For all of you who bought Civic Hybrids (especially the CVT), why'd you choose it instead of a Toyota Prius?

I'll be buying a new car in a month or two and have been looking at the hybrids available (I'll definitely buy a hybrid). I test-drove a Civic Hybrid CVT today and its low power wasn't as much of a problem as I'd expected, though it was a bit lethargic. The mileage was much lower than I expected though... at 70mph on the highway, it was showing 25-30 mpg most of the time(!). During regular driving, it was getting around 39 mpg.

The Prius, on the other hand, gets much better mileage (especially for city and high-traffic driving) and yet is more powerful, and you get much better options available than you can with the Civic. And the base price is the same (for the CVT).

So I'm basically wondering why people buy the Civic (especially the CVT, since I know there is no manual Prius). Is it basically just that you're long-time Honda users and are loyal to them?

Note, this isn't a flame or troll post. I am deciding between the two cars (though obviously heavily leaning towards the Prius) which is why I test-drove the Civic today... but it just seems worse than the Prius. If you're wondering, my current car is a VW Jetta, average 25 mpg.

My reasons for the Civic:

1) I am a "long time" Honda driver. My first car was a '87 Accord which I traded for my '04 HCH.

2) I got to drive both the Civic and Prius as a loaner car from work. I think I drove Prius I so it was probably not a fair comparison, but I liked the Civic better. I thought it had more get up.

3) At the time I was looking the Prius had a waiting list. I went to the dealer and picked up my HCH and drove it home.

4) I guess I wanted to blend in more than with the Prius.

Looking back now I think that the Prius would have been a better car for me. I have a relatively short commute (5-6 miles) and I think the Prius would have gotten better gas mileage. With that said I got almost 55 MPG on the last tank, but it was a "long" trip for me.

Billy

I basicly wasn't even planning on buying a car when I bought my civic. I went to the dealer just to check one out. I never tried the Prius. I don't like the look of the prius (sorry guys). I like that the civic doesn't realy stand out. I tend to be the kind of person that likes to disapear in a crowd.

The civic was responsive enough for me. I liked the gauges. I liked the ride. And was like a luxury car compared to the Geo Metro I owned.

I think objectively the Prius II is a much better car as far as performance and economy. But I like the Civic for its looks.

If I were you I'd wait to see what the 06 civic hybrid is like. You may be kicking yourself if you get the prius now and find out the 06 civic hybrid turns out to be better.

My hydroponics experiment

You ever notice how hard it is to lip read cartoon characters?
"Crazy is what the sane call Delta Flyer"

The Prius I is IIRC a worse car than the Civic, so yeah, it can't be compared to the Prius II (2004-2005). But both you guys express an interesting sentiment, that you want the car to look normal. I don't like mundane cars, though it's not that important to me... but I'm all for the Prius' noticeable design. Alot of people are in both camps though.

I did hear about Honda's 2006 Civic announcement, but even though it may perform better (either in power or in fuel efficiency) than the current Civic, its interior probably hasn't changed, and that's another problem I have with the Civic. Its mileage indicator is horribly designed! You must agree with me here... one can't really see the mileage just from the length of the bar; you need to compare it to the numbers written above, but that means spending way too much time looking at the dashboard instead of the road. The Prius shows it digitally (in the center console, which isn't great, but not a big deal) and even its speedometer is digital. The Accord Hybrid and Insight both show it digitally as well, from the pictures I've seen at least.

You are right about the Civic dashboard. That was one thing I really liked about the Prius. I guess after driving it for a while I would not "play" with it as much, but on my drives I found myself switching screens a lot.

I hope Honda watches boards like Greenhybrid.com and sees suggestions that folks have. I would love to have a more digital dashboard than what I have, but I have gotten used to it and know where I am on the game gauge just by location.

Billy

1) Check out the real mileage database:

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/

Real owners are getting very similar mileage as a whole group between the Civic and Prius. Currently Civic owners have a median of 46mpg, and Prius is at 48mpg. That's not what I call "much better mileage" really.

2) You're getting a little confusing about the pricing. The Civic is without a doubt a less expensive car. Here in Phoenix one of the local dealers was advertising Civic Hybrids in stock at $18,500. Keep in mind, when you say "base price" it's a little misleading since the only option for the Civic is the CVT. Other than that, it's a fully loaded model. The Prius on the other hand can be optioned up to well into the 20's.

I think that really it comes down to how much you want to spend, and what you're looking to get out of it. The mileage is close enough that if you paid $22.5k for a Prius versus $18.5k for a Civic, you could drive a few million miles and not make up the cost savings from the difference in fuel consumption between the two. If you want a car with a bunch more features and a more high-tech look and feel, then the Prius, although it costs more when optioned up, it would certainly play the role of overtly high tech car better.

I just returned from a long road trip in my HCH, using three full tanks of gas, and got:

- 48mpg going 70-75 on the 1st leg
- 54mpg going 60-65 through southern california
- 45mpg going 75 coming home

My three other highway trips, going about 65mph (the speed limit), yielded 49, 51, and 52mpg. So I'm not sure how you could get mileage so low as you mention on your test drive. You can look at this mileage database to get some real numbers from other HCH owners.

Right now when I pay moderate attention to mileage in my short 6-mile city commute I get between 43-46mpg. When I just buzz around in a more impatient manner I seem to get closer to 42mpg.

I agree with previous posters regarding Prius versus Civic. IMO, they are both great cars. The Prius will give you a larger car, more horsepower, and (as listed on GreenHybrid DB) about 2mpg more than the Civic. You will probably pay about 3-5K more for the car, versus a comparably equipped Civic. You will get the cool look of the Prius and the gratification of driving an instantly recognizable hybrid car. I have friends with both types of hybrids, and all really, really love their cars.

Regarding the ride and responsiveness of the Civic Hybrid: I previously owned a 2002 Civic Si (the hatchback), a sporty car with a 2.0L engine. I much prefer the hybrid, both in handling and acceleration. The acceleration is quick and noiseless; and on the highway, it seems like the car doesn't even have to try in order to pass.

That's just my opinion, of course, but I was just thinking on my trip that I enjoy this car in almost every way imaginable: fuel economy, ride, handling, and interior comforts. Now if only it had an MP3 plug like the Element...

You should get the radio from the Civic special edition. That thing is sweet. It ha a built in aux jack.

My hydroponics experiment

You ever notice how hard it is to lip read cartoon characters?
"Crazy is what the sane call Delta Flyer"

I got the HCH because the one I wanted was in stock. There was a waiting list for the Prius and it cost a lot more at the time due to dealer mark-ups. I also liked that the HCH looked like any other civic.
After having mine for a year, I now think the Prius may have been a better choice because of all the stop-go driving I do but I still manage to average 45 MPG in the city and often low 50's on the highway.

Greg

'04Civic Hybrid

1) I bought mine because my previous car broke down, and I needed a car immediately -- the Prius wait was 2 months at the time I was looking, while the CVT HCH was available immediately.

2) Last year I drove from Colorado to Iowa, and when going 75 to 80 miles per hour I was getting around upper 30s to low 40s in MPG. My regular commute (speeds below 65 miles per hour) I get an average of 48 MPG in the winter and 53 to 55 in the summer. City driving, I get 45 MPG in the winter and 50 in the summer.

3) At the time (March, 2004) the CVT Civic was around $2K to $4K less than the Prius depending on the option of Prius you wanted to get.

I'd say that you should just get the one you think you'd enjoy more. You'll find that driving for high MPG will become habit, so then you'll end up being more concerned with how much you like the car itself.

Good luck in your purchase!