2007 Honda Civic

I'm 42 and have owned several cars over the years, but frankly this is the best one so far. I'm glad that I spent the extra money and got the Hybrid version with a 90km daily (45 km back and forth) commute. Being a sporty driver (graduate of a few racing schools), I have always leaned toward the performance side, but I finally got tired of the constant whining of my 2003 Mazda Protege 5 engine on the highway and wanted something more civilized that wasn't boring. I had a 2000 Nissan Altima before the Mazda and I so hated that car because it was incredibly boring and the automatic transmission in that car was the worst. All the opposite of my (silver) Civic Hybrid. This car is beautiful to look at, and the fit and finish is truly Honda which means it is just about perfect. I love the two tone interior (dark blue and beige), it's absolutely stunning and comfortable. The electronic dash is a joy and easy to use. The engine is fairly peppy, even though sometimes I wish it was slightly more powerful. I suppose you can't have everything. The CVT transmission was a complete revelation for me, it's the best automatic I've driven. Silky smooth, no jerking. Drive by wire system (gas pedal) is a beautiful thing, very precise, which allows you to optimize your fuel economy when you really wish to. The Dunlop low rolling resistance tires are slightly noisy, but the car's insulation makes up for them. Another advantage of owning a Civic Hybrid is that the insurance is cheap since they are practically worthless to a theft since a lot of the parts are specific to this model. Fuel economy is definitely the name of the game here, and I am glad to report that during summer months when there is not too much trafic on my daily commute route, I have seen average consumptions as low as 4.3L/100km for several full tanks (over 800km each). It literally becomes a game to try to find every little trick there is to optimize your fuel consumption. It is easier to do over long daily commuting routes such as mine than on long trips over unknown territories, but still those long highway trips will reward you with much better average fuel consumption than most vehicles on the road today. Therefore if you do long commutes or a lot of highway driving, this car is for you. A lot of hibrid cars are marketed with the "engine stop" feature as a big advantage, but to me this is not where you gain the most. Sure it makes you feel good (and pretty smart) to know that you are not polluting and consuming gas whenever you are stuck in trafic or waiting at a long red light, but that should not be the reason to buy a hybrid. The best feeling for me is when I'm going down a flat or very low sloping road (little trafic) and I see the consumption gauge drop down to Zero and my speed being maintained by the electric motor while the AC and the radio are blasting, THAT'S the BEST!