The Honda Civic, the same one we have in India scooped the Green Gadget of the Year at T3 magazine’s annual awards ceremony last night. Voted by T3 readers themselves, it was the Civic Hybrid’s low emissions and excellent fuel economy that won them over. Wow! Hummers to Hybrids! How the world has changed.

The Civic Hybrid’s combination of petrol-electric drivetrain enables it to achieve excellent fuel economy of 61.4mpg  (equals about 30kmpl) and low CO₂ emissions of 109g/km, making it exempt from the London Congestion Charge and eligible for reduced road tax of £15. From April 2009, road tax for the Civic Hybrid will be zero. Now, had the Indian government introduced similar sops for the Civic Hybrid, not only would it be less expensive (from about 22lakhs to about 12-13), but better selling as well.

“Because the award was voted by the magazine’s readers, it’s even more important to us,” said Tom Gardner, Head of Marketing, Honda (UK). “This is a great endorsement for the Civic Hybrid and with Honda’s commitment to developing green innovations I’m sure there will be many more occasions like this in future.”

Revised Civic Hybrid for 2009

Honda’s Hybrid also gets a facelift this autumn, with cosmetic changes that further improve the overall appearance of the car.

A sportier new front bumper creates a more aggressive appearance and now incorporates the fog lights. The headlights have also been tweaked with a smoke chrome surround, complemented by a redesigned grille that resembles the Civic and new Accord more closely.

The existing alloys have been replaced with newly-designed 5-spoke 15-inch alloy wheels, while the rear lamps have a new colour treatment.

Nine paint colours are now available, including four new metallic paint colours – Crystal Black, Polished Metal, Premium White and Urban Titanium.

Inside, the seats don a new, premium fabric design and the indicators are now ‘one-touch’ for easy lane changing. The boot can also be opened remotely using the key fob.

The Civic Hybrid retains its petrol-electric drive train, which achieves CO₂ emissions of 109g/km and exceptional urban fuel efficiency.

Like its predecessor, the new Civic Hybrid will have an eight year warranty on the vehicle’s battery pack and Honda will recycle any old batteries through its dealer network.

The Civic Hybrid is already on sale in India and this special version will most likely join in as the existing Civic is fully imported.

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