Hmm...I think to get to the same equipment level in the Prius (inclusion of Navi, since the OP asked about it), you're looking at package #7, along with the optional floor mats, bringing you to 26,700 or so. Package 8 adds in leather seats for an additional $1400 or so - if you added that in for a 'fully loaded' car, you'd be at
just over $28,000. But since (factory) leather isn't available in the Civic, I'll leave that off for now.

Now, to address the original poster's questions:

1. I believe the Prius is estimated to be eligible for a $3400 tax credit, while the Civic Hybrid's credit is estimated at $2300. So... post-credit, you'd be looking at approx $23,300 for a Prius w/ Package #7, vs $21,600 for the Civic. This includes destination charges, but not TTL, of course - that varies by locality. Don't assume that you'll get the full credit by end of summer for the Prius - Toyota has already warned that they may sell > 50,000 hybrids across their product line by then (I'd agree) - when that happens, your $3400 will be (at least) halved to $1700.

2. "cost, style, latest reviews, differences in reliability, personal biases, etc. etc.). If you had to make a choice, which would it be?"

Well, cost is above. Style is subjective - basically, if you want the car to be 'noticed', the Prius is better at that. It is a hatchback, so you have the increased cargo capability and folding rear seats. Rear-seat headroom can be a factor with some people.
Latest reviews are all very favorable for the Civic Hybrid (& all trim levels), since it's been redesigned. If you want to drive 'the latest sheetmetal', then Civic scores here, as the current Prius dates to 2004 or so.
Differences in reliability - About equal. I'll trade you a Civic battery replacement for a stalling Prius. What I'm saying is that there will always be a small number of cars with problems. But both 'Yota and Honda score very well on the JD Powers reliability index, relative to their competitors.
Personal biases - you've read through a few of them here. For me, the biggest factors between the two would be interior room & ergonomics (you spend your time *inside* the car, after all), safety, handling / ride, and then best fuel economy, if within 10% (since we're buying these cars with that being at least half the reason for purchasing one), followed up by 'less polluting'. So for me, the Honda won out - but I will admit, I've been buying Hondas for a long time now, and I do have a bias toward them.

3. I can't answer this as well as some of the Prius owners, but I would think a six-month wait for exactly the color / equipment you wanted would not be out of the question (six-month waits used to be very common for the car). If you're willing to compromise on color and / or features, you'll get the car quicker.

Mark

Sometimes we could all use a little less

My hybrid automobiles:

Current:
2006 Honda Civic Hybrid (CVT, w/o Nav)
Magnetic Pearl / Blue - 008661, born 12/28/05
Mods: Neck pillows, Garmin C330 Nav, Draw-tite 1.25" hitch (for bikes, not towing!), Pioneer Inno XM receiver via Aux jack, OEM mud flaps, more to come!

Hypermiler status on 3/12/06 @ 3077mi.

Previous:
2005 Honda Accord Hybrid (5AT/Navi)
Desert Mist / Ivory - 001254
Retired 1/21/06 - LMPG 34.1

New to the site ? Have a question ?
'Search' is your friend - there's a good chance someone has asked / answered your question already, so give it a try!

I really liked all of Green and Blue's comments. You can't go wrong with either car and it's a matter of preference (and 'suprisingly' both honda and toyota is aware of this as they basically cost the same).

As for color choices of the Prius. If you are not flexible on the color then you have to be lucky. If you are flexible and call several dealers then you should be able to get a car within a several weeks (the wait has really gone down). If you only want one color then it could change...

Thank you all for the insights and perspectives. They have definitely given me some very good points of consideration. I know that my experiences test-driving the Prius and HCH are probably going to be the biggest deciding factors, though my tentative gut feeling is towards the HCH.

A few people have noted how they prefer the lower-key stylings of the HCH. Ironically, I feel like I would have a more unique, stand-out car having the HCH in the Bay Area. The Prius is so ubiquitous here-- I have three friends that purchased a Prius in just the past year!

The Prius is still the stand out car even though the Civic has a new design. The only way I can tell if a new body Civic is a hybrid is to identify the ugly-as-sin wheels Honda continues to put on the hybrids.

It has been said:
Hybrid drivers come in 3 flavors, greenie, techie and cheapie. Pick any 2.
2005 Prius, Melinium Silver over gray, package 5 (AI)

I have to say the 06 do have ugly wheels but then I didn't buy my 04 for the wheels either, I could care less what they looked like.kevin

2004 silverblue 5 sp.

I will have to say the die hard honda fans & toyota fans are going to find things they dont like about both cars......

Honda cars & toyota trucks and cars are both reliable and asteticly pleasing to their owners..

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

Well said!

Retired: 2/11/06

Well;

I sure got in on the Tail-End of this Thread.

I wish I could think of something Clever to add, but I think it has all been said. Darn

Oh-Well, Life goes on.

Good-Luck on your Decision.

Speechless;

Terry

maybe this is a stupid question but I would just like to verify something. Is one better for Highway than the other? From what I'm understanding, you can go into a glide at highway speeds with the HCH and not the Prius. Am I right with this statement?

At speeds around 45+ miles per hour, the air drag is such that either car's engine will be in the 'efficient' operating range. There is no advantage to 'pulse and glide.'

In the range under ~45 miles per hour, the rolling and air drag are such that the engine can spend more time in low-power, inefficient bands. The theory (and practice) of 'Pulse and Glide' is to 'Pulse' the engine into an efficient power range to build up speed to a point that matches where the engine would be in an efficient range. This also adds some charge to the battery. Then 'Glide' to let the engine shut-off while the momentum decays. The 'Glide' would also use some of the stored battery energy.

I can only speak to Prius 'Pulse and Glide' and only in a rough sense. A future project will formalize 01-03 Prius 'pulse and glide' capablities. Hopefully one of the Civic drivers will talk about their 'Pulse and Glide' technique.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
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