I just took delivery of an HCH II and have 420 miles on it. I almost bought an HCH I 3 years ago, but didn't because the seats were very uncomfortable for me. As in back pain after 20 minute test drive. The HCH II benefits greatly from the latest Civic design, excellent crash worthiness, extra airbags - front, side, and curtain, and improvements in the engine (offset crank, vtec, light pistons with moly coating, etc.) and IMA system (more power, better batteries, etc). Along with that, the biggest difference is that the HCH II is almost a luxury car with lots of features, soft touch plastics, velour upholstery, lots of storage, etc. Take them both out for extensive test drives and then buy the one that makes the most sense to you. You're going to be miles ahead of all the non-hybrid cars out there so I don't think you can make a mistake here. Enjoy.