Honda Two-Motor Hybrid System Scores Two-Peat

Honda’s fourth-generation two-motor hybrid system, a 2023 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems winner in the Accord Hybrid, returns to our list in 2024, this time in the new Civic Hybrid, marking the automaker’s fourth hybrid-system trophy in 10 years.

In the case of the system in the Civic Hybrid it’s a great marriage of fuel efficiency and fun, and in a vehicle that’s at a price point relatively accessible to everyone.

Yes, the words “efficiency,” “fun” and “affordability” don’t often go together when you’re talking about modern powertrains, especially as the average new-vehicle transaction price in the U.S. tickles $50,000. But Honda engineers have created a gas-electric pairing that gives drivers fuel sipping plus performance in the new Civic Hybrid, beginning around $29,000.

Honda’s two-motor hybrid system, enabling series- or parallel-hybrid operation and with a 2.0L Atkinson cycle 4-cyl. and two electric motors, lags slightly the numbers put out in the midsize Accord, but it still hits hard, making a net 200 hp and 232 lb.-ft. (315 Nm) of torque in the smaller Honda sedan.

Due to its placement in a compact vs. a midsize sedan, packaging is slightly different in the Civic from the Accord, with the motors placed in an inline configuration rather than parallel.

As in the Accord, as well as in the Honda CR-V Hybrid, the two-motor system has an updated 2.0L with new direct multistage fuel injection and reduced emissions (horsepower from the 2.0L in the Civic is 141 hp and torque 134 lb.-ft. [184 Nm]); an integrated power unit (IPU) 12% lighter and 24% smaller than its predecessor, giving the same cargo space in the Civic Hybrid as the non-Civic Hybrid; and a lower-profile power control unit (PCU) making for a roomier engine compartment and improved noise management. A high-speed lockup clutch that Honda says prioritizes engine drive at highway speeds is designed to enable more relaxed driving while efficiently using engine torque in cruising conditions.

The system’s propulsion motor has newer high-performance magnets that, as Honda had in its prior hybrid system, are made without heavy rare-earth metals. Additionally, the motor has a multi-ring structure to help it achieve over its predecessor an 11.5% higher peak motor speed of 14,500 rpm.

The Civic Hybrid’s propulsion system is such a barnstormer that its 200 hp matches the horsepower from the performance-oriented Civic Si’s 1.5L turbocharged 4-cyl. and exceeds that engine’s torque figure by 40 lb.-ft. (54 Nm). Essentially, putting the new two-motor system in the 2025 Civic Hybrid makes it the most powerful non-Type R Civic ever.

In spite of flogging the car hard during our time behind the wheel – difficult not to do as it accelerates fast and furiously – Wards judges got 48 mpg (4.9 L/100 km), just a smidgen shy of the 49-mpg (4.8 L/100 km) EPA estimated average.

Judge Dave Zoia called the Civic Hybrid “one of the best hybrid powertrains we drove this year,” thanks to the smooth interaction between the engine and electrification system, its off-the-line fervor and its fuel-stinginess – he racked up a hefty 52.6 mpg (4.5 L/100 km) during his time behind the wheel.

A former auto exec once remarked: “Affordable hybrids aren’t fun.” The gas-electric Civic powertrain shuts down that argument, and leaves you with some spending money, too.