July 2, 2009
Yep, that's me chilling out while the Civic GX gets filled up with clean natural gas at our local station. With only a quarter tank remaining, it took 24 minutes before I finally gave up and stopped the pump. Before explaining that, lets go back a bit.
Say what you want about the Honda Civic, but there's no denying the vehicle's range. You want a cheap A to B sedan? No problem. An inexpensive, fun, little coupe? Got it. A Hybrid? Sure. One that runs on Natural Gas? Okay. A hot rod? Yup.
Basically there's a Civic for everybody and everything. And so I thought it would be fun to compare the track test numbers of the Civic's two extremes, our long-term Civic GX, which drinks (or is it inhales?) compressed natural gas and the Civic Si, which is known for eating American musclecars.
Both are front-wheel drive and powered by four-cylinders and both cost about $25,000, but the GX is powered by a 113 hp 1.8-liter engine while the Si is packing a 197 hp 2.0-liter. Oh, and the GX uses a 5-speed automatic transmission. The Si of course get six-speed manual.
July 1, 2009
It's been two months since I last drove our Honda Civic GX, and unlike most of my colleagues, I'm actually looking forward to getting back behind the wheel.
I've enjoyed the natural gas-fueled Civic ever since I started using it back in October of 2007 for most of my daily commuting between my home in Orange and Edmunds' offices in Santa Monica - not because it's a particularly exciting car to drive but because it is the ideal Southern California long-distance commuter car.
It comes with a single occupant car-pool lane sticker, which cuts about an hour a day from my 100 mile-plus round trip; it's saved hundreds of dollars on fuel and, with a Phill home fueling unit in my garage (thank you, boss!) I don't have to worry about where my next tank will come from.
And consider this: Fuel consumption has averaged 32.8 mpg over the last 19,000 miles, and the average cost of fillingl its tank from the home natural gas pump is a mere $1.22 per gasoline gallon-equivalent. That's for both the natural gas and the electricity to compress and pump it.
Below are the fuel economy numbers for June 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, we were missing a few cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.8
|
17.5
|
21.9
|
|
| 2009 Audi S5 |
22.3
|
11.3
|
18.0
|
|
| 2008 BMW 135i |
27.7
|
13.9
|
19.8
|
|
| 2009 BMW 750i |
21.8
|
12.4
|
17.9
|
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.5
|
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
20.5
|
12.7
|
16.1
|
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.7
|
19.2
|
|
| 2008 Ford Focus SES |
40.6
|
16.6
|
26.7
|
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
12.7
|
31.6
|
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
24.9
|
31.0
|
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.4
|
14.3
|
20.4
|
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
21.8
|
10.7
|
16.9
|
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.3
|
19.4
|
23.5
|
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR |
22.6
|
11.0
|
17.0
|
|
| 2009 Nissan 370Z |
24.4
|
13.7
|
17.9
|
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.4
|
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion |
43.4
|
23.5
|
33.6
|
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
28.3
|
18.6
|
22.5
|
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.0
|
34.6
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
With the Civic GX on the eve of being Car of the Week, I did some digging to see what the price of Phill units were. I checked our original blog post on the subject, but wondered if a year on the market had lowered their price. Turns out that FuelMaker, the company that produced the Phill home refueling station, went belly up in April. It was purchased by Fuel Systems Solutions Inc., a major manufacturer of systems for converting gasoline vehicles to natural gas. About 14,000 Phill units were sold by FuelMaker, including our own, and those will continue to be insured under warranty by the new company owner.
Yet, should you be a new Civic GX owner in search of a Phill unit, good luck. Honda told Edmunds Green Car Advisor that it no longer has any relation with Phill and doesn't know if it will continue to be sold by Fuel Systems Solutions. Indeed, google "Phill" and the top search item is this FuelMaker page, which essentially says the company has been sold. The Honda Civic GX refueling page isn't any more helpful.
There does appear to be one Web site selling the Phill for $5,165, minus the $1,000 tax credit. But unlike our Phill purchased directly from FuelMaker (for $3,000 including the credit and installation), PlumbersStock.com directs you to a local technician who will install the thing for god knows how much.
This is a major development because the Phill is such an intrinsic part of the GX's desirability. Without it, you're left driving a car that takes forever to refuel at a scarce number of natural gas stations. But more on that tomorrow.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 32,665 miles
June 30, 2009
My last experience in our 2007 Honda Civic GX was mostly on the freeway. Aside from the fact that it feels like the whole car is holding its breath as it accelerates, the CNG-fueled, 1.8-liter inline-four provides adequate motivation for commuting -- and with none of the odd sensations you get in a hybrid with blended gasoline-engine and electric power sources.
The GX also rides pretty much like any other (non-Si) Civic, though I think it would be better if we got rid of the low-rolling-resistance P195/65R15 89H tires -- perhaps that will be soon given our long-termer's mileage. Still, freeway travel in a Civic GX feels more secure and relaxing than it does in a second-generation Prius or our long-term Smart Fortwo, either of which is liable to wander all over the road. I can see why people use the GX for high-mileage commuting in greater LA.
But if I owned our natural-gas Honda, I'd mostly use it to run errands within 10-15 miles of my home. Like most fuel misers, it's most pleasant during low-speed stop-and-go driving, even if it this doesn't give it the opportunity to operate at maximum efficiency.
As someone commented on Mark's entry, the lack of a current vendor for the Phill home refueling unit makes a Civic GX purchase far less desirable today than it was two years ago. (Honda's sale of Fuel Maker's assets to Fuel Systems Solutions is now final, and FSS says it will restart Phill production but hasn't yet as far as we know.)
I rent a 1940s-era apartment, though, so I couldn't ever have a Phill anyway. I do have the random luck to live in the Republic of Santa Monica within a half-mile of a natural gas refueling station. So owning a Honda Civic GX could conceivably work for me. But I think I'd rather just get a Fit.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 32,375 miles
Driving our long-term 2007 Honda Civic GX reminds me how much I like the interior of the current-generation Honda Civic. I've never had a problem with the stacked digital speedo/analog tach combo. And no matter which trim level you end up with, the seats are roomy, well-shaped and instantly comfortable -- as they should be in a car that retailed for $24,590 before tax credits. 
Even nicer is the seating position itself. The seat is mounted low, but the cowl is also low, so I get in and feel enthusiastic about the drive I'll take -- even if the car's 1.8-liter engine (113 hp at 6,300 rpm, 109 lb-ft at 4,300 rpm) and five-speed automatic aren't the most enthusiastic team.
Standard telescope adjustment makes it easy to position the 3/4-scale steering wheel where I want it. Although this isn't the leather-wrapped, three-spoke version I'm used to (Civic Si, Civic Hybrid, Fit, Insight), this vinyl, two-spoke wheel still feels right in my hands.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor
I've been hearing about the merits of the Civic GX for a few years now from my hairstylist Sue, who drives one from Lake Arrowhead to Pasadena nearly every day she works. Under the conditions she drives, I think the GX is a great choice...here's why...
What can we tell you about the Honda Civic GX? Any questions?
Have any of you driven one? If so, write your review in the comments section. We look forward to reading what you have to say.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
June 28, 2009
There are definite disadvantages to driving a compressed natural gas Honda Civic. If you don't have a PHILL home refueling unit, where do you fill up? You need to know where you can get the stuff. Then there's how long it takes to fill up.
But then again, one of the great advantages is you get to drive in the carpool lane. In Southern California, that's a big plus. And you get to drive a Honda Civic. Nice car.
Oh, and I guess there is this thing about the environment or something.
Our Honda Civic GX is Car of the Week.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
June 25, 2009
Due to overwhelming popular demand, i.e. a brief conversation with colleagues DiPietro and Magrath last week, I headed for the parking garage yesterday with my trusty test CD, determined to find out whether my long-ago statement that "this is the best two-speaker stereo I've ever heard" still holds water.
Does it?
Oh, you betcha.
Granted, the competition isn't exactly stiff. We're talking about a 1985 Tercel, a 1987 Toyota pickup, a '90s Daihatsu K-car in Japan...not what I'd call leaders in mobile audio technology. But seriously, this GX stereo does pretty damn well for a boombox. Not surprisingly, clarity and separation aren't particularly impressive, but bass response is satisfying at the "+4" (of 6) setting, and the soundstage is remarkably full given that it's being created by a pair of ankle-level speakers. I actually suspected this was a stealth 2+2 system -- two speakers, two dash-mounted tweeters -- until I came across a CarSpace post to the contrary.
Yes sir. Still the best two-speaker stereo I've ever heard.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com
June 11, 2009
Just a quick FYI for you Civic GX owners -- if at all possible, fuel up at the natural gas pumps that are rated at 3600 psi. Use the 3000 psi pumps and, as my colleague Mr. Clark suggested, you best not be in a hurry. I recently filled the GX twice in succession -- once at a 3600 psi pump (near LAX airport) and once at a 3000 psi pump (located near our office in Santa Monica).
In each instance, the GX's tank was down to about a quarter (five bars showing on the gauge). It took less than five minutes to fill it (19 bars -- though it reads to 20, that's the most we've ever seen) at the 3600 psi pump, where, after nearly 20 minutes at the 3000 psi pump, it still wasn't full.
Both times, the pumps quickly filled up the tank to 80 percent or so (the fuel pump shows the percentage of fill) but where the higher pressure pump topped off the tank in short order, the lower pressure one took forever and still didn't fill it. Which brings up another FYI -- even though the pump shows "100 percent", the tank isn't really full until the "100" stops blinking. That sucker blinked for a quarter of an hour (while the pump gauge's "Gallon's Equivalent" numbers moved ever so slowly) before I had to abort the mission and get back to the office, the end result being 17 bars showing.
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor @ 32,250 miles
June 9, 2009
Argh! You guessed right with the Honda Civic GX.
But I did get you debating for a little while.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
June 1, 2009
Here are the fuel economy numbers for 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, we were missing a few cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll add them as they come in and I'll let you know in the comments.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.8
|
17.5
|
22.0
|
|
| 2009 Audi S5 |
22.3
|
11.8
|
18.0
|
|
| 2009 BMW 750i |
21.8
|
12.4
|
18.2
|
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.5
|
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
18.8
|
9.6
|
15.4
|
|
| 2008 Cadillac CTS |
32.5
|
9.9
|
19.3
|
|
| 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
22.3
|
10.3
|
16.0
|
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.7
|
19.4
|
|
| 2008 Ford Focus SES |
40.6
|
16.6
|
26.7
|
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
12.7
|
31.7
|
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
26.0
|
31.5
|
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.8
|
15.5
|
20.7
|
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
21.8
|
10.7
|
17.0
|
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.1
|
19.4
|
23.3
|
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR |
27.2
|
11.7
|
17.3
|
|
| 2009 Nissan 370Z |
24.4
|
13.7
|
18.2
|
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.5
|
|
| 2008 Pontiac G8 GT |
24.0
|
12.0
|
17.5
|
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion |
43.4
|
23.5
|
33.4
|
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
28.3
|
18.6
|
22.6
|
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.7
|
35.0
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
May 28, 2009
There's nothing like the convenience of having a gas station on every corner. When you're driving a natural gas vehicle like the Civic GX, however, that kind of convenience is a luxury that simply isn't within your grasp, and this can sometimes be problematic. Case in point: I've had the car for the past few days. Was running low on gas, but figured, "No problem -- there's a station just a couple of blocks from work." Got to that station to do the deed, but found that the pumps weren't operational. Located another station, on the UCLA campus. Spent 45 minutes unsuccessfully trying to find said station -- no one I spoke to, not even the security guard, had any knowledge of it. By now the tank's running pretty low. I locate another station, this one near the airport. Get there, finally achieve a fill-up, and breathe a sigh of relief.
A friend of mine has a GX, and drives 10 miles to the nearest station to fill his tank. That's dedication, man. I couldn't imagine owning this car without having a (costly) Phill installed.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 31,717 miles
May 23, 2009
Would I buy one? It's a question I ask myself whenever I slide behind the wheel of a car. Would I drop my hard earned money on one of these? Would I want to own it? Drive it for years? Look at it in my driveway? Tell people it's mine?
It's also the question you the reader ask me the most. So I've decided to go through all the cars we now have in our fleet and decide whether or not I would buy one. I also included a few recently departed vehicles. Seems appropriate since they just left us.
May 1, 2009
Here are the fuel economy figures for April 2009. As usual, we've listed the best and worst tanks and the average over the entire life of the vehicle.
We're missing a couple of cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time we took the readings.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.8
|
17.5
|
22.3
|
| 2008 BMW 135i |
27.7
|
9.5
|
19.8
|
| 2009 BMW 750i |
21.8
|
14.6
|
19.1
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.5
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
16.8
|
9.6
|
14.8
|
| 2008 Cadillac CTS |
32.5
|
9.9
|
19.2
|
| 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
18.1
|
10.3
|
16.3
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.7
|
19.6
|
| 2008 Ford Focus SES |
40.6
|
16.6
|
26.7
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
12.7
|
31.7
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
26.0
|
32.0
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.8
|
15.5
|
20.7
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
21.8
|
10.7
|
17.1
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.1
|
19.5
|
23.5
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR |
22.6
|
11.0
|
17.2
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR |
21.3
|
11.7
|
16.8
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.5
|
| 2008 Pontiac G8 GT |
19.4
|
14.1
|
17.3
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion |
43.4
|
23.5
|
33.7
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
25.0
|
18.6
|
22.5
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.7
|
35.3
|
| 2005 Volkswagen Jetta on Biodiesel |
49.1
|
26.2
|
38.8
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
April 14, 2009
Yes, we've still got our long term Honda Civic GX and it's managed to crest the 30,000-mile mark. Soon after meeting that impressive milestone, we got a warning lamp in the shape of a wrench and a flashing counter displaying the miles elapsed since we were first warned. (You can see that in the picture, I managed to catch it during a flash.)
The GX's 30,000-mile service is the big one in the GX schedule. Air filter, AC filter, oil change, transmission fluid change, tire rotation-- you know, the usual dealer stuff that we certainly could have saved a few bucks on by doing it ourselves.
The car was left with Honda Santa Monica at 9:00 this morning and we picked it up at 15:15 this afternoon. Zero days out of service.
Labor: $320
Parts: $136.66
Tax: 12.02
Total Cost: $468.68
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 30,700 miles
What's it like working at Inside Line?
I get this question almost daily from somebody, and my answer usually blows their mind. I say, "Well, everyday this guy Mike walks up to me with a clipboard that contains a list of 15 to 30 cars ranging from a Smart to a GT-R and he says, 'Scott, what do you want to drive home tonight.'"
It's true.
April 6, 2009
The Civic GX takes its own sweet time getting things done. It starts at the pump. Compressed natural gas apparently takes a long time to inseminate fuel tanks. I only put about the equivalent of three gallons' worth of gas in the GX, yet the experience at the pump dragged on for what felt like an eternity. On the next go-round, I'll bring a novel to pass the time.
Honda's GX also follows its own clock when it comes to acceleration. There's just 113 horsepower and 109 pound-feet of torque on tap -- the car takes over 12 seconds to hustle from zero to sixty. This makes sudden maneuvers kinda challenging, as I found out while trying to change lanes on the freeway. Once up to speed, the GX does just fine.
Quickness isn't everything, though, and relative to other greenmobiles, the GX really is fun to drive. Ride quality is pretty impressive -- the car manages to feel solid and connected to the road without too much stiffness or harshness.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 30, 595 miles
April 1, 2009
Here are updated fuel economy figures for the month of March. We've listed the best, worst and average fuel economy numbers over the life of the vehicle. Keep in mind that some of these tanks may be based on a partial fill-up.
This is missing a few that were not available at the time I was compiling this list.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.0
|
17.5
|
21.6
|
| 2002 BMW M3 |
23.5
|
12.3
|
17.6
|
| 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
20.4
|
12.9
|
17.3
|
| 2008 Ford Focus |
40.6
|
17.1
|
26.4
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
21.4
|
31.6
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
28.0
|
32.1
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
24.8
|
15.5
|
21.1
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
20.9
|
10.8
|
17.4
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
29.1
|
19.5
|
23.3
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR |
22.6
|
11.0
|
17.1
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR |
24.7
|
15.0
|
16.8
|
| 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring |
21.6
|
14.0
|
18.4
|
| 2008 Smart Fortwo |
43.4
|
25.7
|
33.8
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
25.0
|
18.6
|
22.1
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.7
|
35.6
|
| 2005 Volkswagen Jetta on Biodiesel |
43.9
|
35.5
|
39.3
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by average MPG.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
March 3, 2009
What a difference a change in the weather can make!
I've been watching the GX's fuel economy pretty closely the past few months (while studiously avoiding writing about it, to the chagrin of several editors around here!) and can now report with the authority of numbers that although the daily drive hasn't changed, fuel efficiency has improved markedly as nighttime temperatures have dropped.
It all goes back to nature of the Civic GX's natural gas fuel - its molecules expand when warm and contract when cold. The tank, which holds the equivalent of 8 gallons, will contain more natural gas, by weight, when the fuel is pumped on a cold day (or night, which is when we fill up) than on a warm one.
Anyhow, the GX averaged 35.77 miles a gallon over the last 2,719 miles, from Dec. 17 through the most recent fill-up on Feb. 26, a period when nighttime temperatures (we fill up overnight) regularly fell below 45-degrees Fahrenheit.
That's almost 5 percent better than the 34.07 mpg average we recorded for the previous 3,347 miles, between Sept. 30 and Dec 16, when nighttime temperatures in our area were in the high 50s and low 60s.
November 21, 2008
The Civic GX's odo says it has traveled 25,611 miles, and the last posting about the car on this blog was at 19,683!
Apologies. It is hard to regularly find something new and exciting to write about when you drive the same car day after day. At least it is when the car is a 2007 Honda Civic GX. Barring a natural gas incident (the car, not the driver) , the GX is wonderful but unexciting basic transportation. Period.
This posting is occasioned by three things: The GX's first brake job, a mileage and fuel-cost update and a Honda transmission idiosyncrasy that we've discovered.
We got the brake job -- $183.85 for front pads and rotor resurfacing, after we noticed a slight noise -- not grinding, but not right, either -- when braking hard at freeway speeds.
Turned out the rotors weren't warped, but were glazed and discolored from excessive heat - the result of all the braking we do in our 100-mile-plus round trip commute in rush-hour traffic.
The service advisor at our local Honda dealership told us we were actually doing pretty good: that the range for a first front-end brake job was 5,000 to 25,000 miles, with an awful lot of people coming it at under 15k. The composition of the Civic's brake pads, he said, can make 'em wear out pretty fast.
On the fuel economy front, we're still averaging around 33 miles per gallon-equivalent, not bad for a car that's EPA-rated at 28 mpg and is usually driven in the worst of all conditions for decent fuel economy - Southern California freeways during morning and evening rush hours.
It should be even higher.
One thing I should have written about a while ago but have been too embarrassed to tackle is my inability to drive the car in the proper gear.
September 24, 2008
I was thinking the other day (always a dangerous proposition, I know) and wondering how all the current (or really, really recently departed) Edmunds/Inside Line long-term vehicles stack up against each other in fuel economy, at least the fuel economy we've been recording during their time with us. So I made a list. For you and for me. In case we were both wondering.
The only current vehicles missing from my list are the Audi R8 and the Dodge Grand Caravan, and that's because no one has entered any fuel data into the tracking spreadsheet for those vehicles yet. The very top and the very bottom of the list aren't going to surprise anybody (I don't think), but the middle is kinda interesting. Seeing the Rondo and the WRX so close to each other made me raise my eyebrows. Ditto the Ford GT's spot above the Veracruz. Ready to check it all out? Follow the jump with me.
July 20, 2008
The 2007 Honda Civic GX, fell into my hands for two wonderful weeks and I had a chance to really experiment with stretching every last whiff of natural gas (as opposed to every last drop of gasoline). I filled it five times and got an average of 35 mpg over about 700 miles. With the price of natural gas at $3.15 a gallon, this seemed like a real bargain. For the record, the best tank I got was 41.2 mpg and the worst was 31.4 mpg.
My two weeks in the GX didn't evoke any new impressions. There were moments when the power was definitely missing such as when I climb an onramp to the freeway and needed to go from about 45 mph to 70 mph with all manner of vehicles hurtling up my tailpipe. But that one moment is largely erased by low cost fuel, life time car pool stickers and the Honda refinement present in the GX.
One thing that irritates me is how people just don't get this car. Is it a once-a-year family vacation vehicle? No. Is it a once-a-month canyon carver? Absolutely not. Is it a break-the-bank exotic? Forget it. It's an everyday commuter vehicle plain and simple. And it does that beautifully.
Philip Reed, Edmunds.com Senior Consumer Advice Editor @ 19,683 miles
June 9, 2008
Our 2007 Honda Civic GX is the kind of car that doesn't generate much news. If gas prices go up the story is always the same: Hey, you can buy natural gas at the equivalent of $2.99 a gallon! If gas prices are down, the story is also the same: This thing doesn't have much power.
But this week something actually happened...
May 27, 2008
Everytime I open the trunklet on the Civic GX, I bleed a little for Honda.
Gasoline prices are driving sales of this nifty compressed natural gas commuter car now, but for most of its life it has been relegated to the commercial and government fleet market because it has not been perceived as a very useful everyday vehicle for the consumer.
That's in large part because CNG isn't a fuel that's readily available in all states, making the Civic GX a car in which you wouldn't want to essay a cross-country trip.
But it's also because the trunk is so small, much of what had been a spacious cavity in the conventional Civic being occupied by the tanks for the GX's pressurized fuel...
May 9, 2008
Hey, Hey! We Won't Pay! Home fuel unit has CNG cost down to $2.04 a gallon.
After just over 16,000 miles -- hard plastic, intruding hand brake, pitifully poor acceleration and boring exterior notwithstanding -- the Civic GX is humming along quite nicely, and economically, thank you.For sheer driving pleasure it's way down the queue, but as a daily commuter on Southern California's [insert colorful adjective of your choice here] freeways, it ranks way up at the top of my list of cars I want to keep using.
Except for two scheduled oil changes at 7,000 mile intervals, a recall to install a safety gasket and a round of tire adjustment when we discovered during Edmunds.com's Earth Day tire pressure project that inflation was high by about 2 pounds, or 6 percent, per tire, we've had no problems, although one might be developing.
We'll be making a service appointment because several of us have noticed a very slight and intermittent shiver or shudder when the car is idling. It's unpredictable, but most assuredly there. Feels like it might be caused by a clogged fuel injector nozzle.
It's not so significant that we're thinking of an immediate check up, but we'll be asking the service guys at the dealership to look at it during our next scheduled oil change, in about 5,000 miles.
Aside from that, things couldn't be better, especially since the home fueling unit was installed in my garage. That has ended the daily detour to find a retail CNG station and has lowered the GX's fuel bills considerably.
Regular gasoline is selling for $3.839 a gallon in my part of Southern California and CNG at the admittedly pricey Clean Energy pump near the office is going for $2.849. But $2.036 per gallon is what fuel from the natural gas pump in the garage cost during the past month.
May 7, 2008
The Civic GX NGV is pretty high tech - it runs on compressed natural gas. It's quite economical and has clean emissions, too (Senior Editor O'Dell has an upcoming summary). But this Civic NGV is too, uh, normal.
April 17, 2008
Phill home CNG unit has cut fuel costs 30%, and best is yet to come.
When we posted our methodology for computing fuel economy in the natural gas Civic GX now that we're using a home CNG pump, several people wanted to know how much the fuel cost.
We didn't have an answer back then because we hadn't received our first home gas and electric bills and had no basis for figuring out a cost per gallon.
Well, the bills are in, we've done the conversions (one therm of natural gas is the equivalent of .784 gallons of gasoline) and the math and submitted our first expense report.
We pumped the GNG equivalent of 51.888 gasoline gallons through the Phill home unit during March, and figure that electricity to run the pump cost $40.29 while the natural gas itself cost $91.69, for total cost of $131.46, or $2.53 per gallon...
April 7, 2008
See where the red arrow's pointing? That swath of plastic, which extends around the digital speedometer, is the only soft-touch surface in sight. As for the dashboard surfaces that one actually touches on a regular basis, they're as hard as finding a filling station that carries natural gas. (Read: very.) I suppose it's nice that Honda puts soft-touch plastic somewhere on the Civic's dash -- can't say the same of our long-term Lancer, for instance -- but what's the rationale behind sticking it where only curious automotive journalist-types are likely to notice?..
April 2, 2008
When I bought the 2007 Honda Civic GX for the long term fleet last year I remembered hearing that one of the advantages of this car, besides low pollution and low fuel costs, was that you could go a long time between oil changes. The Honda brochure said that the natural gas it runs on is less corrosive than gasoline so the oil remains uncontaminated longer. And, since it has a maintenance minder, it just tells you when you need service.
When I got into the car I noticed the little wrench light icon and a "B1" in the odometer window. Looking in the manual, I saw that this called for an oil and filter change, a tire rotation, check fluids and various inspections. I emailed my local Honda service department to ask if they could work on the GX and what this would cost. They replied that the B1 service was $104 but that they also recommended two other filter changes that would run $165 so the total would be $269.95. There was nothing in the manual about these other filter changes so I decided to skip it for now.
March 31, 2008
After spending Friday and Saturday doing battle with our long-term Civic GX's painfully positioned handbrake lever, my right knee cried uncle. So I visited the accessory department at my local Honda dealer and managed to find the somewhat unconventional kneepad depicted above. Tell you what -- the difference was night-and-day. I hear Honda's considering making it a standard feature next year.
March 28, 2008
In the previous post, I laid out how we were going to be computing fuel economy in the 2007 Honda Civic GX now that we're using a home fueling unit that doesn't provide a way of measuring the amount of compressed natural gas being pumped.
After a lot of calculating, estimating and talking to Honda engineers, we decided to assign a value of .368 gallon-equivalent to each bar on the Civic GX's fuel gauge. Thus, if we were down 10 bars and refilled overnight, we'd figure we'd pumped 3.68 gallons.
To double check, I ran the tank down by 12 bars this morning and pulled into the neighborhood Clean Energy retail CNG pump to fill it back up on a pump that does measure gallonage...
March 21, 2008
A full tank is 20 lighted bars on fuel gauge. Each represents 0.368 gallon.
The city inspector has signed off on it, so our Phill home natural gas pump is officially up and operating. For the 1,395 miles the Civic GX has traveled since at-home refueling began, average fuel economy has jumped by a little more than 3 miles per gallon – an extra 21 miles per tank as best I can figure it.
Warning: What follows is a lengthy discourse on how we are computing fuel economy with a system that doesn't tell us how many gallons are being pumped into the tank.
For those who don't care about the how, the net result is that we're now averaging 29.38 miles per gallon in our compressed natural gas Civic GX after 13,562 miles, up from a little over 28 mpg at 10,000 miles. The boost comes mainly from the average of 32.34 mpg we're recorded over the 1,395 miles that we've been using the Phill.
If you do care, or are hoping to catch me in an error (not hard to do), feel free to read on 'til your eyes glaze over.
March 3, 2008
Phinally.
The Phill has been installed.
After waiting almost two months from the time we placed the order for the home fueling device at the end of December, I pumped the first made-at-home CNG into our long-term 2007 Civic GX on Friday evening, after the electrician did his thing and hooked the machine up to a 240-volt circuit.
February 22, 2008
The Civic GX works fine, but there are some frustrations when you're driving a car that requires specially trained repair people and special fueling equipment that comes from a sole source.
Mostly it boils down to time – time spent waiting.
Two cases in point are the ongoing saga of our Phill home natural gas fueling unit, and a recent recall to install a thermal insulator between the fuel tank and the back seat.
February 19, 2008
Took the Civic GX –just named greenest vehicle sold in the U.S. – on a 611-mile weekend trip. It takes a little planning when your fuel isn't the easiest to find, but all went well.
Part of the reason for taking the GX, usually just a commuter car, was to see if we could stand sitting in it for hours on end. Part was to see how difficult it would be to find the compressed natural gas it needs once we got out of the greater Los Angeles area.
February 4, 2008
A landmark, of sorts.
The odo passed 10K on the way home Friday (it is difficult to get a decent picture of a lighted digital odometer while stopped, in the dark, in the carpool lane – but as the traffic was cooperating, I tried!).
I've put most of those miles on our 2007 Honda Civic GX, a point driven home Friday morning when managing editor Donna DeRosa asked me whether I got bored driving the GX all the time.
What can I say?
January 11, 2008
It's like a second Christmas.
Mike, or Dr. Drain, as his business card identifies him, showed up at noon Thursday to rough-in the mounts and run the gas line for the Phill natural gas fueling unit we're installing in my garage.
If you drive a Civic GX, the home unit would seem to be a reasonable thing to lust after.
Without it, you stop every 175-200 miles to fill up, and natural gas stations aren't quite as plentiful as the regular kind.
For me, with a 116-mile round trip commute, that 's meant a stop every other day at least.
There happen to be five natural gas pump locations on my route -- Southern Caliofrnia along the 405 Freeway corridor from Santa Monica to Orange County apparently is a pretty gassy place -- but using them requires detours off the freeway and delays my arrivals at home or office.
With the Phill, I'll be able to hook up the hose when I pull into the garage at night and, presuming it works as advertised, Viola!, I'll have a topped-up tank every morning when I leave for work.
December 17, 2007
We received a letter in the mail from Honda today regarding an open safety recall on 1998-2007 Civic GX compressed natural gas vehicles. A faulty fuel tank heat insulator is to blame.
In the event of a severe interior fire in the area of the rear seat, the CNG tank may be heated unevenly, preventing the pressure relief device from venting the contents of the tank properly. This could result in a tank rupture, or its ejection from the vehicle.
This situation was discovered after studying an act of arson on a Civic GX earlier this year...
December 10, 2007
They told me when I joined the Edmunds team that I would probably be the designated driver for the long-term 2007 Honda Civic GX because I was the "green" guy and because, frankly, nobody wanted to put up with the hassles of finding the natural gas pumps the car requires and worrying about running out of fuel and being left high and dry.
A look at our fuel log over the almost six months the GX has been in the fleet bears that out. Only eight members of the staff have driven it, and most of them only once.
The average distance traveled between fill-ups of compressed natural gas has been well under 150 miles and only once has anyone had to put more than the equivalent of 6.5 gallons of fuel into the 8-gallon tank that's supposed to be good for an average of 224 miles.
Well, we pushed the limits the other day, watching the little light bars on the fuel gauge -- about 0.4 gallons-equivalent per bar --blink out until they all were gone and the bright amber "low fuel" light was all that was aglow on that side of the instrument panel...
November 13, 2007
On Fridays the traffic in Los Angeles isn't bad. Actually, it's horrible. Really, really horrible. But luckily, I've discovered a tunnel between my office and my house that cuts my commute time in half...
September 25, 2007
I had the long-term Civic GX for the past week, or at least its keys. I got to see how it performed in a variety of driving conditions, taking it on different errands -- daily commute, trip to Universal City for a press event, taking me to an excellent Editors concert at the Wiltern, and an airport venture that included four days parked while I was in Toronto. Here are some of the things I learned over this period of time.
September 13, 2007
This would have made sense had I done a lot of acid back then, but the ‘70s for me were a pretty clean decade.
Why then, was I having this weird flashback? A gas line. In 2007?
It wasn’t a hallucination, though...
August 31, 2007
How far are you willing to go to save the environment?
What kind of compromises will you have to make in order to 1) reduce emissions, 2) lower fuel costs, 3) get into the coveted car pool lanes?
We're going to find out. We've added a Honda Civic GX to our long-term fleet. It runs on compressed natural gas (CNG).
We have a CNG station near our offices in Santa Monica, but there aren't many around...
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