We got a shortage of hybrids in my area so I ordered a 2005 HCH in magnisum metallic with a 5 speed having never driven one. The car is not exactly what I expected. In some ways it is better. ....Looks like you will need to wait till after lunch for the details...

Haha well you've piqued my interest. I'll wait for your in-depth

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The biggest best way that it is better is MPG. Lots of folks are reporting really low mileage on their first couple tanks but so far my HCH is doing great. After about 30 miles of driving the game gauge says 56, which is great! The stereo is quite nice compaired to an Insight's. The Insight's radio is a joke while the HCH stereo has a nice, rich, full sound. One cool/weird thing is that it lacks an ash tray, which I think is great.

The magnisum metallic color is much lighter than I expected but is still quite pretty. It is far closer to silver than charcoal.

There are a couple things that my Vette has spoiled me on so on those items the HCH comes up a bit lacking. The Vette has a great 6 speed with short throws and a very precise shifter. The Honda has a typical small car shifter that feels mushy and cheap. The shifter is fine, I've had no trouble finding gears or making the car go in gear, it just feels a bit wimpy.

The other thing that I don't like about the HCH is the MPG display. The Vette has an entire row of buttons that allow it to display a variety of different information including average MPG per trip down to tenths, instant mileage down to tenths and tire pressure. The HCH is lacking in this department and that is the biggest disapointment because hybrids are suppose to be mileage kings. The HCH's display only has one button and the same button is used to move between displays and to reset, depending on how long the button is pushed. The Civic's display does show trip mileage down to tenths but it does not update often and it does not seem to ever jump in tenths. It seems to always jump several tenths at a time. The instant MPG display is the most disappointing feature. The Vett's realtime display is very helpful in fine tuning for maxium mileage. All the HCH has for a real time display is a small bar graph with 5 MPG increments.

Even with the hard to see instant MPG bar graph I'm getting the mileage I wanted so I'm happy overall (so far).

Lakedude.

I just got my 2005 HCH CVT on Monday, it is also Magnesium Metallic. So far I'm getting 48 MPG with mostly highway and some city. I'm very happy and glad I made the change.

I hope you have great luck with it.

Bill

From the Valley of the Sun. -Phoenix, AZ

Wow
Congradulations you guys on your new car.

Unfortunately my better half managed to scrape a curb on the front passenger side.
Damage to the front clip is a tiny 1" patch of severe scratches on the corner, I think a simple home made remedy is in order there.

The wheel unfortunately is severely scratched & gouged.
Honda parts department sells a new one for "only" $365.
Hmm, not sure what I'm gonna do about that yet.

azwildbill2,
Thanks for the review. I wish mine was a 5-speed!

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

azwildbill2

Thanks and good luck with yours as well. I'm really excited about the HCH but I'm about the only one locally. No one seems to care about hypermileage even with oil at $50. They will complain about gas prices but do nothing about it. Personally I'd like to see gas prices double once or twice (which they will someday when we hit Hubbert's peak).

Sorry to hear about the misshap Hot-dude. Them wheel prices seem cheap compaired to Vette prices.

This afternoon I scrubbed the remaiing cement powder out of the rim & tire, and applied the usual "wet" oil to the tire and I guess it doesn't too noticable unless you are looking right at it.

Yes this always amazes me.
Somehow I think the drivers of the largest vehilces driving in the most wasteful way make the biggest gas price complaints. Some of them don't seem to understand:
Harder acceleration + faster speed + more brake usage = faster fuel consumption = a higher gas bill = paying more at the pump.
A guy at work who drives a big Suburban complains weekly but isn't interested at all in learning how to drive more efficiently.
He hates it when my good MPG is raised in conversation.
Shuuuuut - uuuuuup is all he says

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

Hehe, yah, they really dont want to learn. Pretty much all my friends complain about gas (those that pay for it), but they kinda have a pet peeve about complaining in front of me. They dont call me miser for nothing

Hidden Views Photography

Too bad about the wheel damage, but I have a tip to offer you for your next car purchase with Honda:

When I bought my 2004 HCH in July, the finance guy offered me a warranty called the "TireXam" system. It was $599, but it covered road hazard damage for the tires *AND THE WHEELS* for that price. That seems high if all you are concerned about is the road hazard on the TIRES, because you can get that at Discount Tire for about $20 per tire. But nowhere else can you purchase warranty that covers your WHEELS also, at least as far as I know.

It's a gamble that you might ever need it, but last month I ran over a nailed board and got two sidewall punctures and had to get two new tires. The TireXam warranty covered those tires, which after labor and install came to $213 at the dealer.

So I have already had a benefit from the warranty. I may never recoup the other $386 I spent on the warranty, but who knows, I might damage a wheel in a blowout or something, God forbid, and it would be replaced for free.

Extended warranties are a gamble, but I usually purchase them just for the peace of mind and so I can know that I will never have to come up with huge "emergency repair" money.