Sure, both the Prius and Civic Hybrid are great cars. I think the choice of either is pretty personal, because they are very similar. Being an engineer, I saw some advantages to the Civic. Here's my 2 cents on why I bought the Civic.

1) Looks. I just plain don't like the looks of the Prius, whether Prius I or Prius II. They look futuristic, and scream "hybrid". I like the fact that people have been in mine, and went for a whole trip before they realize, "this is a hybrid?"

2) Dash. I'm not a big fan of all the guages in the middle of the car. And I thought the center display was not very meaningful, plus a distraction. The fact that the radio also needed the display was a negative if I wanted to replace it. I also didn't like the chicken-wing shifter.

3) Transmission. I'm a 5-speed driver, so the lack of a 5-speed was a big deterrent away from the Prius. Plus, the fact that it's a completely different type of transmission (planetary gears).

4) Complexity. The Prius is incredibly complex, having 2 electric motors (one for charging, one for moving the car) and a planetary gear set. The Honda, in comparison, is very simple. Both have good emissions and similar gas mileage, but the Honda is simpler. To an engineer, simpler is better.

5) Safety. The Honda did better in safety ratings, and can run on the gas engine alone should the electric fail.

6) Availability of parts. The Prius was designed from the ground up, meaning the parts are limited to the production of the car. The Civic, conversely, uses a lot of the same parts as the conventional Civic, so are much more available, as well as aftermarket add-ons.

7) Scaleability. Honda's design should be easier to adapt to its line-up of vehicles, which should make it cheaper in the long run.

8) Batteries. With the Civic having a smaller battery pack, there's less voltage, and the battery pack costs less should it need to be replaced.

9) Less problems than the Prius I. There were reports of the "Big Hand", tire problems, gas guage guessing (bladder), etc.

These were the reasons I chose the Civic. I'm very happy with my purchase. I'm sure there's a lot of happy Prius owners as well.

Mark