Very unusual - it's rare to even find them sitting on the lot, let alone not being sold yet. Even more unusual to get the dealer to give you a break on the MSRP - some dealers are charging over sticker for them due to the rarity.

The dealer I got mine from had a several person long waiting list - every HCH that gets shipped there is sold before it even arrives. Apparently, in the 5 days mine spent sitting on the lot before I could pick it up (it got a ding riding on the car carrier that they needed a bit of time to get fixed after it arrived), several people tried to get my contact info to see if they could pay me to let them have it instead. I'd gotten too excited about getting it at that point to accept the offers, however.

I like the front view of the Prius but the side view ruins it for me. It's those tiny-looking wheels that are made to look out of proportion to the rest of the car. It's like a Looney Tunes character sneaking on all fours with just its toes moving. I would think that to get inside would be like sitting in a barrel, which is why I also don't like the Matrix/Wave nor the PT Cruiser either. At least it isn't as kludgy on the outside as the Pontiac Aztec.

I didn't want to be associated with tree-huggers

There were several factors which favored the HCHII that others have have already mentioned but the key one for me was that we already drive an '05 Accord and the controls are nearly the same. This makes it very easy for my wife to drive either car without having to deal with the rather strange controls and dash found on the Prius.

My wife doesn't need to worry about what is going on with the hybrid technology; just get in and drive! She has had trips with ~55 mpg in a car that is still very new.

I will agree that the Prius has the advantage of the hatchback design, which many one car households would find handy.

By the way, gas in this part of Canada is >$1.50/litre or >$5.60/USgal. Gotta love averaging >50 mpg!!

Cheers,

Roger

Although I didn't test drive the Prius (don't like the styling), and I didn't hear their stereo system (i'm told it is better than the Civic), I went with the HCH, partly because it handles better, so I'm told. My sister let a Prius-owning neighbor drive her HCH and the guy was bummed that the HCH handled better than his Prius. That did it for me...my recent rides were sporty vehicles. But, don't expect the HCH to stick through those windies without making enough noise (squeal) before you remember those physic experiments back in high school! I may just opt for slightly stickier treads, but I'm trying to remember what I'm driving!

My motorcycle doesn't get as good mileage as my HCH!

Price. With the Fed Tax rebate my '07 HCH II was $8-9K cheaper than what I could get a Prius for.

I test drove a prius in 2007, actually the dealer gave it to me fore the week end. I put it off... Thank god. I already own a Camry hybrid fully loaded and really like it. 2 weeks ago my wife went to a nearby Honda dealership to trade in a Pacifica. At first the dealer said there were no hybrids available and there was a waiting list. Then he went in to look at something and someone had just backed out of a contract on a HCH that was already on a ship. I told the wife to just get it. We even got special financing that was ending that day. Well the car came in on the 19th of July and I juct love it. The only thing that I miss over the toyota system is the EV. on my camry if I keep the speed below 40, I can run on battery for almost 2 miles. Other than that the HCH is great. I have only put 250 miles on it and the dash says 47.3MPG I am sure it will get better. I just have a hard time believing the 60+MPG claims. I know how to drive hybrid and I just don't see that feasible.

-AJ

60 MPG in five easy steps:
1. accelerate slowly (helps you stay off the pack)
2. use a light touch on the gas pedal (utilizes glide and lean burn)
3. slow down and conserve momentum
4. use auto A/C sparingly
5. don't try to drive it like a Prius (read Tarabell's article)

I got 61 mpg on my first full tank over 660 miles.

If you drive the HCH like a 'normal' car, you will get mid-40's easily.

'08 HCHII Silver (Arrived July 10th!)
'05 Honda Civic 7th Gen LX (Wife's DD)
'98 VW Jetta TDI

So do you think those us with 60mpg+ tanks are lying??? Maybe you don't know how to drive a hybrid as well as you think you do...

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.

60+ mpg really isn't that hard. I've even had a 70+ mpg tank. My wife is currently doing most of the driving in our HCHII, but she's still busting out mostly 60+ mpg tanks. Our current tank was over 60 until Honda put some miles on it during service work.

You are new to the vehicle and the vehicle still needs to break in.

Tell me about the fuel economy you are getting in your Camry Hybrid.