I have zero confidence in CR.

I began my hybrid research back in 2001 and read an article in Consumer Repotrs. It was a 2.5 page writeup on the Prius. 99% of it was a glowing endorsement with a couple of lesser points to make it all seem legitimate. Then, at the end in magnifying glass lawyer print said "Paid Toyota Advertisement".

Yes, I think Prius is a wonderful car but what CR did with that was designed to misslead the consumer.

When I got my car in Jan '04, me & my wife did upper 40's MPG at first, then 50's and higher.
Just as I crossed my first 60MPG tank CR's "professional" drivers reported they were only able to squeeze 34MPG.

I don't know who might be paying CR for this missinformation but they don't seem to have consumers in mind. When was the last time you read an article reporting the fantastic capabilities of these cars?

I'm also not sure of the $4K premium.
The deal struck with the seller is the deal made. I paid around $1,000 more than a comparable EX at the time. The next guy might have done less shopping around, agreed to more things and paid considerably more.

I'm not sure of HCH II but in my case my car came with many desireables not available in other Civic's. (Foam injected frame/body, EBS etc which should account for something)

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT