Although most of my reasoning is elsewhere, I can summarize it here:
I chose the HAH mostly because of the following reasons:
- Better power (it's got great acceleration)
- Better interior storage (cup holders, placement of things, etc. worked better for me)
- Slightly cheaper when compared to the equivalently features TCH (TCH with options got the Navi, but was still thousands more because 2006 HAH goes for under invoice -- if there are any left)
- IMO, it had better handling then the TCH and thus would be more comfortable on my commute over a small "mountain pass"
- I didn't like the instrument panel much on the TCH (non-navi version)
- The salesman and I had some trouble with the smart key operation -- not intuitive and didn't work as he thought it should have, oddly enough
- The HAH is a bit more rare, and thus more unique
(oddly, though, I've now seen more HAHs on the road than TCHs)
Ultimately, it came down to small things. And, I still second guess my choice. It's only been about 3 weeks, though. I really enjoy driving my HAH, but sometimes I wish I'd got something with better fuel economy, or maybe something that can do full EV, or that is more popular since there might be more hacks or upgrades for it (e.g. plug-in mod, EV mode mod, etc.) I like the power, but if I want to get anywhere near 30mpg I can't use the power, which also has me questioning that as a decision point.
I'd like to see why other people chose the HAH over the TCH, too.