/10/12 years ? What's the battery cost ? I just can't find the warranty details anywhere in the manual.

Sorry to hear this. This was the exact reason why I was skeptical of buying the Civic under this offer, I even remember having paid the deposit. I finally got the Altis instead which is now 6 years old and done 40k, yet running in top form.

I doubt honda is gonna cover battery replacement after 7 years under warranty. My suggestion to you and everyone that bought cars under this offer is to get rid of the car ASAP! Battery replacement will not be cheap.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by akg7091

Guys, the IMA light on my Hybrid just lit up. It's ~7 years old ( Nov 2008 ) and 40K run. Has anybody got their battery replaced ? What's the warranty period ? 4/10/12 years ? What's the battery cost ? I just can't find the warranty details anywhere in the manual.

This post -- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2402896 -- says battery warranty is 12 years.

[akg7091]

Honda claims they don't remember offering 12 years warranty and are asking me to get some written proof. There was no such document given at time of sale of car.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by akg7091

Honda claims they don't remember offering 12 years warranty and are asking me to get some written proof. There was no such document given at time of sale of car.

You know I seriously looked at the Civic Hybrid when they cut the price but I was late to book it by a day and therefore missed out. But I remember the dealer telling me this 12-year warranty thing although the information wasn't immediately available. Ask around from other owners on the forum. It was told to people.

This link however says that info was wrong (see the comments) - http://burnyourfuel.com/1204/is-hond...ed-in-india-2/

Also, an Internet search reveals that Honda is getting major backlash from U.S. customers for the short life/unreliability of their battery.

[akg7091]

All this is useless. I even showed a 14/11/2008 dated ET article which clearly mentioned lifetime warranty. Honda claims that only something in writing from Honda will be considered. They don't even care about an article in a major newspaper :(

Horrible customer service is beyond horrible. One2One doesn't have any information about the hybrid. They kept claiming that it has 2 years warranty and had no clue what IMA is. Will appreciate if anyone has anything in writing from Honda and can upload a copy on the forum