The Civic really wasn't designed to be run electric only. I can get it to do this occasionally, but it is a balancing act at lower speeds. I have better luck when I'm already at 18 to 20 mph and highway speeds. It's just alot harder to do at lower speeds unless you are coasting or rolling down a hill.

I'd rather focus on pulse and glide technique and the NASCAR wannabe idiots around me. Besides my battery charge goes down considerably doing this and the car recoups the charge on the highway which does tend to shave off a few mpg until it charges the battery pack.

For me it just makes more sense to get the better mileage at higher speeds (when I can get it in the 60 to 80 MPG) because I do more highway mileage than city. I just drive conservatively in the city and get the engine warmed up so that the car will shut down at more stop lights.

 

Thanks for your detailed description of the HCH electric powered mode. I must say that on my 2005 HCH I can't seem to initiate that mode. Going downhill (coasting) I show 120 mpg (all the way right on the mpg scale). Coasting at 40 mph I see 1,400 on the tachometer; at 50 mph I see 1,750 on the tachometer. The rpm is simply moving in proportion to the speed of the wheels. On a big hill, letting off on the accelerator causes me to see more and more green "charging" bars (and naturally I feel the drag and my acceleration downhill slows down). If I press very lightly on the accelerator then the charging bars go away and I move a little faster. I seem to be freewheeling when the charge / assist bars are neutral. If I push gently further on the accelerator then the rpm increases. I never see any "assist" bars light until the engine rpm has been pushed up and the assist bars start adding in to help. I cannot get the 1,100 rpm with assist bars to occur.

Is it possible that you've got a later HCH that enable "coasting electric assist" at 1,100 rpm which my older model can't? Certainly the text in the current specifications about electric motor only mode at speeds up to 35 mph isn't something that seems available on mine.

[On my 2005 HCH, it seems that the sustainable "sweet spot" is at about 44 mph where the tachometer can settle in at about 1,500 and the car seems to glide along at 70 mpg on a flat road indefinately.]

I'd certainly appreciate any further hints of how to achieve the higher levels of efficiency after a cold winter that has been pulling down my lifetime averages. I have a hilly commute to work on country roads so it makes for a good challenge as I drive.

 

It may only be a feature of the later models. Mine is a 2007.