What can you say about the Honda Civic? It is the standard by which every other economy car is measured, and has been for 30 years. Not flashy or aggressive when in comes to exterior styling, it is consistently reliable, comfortable and safe. And with its many configurations, there is a Civic for almost everyone.

With the addition of the Hybrid to Civic's vast model line-up, Honda jumps on the gasoline-electric power bandwagon, led by Toyota's Prius. The conventional Civic is already thrifty when it comes to fuel consumption (the top-of-the-line EX sedans average 31 and 38 miles per gallon city/highway, respectively), so I'm not sure how many new buyers Honda will attract to its brand. However, potential Prius buyers who have been turned away because of long wait lists may find themselves at Honda's doorstep.

The Civic Hybrid is powered by an Integrated Motor Assist system, utilizing the power of a four-cylinder 85-horsepower gasoline engine and a 13-horsepower electric motor. When idle or during braking, a bank of batteries mounted behind the back seat captures otherwise wasted energy and stores it until it's needed. The give and take between the electric and gasoline power is seamless, and goes virtually unnoticed by the driver but for a gauge in the instrument panel that tells you when energy is being captured and recycled. While it won't win any zero to 60 acceleration competitions, the Hybrid has adequate power for everyday and highway driving, and it looks and behaves like a conventional Civic sedan in every way.

Most similar in standard features, insurance and maintenance and repair costs to the Civic EX, the Hybrid's base price is about $2,100 more, which will take quite a while to recoup in fuel costs (up to nine years by some estimates). But, to most Hybrid buyers, cleaner air is worth the expense.

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