The 2008 hybrid Civic is equipped with a 110-horsepower, 1.3-liter engine with two relatively new features largely known by acronyms, IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) and CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). A five-speed manual transmission was previously available, but now the hybrid is only offered with an automatic transmission.
The IMA, as previously mentioned, allows a vehicle to operate solely on electric power in certain situations. The CVT feature replaces conventional gears with a belt-and-pulley system that continuously and automatically adjusts to provide a more efficient and nearly unlimited number of drive ratios.
Since its redesign in 2006 (the 33rd year of the vehicle’s distribution in the Unites States) the Civic no longer looks staid. It’s now a sporty, full-sized sedan that comfortably seats five.
Videogragher Bruce Aldrich and I review the car in a two-minute video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBSeuq5RDL4
Article Last Updated: September 8, 2021.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
