The 2014 Honda Civic Hybrid went on sale today starting at $24,635, (plus $790 shipping) with an improved EPA rating of 44/47/45 city/highway/combined, an increase from the 2013 model’s 44/44/44.
The biggest change appears to be a new Display Audio with 7-inch touchscreen that allows users to pinch, swipe and tap – ala smartphones – to access audio, phonebook, media, vehicle information and an optional navigation system. The touchscreen display is also the interface for the between a user’s smartphone and the car, providing access to online and cloud-based content and information both inside and outside the car.
There is also – in Honda marketing babble – an “Expanded View Driver’s Mirror that, together with an optional “LaneWatch” display, enhances the driver’s surrounding view. For additional convenience, Smart Entry with Push Button Start comes standard on the Civic Hybrid, allowing for easy entry and engine starting without turning an ignition key.
The Civic Hybrid is available in standard, Navi, Leather, and Leather Navi model variations, all with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). It is assembled at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana located in Greensburg.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
