The HCH system is designed so that you can take the battery out, and the car will still operate. In fact there are scenarios where the IMA doesn't do anything to prove just that.

My vote is for the Civic.

<Best Tank Economy!><Best Tank Endurance!>

I might have missed this - I just skimmed all of the posts in this thread - but I didn't see any comments regarding how the two vehicles (Prius II vs. HCH) handle in the snow and ice. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm thinking of getting one, but it will be my first non-4WD vehicle in about 20 years, and I'm a bit trepidatious.

The new Civic Hybrid will be shipped Oct 5. After that, I'm sure there will be plenty of articles, hence more informative Civic posts. But has anyone seen anything in Car and Driver about it's pickup and power, other than stats? I'd like a real driver's opinion.

Thanks all of you for the specs. It does 0-60 in 4 seconds or so more than the Prius. I also like the Prius comment about it driving at slow speeds on electric power only, whereas the Civic primarily uses the ICE and electric motor at the same time.

I love the Civic body style, but the Prius Engine seems to perform better. If only the Civic Body had the Prius Engine. I believe I'm staying the course and hopefully getting my Prius in about 2 weeks when they arrive from Japan via Jacksonville, Fl. The Civic won't be at the dealership when my Prius arrives.

If you didn't read, the Charlotte area had a gas shortage 2 weeks ago. There are still some stations without mid-grade gasoline and prices have only now dropped below $3.00 a gallon. Therefore there is a large Prius waiting list here, and elsewhere in the country (specifically in the Southeast).

My main deciding factors -- I had a 98 Lexus ES300 with no problems and 115,000 miles on it. I sold it for $10,000 a few weeks ago. What great resale. It still ran like a new car. I'm sold on Toyota and Lexuses. And the roomier interior is a selling point. I won't be giving up that much space while dropping down from the Lexus ES300 (Camry basically) to a Prius. I just wish mine was here now.

Overall my vote goes to the Prius as the the HCH2 is not going to have a MT option.

Still the Prius worries me as it ages and the pack gets old. The Prius will not work without both motors and the engine and the pack in good working order. The Civic will run just fine without a pack. Packs do not last forever and are very expensive to replace. How are you gonna feel about spending $1-3k on a pack for a 10 year old car? I guess it is a non-issue if you don't plan to keep your car long enough for the pack to expire.

Care for some frank honesty ? Anyone who reads Car&Driver out of anything but sheer boredom while waiting for the barber and choosing it over 'People'; and really wants to know acceleration times from 0 - 60, is a set up to be disappointed by either hybrid. That kind of person will be happier with a very small, sportsoid type car. Think mini-cooper, or perhaps the civic Si.

Now that I got that off my chest ..
I'll itemize what IMO are the differentiating features of each car. Pick the ones that apply to your driving or desires, then add in subjective matters like looks, and there you go:

Prius 2G: Hatchback, city MPG, certain options if you want to pay for them (VSC, Bluetooth, ? more airbags (up to six)).

'06 HCH: Price

R2-E2, 2G Prius.
Highway/City/Husband/Wife MPG: 56.5, as of 12/2005, 26K miles

Jac Nasser, Ford President: "We are planning to launch a hybrid version of
this car [P2000] within this year [1998]. We will also make FCEV available in
2004."

i've been, and am still, leaning towards the prius because of the space it has available, the fact that the Prius II has been tested and found to be satisfactory, that it's a toyota... i'm still considering the HCH, though, both because of price and the fact that I live in Florida, and have the AC on 100% of the time in the summer. the electric based AC sounds like it might make up that mpg difference for me. Do you really not consider that to be a real positive, EricGo?

anyways, keep it up guys, you are answering my questions before i have the information to ask them. thanks!

sweetbeet asked:

Quote:

... how the two vehicles (Prius II vs. HCH) handle in the snow and ice. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm thinking of getting one, but it will be my first non-4WD vehicle in about 20 years, and I'm a bit trepidatious.

The short answer: 4 snow tires, i.e. Bridgestone Blizzaks.
The longer answer: My 2000 Honda Civic HX was lousy in the snow compared to my old VW Golf. With 4 Blizzaks in winter, no problem ever with the Civic. Front wheel drive with good snowtires is all most people need. If I lived in the NY snow belt (i.e. Boonville, not Ithaca) I'd add chains or switch to 4wd. My feeling is that most decent front wheel drive car with snow tires is safer than most 4wd trucks/SUVs in winter and (more so) in summer.
--Walter
I drove a '65 rear wheel drived Alfa Romeo for 2 years in Oneonta, NY, which probably disqualifies anything I say. Actually, because its handling was great, it was pretty safe in snow. And, it did start reliably down to -20F -- unfortunately, it got to -30F there.

I have the HCH CVT and live in NH, snow is no problem but I have a set of snow tires for the HCH mounted to a set of HX Alloy Rims. Blizzaks of course, the thing handles like it's on rails. Also with the CVT, you sort of get a form traction control because as the wheels spin, a higher gear is automatically selected while the same rpm is maintained, making it harder for the car to spin.

I'm being indicisive as heck. Friends and some family think the Prius looks egg-shaped. But I think I can get over that and do not mind that as much.

I like the body of the Civic but not the technology of the hybrid.

Since gas prices are going down now in Charlotte, and are expected to drop even more (they are $2.99 a gallon now), the hybrid is not looking as attractive. It will only save me about $700 a year on gas at this point. I do get a tax credit, according to a tax accountant I spoke with, up to 10% the value of the car if purchased in 2005. I believe someone got the tax information incorrect as I'm almost sure about this year's tax credit, not a deduction.

Do you all notice that you are really getting 50-60 mpg with a Prius? Or is it really closer to 45mpg? I know it depends on what type of driving, but I'm talking about an average.

Also, will the body be redesigned earlier than 2009?

Are there many Prius Civic hybrid happy vs. unhappy drivers? I assume if you're posting here, you are a happy owner. I'd like to hear from the unhappy ones so that I can see both sides of the story.