it really all does come down to your own taste and priorities. i was ready to buy a prius but since the waiting list of so long, ended up going to the honda dealer. didn't even know about the hchii. i test drove it and drove a brand new one out of the show room. i was convinced for a couple reasons:

1) i liked the styling of the hch. it does look very bmw but it also doesn't look like a space pod. some people like the looks of the prius. some like the looks of the civic. personal taste.

2) i really like the interior design of the civic over the prius. i do not prefer the swoopy dash in the prius with no center console. i love the gauge design on the civic. very well planned and thought out. again these are personal tastes.

3) i wish the civic had at least fold down rear seats but at the end of the day, i've never really needed that so it wasn't a purchase decision for me.

4) safety. the civic has a 5 star safety rating. the frame is newly designed by honda to allow for multiple head-on collision types (read: suv and normal cars) with different energy absorbing paths. this was a big deal for me since in the bay area there are just too many humongous suvs barreling down the highway. plus, the civic has active head restraints and full length side curtain airbags standard.

5) gas mileage. i test drove multiple prius and civics and the real world mpg ratings were nearly identical. the database here helps to demonstrate that. at the end of the day, i prefer the simplicity of honda's ima system. being an engineer at heart if i can obtain the same results from two different system, i'll err on the side of the simpler system for obtaining them.

6) nav system. i love the voice activated nav system on the civic. this is the only available upgrade option and i like that too. the system is quite good at voice recognition and useful too. you can say "detour" while on a crowded freeway and it will automatically get you off the freeway and calculate surface streets avoiding the next two miles of freeway. just being able to find a parking garage when going into the city and not having to worry about it great. finally, i admit it, i'm a geek. when i pressed the open button on the nav screen and the screen's smooth and quiet servo motors flipped the screen outward to reveal the standard pc flash card for playing audio files i was sold! that was just too cool!

listen you can't go wrong with either car. both are excellent. both will help to greatly reduce harmful carbon emissions. both will save you ton in gas. and you'll really enjoy either one. test drive each one. make your list of priorities and then buy the one you like best. you won't be sorry either way!

cheers,
neil