I do prefer Honda over Toyota, since I do want to get the new Honda Insight when I finish college.

I'm hoping lots of people wait until January to order / take delivery of their cars - 2mos of slower sales will allow people to negotiate somewhat on the price, perhaps.

W/ regard to quantity - IIRC, I've seen info stating Honda is planning on quantities in the high-20's, and can ramp up production if needed (but not quite double - they refuse to say how much they can increase quantity by).

So - if we know that the full tax deduction will apply to the first 60K cars sold by a manufacturer...
And we know that Honda can't quite make 50K of the HCH...
And we assume that Honda will sell approximately the same # of Insights / HAHs as last year...
Then almost everyone who buys an HCH should get the full pro-rata tax deduction (?)

Sounds good to me

Thanks for your answers. Information that would really help me make my decision based on a Prius vs. a 2006 Civic Hybrid comparison are:

1) Which car has a smoother, quieter ride?

2) Which car gets better gas mileage?

3) Which car is more dependable ( I noticed some posts about the D light in the Civid Hybrid Forum)?
4) Which car is more technically advanced? The Toyota people say the Honda's use the old Prius engine technology from 2003 and before, is that true?

5) I'm a little concerned about engine noise. The 2005 Hybrid Civic did not drive a quietly and was a little more sluggish than the 2005 Prius.

I believe the 2006 has quite a bit of improvements. The Prius salesman spouted out some stats based on 0-60 miles per hour acceleration speed, rear leg room, etc favoring the Prius. I cannot get an objective opinion from dealers, and many of them do not know details about the cars.

Does anyone have stats on acceleration from Car and Driver comparing the Prius to the Civic Hybrid? Any other concrete information that can help me make a buying decision?

Thanks!

Nate
Charlotte, USA

My vote goes towards the Prius, but nobody can really know until the new HCH is on the road.

This is hard to answer directly because so much of the mileage a person gets depends on the driving style and conditions. The Prius has more potential in it's stock form to get super mileage as was discovered recently with the 110 MPG marathon tank. The HCH is good, and potentially as good as any Prius in daily driving scenarios, but the Prius still gets my vote based on what I've seen in terms of it being driven without consideration for mileage: it seems to handle it a bit better (40's vs 30's).

There are some arguments about the Civic's alleged ability to continue to operate with a dead high voltage battery, making it the more durable option, but I don't really see a need to operate a vehicle in disrepair, especially if it costs less to maintain in the first place. The track record of the Prius is very good with some high mileage taxis being shipped back to Japan to be examined and found to be in excellent shape. There's a small sample of hybrid vehicles in the Canadian government fleet and they tracked all scheduled maintenance and other repairs, the Prius was cheaper in both categories than the Insights.
The Toyota "people" aren't giving straight info, but their characterization may be correct in some ways. The Prius has been able to run using the electric motor only since it's release in Japan in 1997, the Civic is just getting it's ability to do this, but still won't be able to start off in electric-only mode, just low-speed steady-state cruising with the engine also spinning (but not firing). The Prius is more advanced, it pushes the envelope on the technology front. That may be a bit scary for some people, having looked behind the dash facing and seeing the thousands of wires makes me cringe at the thought of tracing a bad connection or something... but really all modern cars are equally complex, although probably not as complex as a Prius. This also very much depends on your definition of 'advanced' because the Civic has many advanced features too.

From what I've read the new Civic is an improvement over the 2005 in terms of acceleration, but the Prius still has more lauch power, thanks to it's rather large electric motor. Sound dampening has yet to be really compared, but again improvement over the 2005 should be apparent.

2001 Prius Photos       2005 Prius Photos
'97 Prius Simulation Prius inner workings

The 06 hasn't come out yet, so you'll probably have to wait like the rest of us.

Eventually someone will do a comparo. But, there's more "to it" than just numbers.
You've got to put your rearend in the driver's seat and see how you feel about it.
Design ergonomics, noise, dashboard layout, options, etc. is all up to individual taste.

Buying a car isn't like picking a heart surgeon. It's just transportation, and both Toyota and Honda have their strength's and weaknesses. And either one will work. But, it goes beyond science, and personal taste certainly comes into play.

I'd wait and try each one out individually.

Kansas, not as flat as you think...

--

I just got my PII yesterday and im going to use it for work, i dont know if this enters into it or not but one of the reasons i chose the P instead of the C is that in the honda, the back seat does NOT fold down!. just a thought depending on what your doing , hauling, etc. Good luck Dean

But have you guys seen the dash on the new HCH? /drool

It's HOT! Makes me want to run out & buy one. Plus I'm really stoked about being able to tell the difference between the hybrid & regular civic without having to look at the label.

That being said, I've always been a fan of the functionality of a hatchback & that's a HUGE plus for the prius.

Oh no...such tough decisions.

"Speed doesn't have anything to do with mileage. My truck has an overdrive gear for a reason." - Credited to an unnamed Freeper reguarding changing the speed limit back to 55MPH.

I had planned on trading my 04 HCH for an 06 HCH until I found out there would be no manual transmission. ::sigh::

-Charlie...

Can we put a price tag on each car? I thought the prius was more expensive. If so is the extra expense worth it, or does it work against it in the most value for the buck?

Edit, read xcel post. To me that is key. I'm a big Honda fan as well, but back when I bought my HCH, the Prius I didn't enter into the equation because I thought it looked ugly... to put it mildly. Now, the Prius II, I kinda like the look of it (more so then current HCH). And I love the fact that's it's a hatch and that the battery is lying flat as apposed to sandwitched between the rear seat and trunk in the HCH. But the cost alone would make me pick the HCH over the Prius any day of the week.