Despite concerns about how effective hybrid cars really are in saving the environment, UK sales are leaping forward. The Honda Civic Hybrid in particular is doing very well; in May this year it found 604 customers, more than doubling its take-up rate for 2007 so far.This suggests that the pro-environment marketing is working, but the concerns remain. Hybrids, which require a complete battery pack and electric motor system in addition to the conventional engine (petrol in this case), are expensive to produce and difficult to recycle.In April 2006, Oregon-based CNW Marketing Research reported the results of a study which suggested that, across its whole life, a Civic Hybrid cost more in dust-to-dust terms - in other words, from production to recycling - than a Land Rover Discovery. (It's only fair to point out that the same applied to the Toyota Prius.)Dust-to-dust analysis rarely features in pub conversation. Not in the pubs near where I live, anyway. It's just not the sort of thing most of us think about. But even then it still doesn't take long to appreciate the high cost of Civic Hybrid ownership. In standard form, this car costs £16,600. Add in leather upholstery and the figure reaches £17,400, and if you match the test car's specification by opting for metallic paint the final price is £17,775.You could do quite well for yourself with £17,775. Even without straying from the Civic line-up, you could buy a Type-R for less. The Hybrid needs a really big selling-point, and Honda has one. It claims that the 1339cc Hybrid has the performance of a 1.6-litre car but the fuel economy (and therefore CO2 emissions) of one with a 1.1-litre petrol engine. That's worth investigating, so here goes.In round figures, the petrol engine produces 93bhp and the electric motor can contribute a further 20bhp, making a total of 113bhp. That's the same as a Vauxhall Astra 1.6, which also has very similar performance figures (the Astra is a larger car, but it doesn't have to haul batteries and an electric motor round the way the Hybrid does).To continue with the Vauxhall comparison, the Hybrid's 61.4mpg and 109g/km of CO2 handsomely beat the numbers produced by the Corsa 1.2 petrol, and are in fact about the same as those of the Corsa 1.3 turbo diesel, so if anything Honda is understating the case somewhat in this respect.An important reason for the high economy is that, unless there are reasons for it not doing so, the engine will shut down when the car is stationary, though unlike the one in the Toyota Prius it always fires up again when you want to move off - you can't slide silently away from traffic lights under electric power only. As with all hybrids, the electricity is "free", generated when the car is braking, or coasting, or just in a situation where very little power is required.It's okay to drive, but nothing special. The light but responsive steering is very good, and the ride is quite smooth, but the noise levels become annoying when the engine starts to operate above 3000rpm. You can improve the performance by putting the continuously variable transmission (there is no manual alternative) into Sport mode, which keeps the revs up, but you would have to be trying to escape from something large and dangerous for this to be worthwhile.If your reason for hurrying is less urgent, the engine's strained whine - carspeak for "do I have to?" - quickly becomes so tiresome that you soon decide it's not worth the trouble.The shape of the Hybrid reveals that Honda did not imagine it would be a mainstream player in the UK. It's available only as a four-door saloon, and that clashes with the British preference for hatchbacks and estates. Saloons are far more popular in Japan and the US, the markets for which the Hybrid was really intended.Fitting all that extra technology into the car is an expensive and time-consuming process, and one which was thought worthwhile for only one body style. The is no Honda Civic Hybrid hatchback, so we have to make do with the less practical saloon.But this isn't terribly bad news. Even with the battery pack mounted behind the rear seat, the Hybrid has a reasonable 350 litres of luggage space. And it's easily accessible, thanks to a nice wide opening and a low sill. Interior space is acceptable too - you won't quite get four six-footers in there, but an average family (if there is such a thing) will have few complaints.The only problem with all this is that "okay" and "reasonable" and "acceptable" are among the best things I can say about a small-ish car costing somewhere in the region of £17,000. The combination of performance and economy is impressive, no question, and Honda is right to emphasise it, but you would have to be very enthusiastic indeed about it before you could consider that it was worth the initial outlay.We are still at an early stage in the history of hybrid production cars, and that is what the price most clearly reflects. As it stands, the Civic is not worth what it costs, unless you are determined to show how "green" you are - or unless you utterly believe that this is the way for motorists to protect the planet, and are unswayed by suggestions that it might not be. Engine 1339cc, 4 cylinders Power 113bhp Fuel/CO2 61.4mpg / 109g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 12.1 seconds Top speed 115mph Price £16,600 Details correct at publication date
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