I mentioned it in my most recent /now update, but we just recently bought a new car! It’s a 2026 Honda Civic Sport Hybrid Sedan in Rallye Red (say that three times fast). This is our first brand new car and to be honest, that does feel a little weird, and maybe a little gross. But we’ve had a go of it for the last few years, but we’re very thankful to be in a place where this was something we are able to afford with minimal financing. Here’s a picture of it!
We’ve put a little over 250 miles on the car so far, averaging around 45 miles per gallon. It definitely doesn’t perform like what you would expect a typical hybrid to do. Because it is driven primarily by an electric motor (and can technically be driven solely by that motor up to 80 miles per hour or so), it has the instant torque and speed pickup similar to traditional EVs. In typical city driving, the combustion engine is just there to act mainly as a generator, keeping the hybrid battery system charged up, alongside the regenerative charging you get from applying the brakes or with the paddle selectors, which don’t change gears (this car doesn’t have “gears” anyway). The paddle selectors actually control how much to apply the regenerative energy capture without having to press on the brake pedal. This is great for maintaining speed when going down hills without using the brakes, or if you don’t have anyone behind you and want to slow down and recapture as much energy as possible. The only concern I have with using the paddles is in traffic – I’m not sure they activate the brake lights like the pedal does, so cars behind me have no idea I’m slowing down more than a typical car would when letting off the accelerator.
Anyway, we still have around 350 miles or so in the break-in period according to the owner’s manual, so we’re not doing anything too aggressive with it. I’ve seen YouTube videos that show this car can go 0-60 miles per hour in roughly 7 seconds though. Not incredibly fast, but also not sluggish either, especially given the typical stigma hybrids usually get for performance.
I think the thing I like the most about the car though is the Android Auto and Apply CarPlay setup. I’ve never had a vehicle with this and it works really well. We didn’t get the model that has wireless versions of those, so we have to plug our phones in for it to work, but I’m fine with that – it at least lets the phone charge at the same time. The system has been very snappy, the screen is a decent size without feeling like a tablet is in your face, and it’s not distracting. There are also physical controls for all of the things that you typically use most, like adjusting AC, mirrors, drive mode settings, and well laid out steering wheel controls. It’s a great mix of having things you don’t need to adjust frequently in a menu versus things that you need to be able to adjust without looking being readily available. I really like it.