Range is about 200 miles, Honda says in its marketing material. Lindstrom said on the highway -- the EPA lists mileage as 28 mpg in the city and 39 mpg on the highway -- range might approach 300 miles. My experience was a bit less than that. I went from full to half on the fuel gauge in about 95 miles. Then again, once I filled up, I drove another 100 or so miles and the gauge stood at a little less than two-thirds full. Honda says its gasoline Civic will go about 500 miles on a full tank and its hybrid will travel 615 miles.

The car could have trouble starting on very cold mornings. I didn't experience this, but it says so on the car's window sticker, which also cautions about fueling when it's very cold (below 4 degrees Fahrenheit) outside.

The GX is priced about $2,000 more than the Civic Hybrid, which is $2,000 more than the mid-level Civic LX gasoline version. Our tester had a window sticker of just over $25,000. The above-noted tax credit evens things out a bit, and Lindstrom suggests Honda would like to see more government incentives for the makers and buyers of natural-gas vehicles.

The bottom line, Lindstrom said, is the Civic GX is ``an urban vehicle, not a highway vehicle, not a driving-from-here-to-New York type of vehicle.''

The compromises of the GX -- range, fuel availability, cargo space -- are certainly within the daily driving needs of many. Still, it's a true alternative to hybrids, where the environmental benefits are achieved in a vehicle that still gets its power from a stop at a corner gas station and one that can be driven a week or more between fill-ups. Perhaps that's why Honda is the only automaker currently offering a natural-gas vehicle to the public.

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