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I've hesitated on any major mods because I doubted this car would ever even get good enough mpg to make it worth it. Now that I've seen consistency in the high 30s, I'm reconsidering it. The 2.0L engine is always going to be a liability that will likely prevent anything close to 50mpg. With that said, my recent thought of picking up a used 2003 HCH is fading as I've now seen several owner reviews that were more than rants; they had specifics of concerns worth worrying about.
Apparenly Honda has tried to salvage their reputation by reprogramming the cars so they won't be so hard on the batteries and now are essentially underpowered cars without the electric motor to add assist. The new programming allows very little assist to protect the batteries, and thus, you're left with a 73hp 2400 pound car. Unless I see a way to fix or deal with the problem, I'm going to have to wait to get what I want (a 40+mpg (EPA rating) 5-speed standard, ideally with auto-stop/auto-start, hybrid or not, good in snow, enough power to safely drive in the mountains--for under $10k used (actually, under $7k now, but I hope to save some more as the Acura's resale drops)). Hopefully either Honda will fix the problem or I'll be able to pick up something a year or two old from the newer cars coming out from Ford, Scion, et al in 2012.
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