Hello,

I have a round trip commute of around 140 miles each day. Most of this is interstate (70, but I can go slower) driving with some highway and city driving mixed in. The two hybrids I am most interested in are the Prius and the Civic. My wife absolutely hates the look of the Prius though, so chances of getting that one are slim. How well do these cars perform on long stretches of the interstate? Any non-hybrid you would recommend to me instead, as price is a factor.

Does the civic have any of the sweet tech features that the Prius does, such as push button start, bluetooth built in? Does it have a mini jack for MP3 player input?

Right now I drive a 2003 s-10 4 cylinder and average 25 mpg. I am a non-aggressive driver and when city driving keep the car in neutral quite a bit. (manual).

Thanks!

You cant go wrong either way with Prius or Civic. At 140miles/day and getting 50mpg+ versus 24mpg now you will be saving on fuel.

I got the cheapo Civic without Nav bu the mp3 jack makes it ok as does multi format cd player and xm radio. Need a key to start it.

If you can stay at 65mph, I bet you will still get 50-55mpg on those stretches. AC will hurt this a little.

In my experience, the Prius gets better mileage than the Civic Hybrid while also being a bit faster, but the Civic was much more fun due to much better handling, better visibility, and a far more ergonomic and refined interior. It does not have push-button start but the engine starts the instant you turn the key, instead of having to wait a second or two for it to ignite, which is kind of nice.

Driving at 80 miles per hour around hilly southern California, I usually got between 40-43 mpg for those segments. You'd get much better figures at lower speeds.

With 140 miles per day, you might also want to look at 'creature comforts.' A Camry hybrid is a very nice ride and I understand the Accord hybrid is good too. Certainly take a test drive in either one just to make sure you're getting the right tool for the right job.

Bob Wilson

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My understanding is taht the Civic gets better miles on the highway and the Prius does better in city driving, but that both are great cars and I would be too happy getting either one. :-)

You might not hear all Civic and Honda people say the other is a great car btw. :-) They are sworn enemies.

--des

Push button start a "cool" feature? Heck, my 1952 International 3/4 ton pickup had a push button start on the dash. I guess what's "old is new".

The HCH has a more advanced engine than the Prius so it will cruise more efficiently. The Prius has a better hybrid system which is great in traffic, but harder to make pay off at highway speed. I drove with 3 other people in the HCHII to Boulder last weekend and we averaged 56mpg over the 200 mile trip with the A/C on at ~60mph.

If price is an issue, the HCH is cheaper, and you get the full tax credit (instead of 1/4 on the Prius). Besides, if your wife doesn't like the look of the Prius, you wouldn't hear the end of the compaining until you finally get rid of it (based on personal experience). Get the HCH.

BTW, the mileage falls off pretty quickly the faster you go. If you go 70, I would expect somewhere in the mid to high 40mpg range. However, going 60mph will add about 30 minutes of drive time to your round trip commute. Still, the high 40s beats 25 any day!

Commuter car, grocery getter, and summer road tripper--average 10k miles per year.


Winter road trips and ski trips, bad weather commuter and my wife's "daily" driver--expected average 4k miles per year.

The new EPA highway mileages are 45 mpg on both HCH and Prius.
(The old EPA numbers were also same 51 mpg.)
Prius is heavier midsize than HCH compact.
I believe Prius is more efficient than HCH.

Ken@Japan

I would say that the prius is more gas efficient than the HCHII both in HWY and City. My dad has the prius and I have the HCHII. He is getting around 51 mpg, I am getting around 44-46 (like 36 in the city). I might drive slightly faster than my dad, but I have a commute with less hills and plus I drive more conservatively (cruise to a halt instead of braking hard). But the civic has its advantages as mentioned. I prefer the seats to the prius's as well. It also looks "cooler" with the blue gadgets n stuff. Take a look at the TCH as well, that might be a better car for u.

I suggest you take a look at the TCH too. I own the TCH and it performs like magic. At highway speeds of about 80 miles per hour you can still pull off around 39 mpg, reduce that to 70mph and you can get about 45mpg. Take a test drive and you will be pleasantly surprised.