In 2001, I almost bought a Civic HX. Thanks to light wheels, weight reduction, a lean burn engine, and tall gearing, the CIvic HX was rated at 36/44 with a stick, 40/45 with a CVT. Even recalibrated to current mileage standards, that's 31/39 and 30/36. It used a 117 hp 1.7L engine.

Now that Honda's leaders (and others) are balls deep in the Hybrid game, it seems that they pull out all the secondary tricks (low-resistance tires, aerodynamic tweaks - or in the case of the Prius and Insight, more aerodynamic forms overall) for the hybrids, and go out of their way to make the standard cars less efficient - try to find a smaller, more efficient engine in the Civic: no game. Try to buy a manual for extra economy: well just shorten those gears and let you high-rev it all day. Even the tires - why did the Civic go from using sensible 185mm tired to 205mm, but the insight is on more efficient 175's?

In 2001, a Prius was scarcely more than a hybridized Echo. The Echo's FE rating was (adjusted) 32 or 30 depending on transmission. The Prius was (adjusted) 41.

Does it seem to anyone else that they're trying to sabotage the efficiency of their ICE-only vehicles in order to emphasize the hybrid numbers?

 

If they're trying to get a foothold in the hybrid game, it would come as no surprise for them to try to boost them numbers at the expense of other things. It's a marketing thing for them, and it's nothing new.

 

I'm surprised the Fit and Civic don't have lead weights attached to the undercarriage.