Hello all!!

I am a newbie to this forum, but I am experienced with automotive forums.

I am in the market for a Hybrid. My reasons are primarily environmentally based, but I truely HATE funding the oil industry's war on consumers. I also am very uncomfortable giving money to extremist terrorists.

I have looked at the Honda offerings, but I must admit that Hybrid technology is pretty new to me. Ideally, I would have liked a GM EV-1, but those goofy guys crushed them all.

So, here are my needs and any guidance would be much appreciated.

My wife and I will have this vehicle as our primary ride. We have a minivan that we use for her painting business, but we want a small sporty hi efficiency car that handles well and is safe. I was disappointed in the Honda Accords minimal milage gains over the non hybrid version, and I am not terribly impressed with the Civic Hybrid styling.

I also want a vehicle that I can maintain myself and is reliable and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to keep maintained. I dont need a big car, but I am 6'3" tall and weight above 220# (I am not gonna say how much though )

My wife is only 5'2" tall so we need a vehicle with good front seat adjustment. We currently own a 2003 Accord and we both love it, but it is time to move on and get a new ride. We dont drive alot, our normal weekly milage would typically be less than 200 miles, but if we go on vacation, we could drive 1000 miles in a week.

If the EV-1 was still on the market, I could see myself in it, but since that is not an option, I am trying to figure an alternative.

Please help guide me thru the tedious process of elimination.

Thanks and GO GREEN!!

Get a Prius, I havent had mine long but I absolutely love it!

What other models did you consider, and why choose the Prius?

My parents chose it for me, I'm 16. This is my first car. Choose it because I said so.

J/K, you won't be disappointed if you get one.

I've been pleased with my Prius. It was a choice between that and the Civic hybrid. I chose the Prius because of what I believe is a superior hybrid system design, the hatchback (and associated cargo-carrying capacity), rear seat leg room for my tall teenagers, and its overall uniqueness.

I'm 6'4" and also weigh 220+. I wish the seat bottom had a vertical adjustment and gave me a little more thigh support. On long trips the seat gets a little uncomfortable, but not excessively so. Regular breaks help. Of course you and your wife should test drive it to assure the horizontal seat adjustment suits both of you.

Maintenance is easy. Oil changes can be done without raising the car; the drain plug and filter are easily accessible from the front. Jacking or driving up on ramps (I do the latter) give you even better access. Air and cabin filters take two minutes each to change. Besides tire rotation, that's all I've done in 20K miles.

Good luck!

Jim

Lifetime fuel mileage:

After learning how to hypermile:

I have discussed the prius with my wife, but she flat outright dislikes the styling. She is always saying "why do cars that get good gas mileage have to look so ugly?".

The prius is ok looking to me, but I do like the looks of the Accord alot more. I just dont like how the Accord Hybrid is not really a very green hybrid. If they made an Accord Hybrid that got the mileage of the Civic Hybrid, I would have already purchased one.

From what you described as your requirements, and the fact that you have a minivan as your hauler, the Insight sounds like the car you are looking for. From an environmental stand point, it will emit the least CO2, and with the CVT, you get SULEV emissions close to the Prius' PZEV rating. I have had experience with both the Prius and the Insight, and if you are looking for a "sportier" ride, than the Insight provides that as well. The previous owner of my car bought it primarily for the handling and efficiency.

As for comfort, my dad is 6'2" and also over 220 lbs, at least. He drives one as his primary car and finds it more comfortable because there is ample legroom and a lower seating position than his previous car, a 1997 Chrysler Town and Country. I am shorter and have to move the seat up to reach the clutch and have no problems doing so.

Since your requirements are pretty easy to meet, and you want the best efficiency and a responsive ride, then I would definitely look into the Insight. There aren't any new ones anymore, but there are always used ones to be had at decent prices. The maintenance is just like any other car, and you can get the service manual to do maintenance yourself.

The Insight does well on both highway and city driving once you get used to driving it properly. I would love to drive the car in a place like New Mexico where you don't have to deal with sub-zero temperatures and snow, but as you can see from my signature, I still do pretty well for mileage with the car in Wisconsin.

For more information on the Insight, check out Insightcentral.net, and to see the largest used hybrid dealer's inventory, take a look at hybridcarstore.com.

-Justin Fons
www.MilwaukeeHybridGroup.com

Well New Mexico still has snow, cold, and crummy weather. Funny how everyone thinks that NM is nothing but hot and dry. Does snow and cold adversely effect hybrids?

My other problem is that my wife is demanding a new car. Since the Insight has been discontinued (I wonder why that is), I still need to keep looking.

How can she say that? I love the styling of my Prius!

If you don't mind waiting a year or two hybrid offerings are going to boom. For example, Honda is coming out with a "dedicated hybrid vehicle." It is mainly rumors still, but it sounds like it is going to be the cheapest hybrid on the market but still get awesome gas mileage. There are also rumors of plug-in hybrids from a couple companies.

I still think the 06-07 civics look nice. Maybe I'm just biased though!