Wow, that's really cool. I never wanted an mp3 player before but now I do. I have the empty compartment under the radio so I could run the cable out through a small hole in the back and just keep the player in that compartment. What a whole new way to look at travel music. No longer will my mix cd's be limited to 13 songs.

 

(A little long winded sorry)

I test drove the Civic & the insight, Im 6'3" 275 lbs and found them both to have the crampiness of a compact car. I spoke with the sales man and he had two civics on the lot, not my color choices. I had to lean the seat back "street gangsta style so my head would not touch the roof..

I how ever was able to testdrive a 04 prius through work for 6months
(Fleet dept) they where testing two for police work and wanted to see if they would handle the curb jumping and other riggors of the job that happen while on the road.

I averaged 512 miles to 11 gallons of gas, thats one tank. the police interceptors go 0-60 in 7 seconds the prius did it in 9 seconds and topped out at 127 mph.. (only did that one time was a little scary with the skinny tires).

The prius had ample leg room in the car for four 6' adults to sit comfortably and not be very cramped, it's concidered a mid-sized car with the same if not close to leg room of a camry in the back seat. there was little room for large items in the rear hatch area unless you layed the rear seat down & the split hatch window took a little getting used to. The model I drove was a #1 base model 04. Its stock standard features where: keyless entry, p-windows & d-locks, cruise, dual air bags, am/fm/cd w/6 spkrs, A/C, tilt wheel & int-wipers with a window MSRP sticker of $21,500.

The end of the test fleet assigned them to unmarked use, ( they now have 4 in service) I then went and bought one, an 04, a #5 with out the leather for 27,500 a little pricey? Yes, but with lots of leg room & compartments for storage. I had to wait 2wks for it to come in and then gave it to the wife who drives 45 miles a day for work and only has to fill up once every 2wks. that was a $$ savings noticed the first month & have not had any problems with the car. (We had a saturn before & filled up every 300 miles).

But I guess it comes down to personal preference's and the manufacturer name some like best..

I have to agree it wold be nice for the dealers to have at least one on the lot for test driving so that people could see if its the right car for them also..

 

That must have been a modified Prius (besides the obvious, I mean). The normal one is governor-limited to 105 mph and goes 0-60 in 10 seconds. Did they actually do something to increase its acceleration or was the only engine mod the removal of the speed governor?

 

I believe they where probibly modified (police version) I am unsure what was modified, but would guess it would have been governor & computer ajustments, aside from that they where stock.

 

The good thing about the civic is that if you want to get a feel for what it is like you can sit in a regular civic. I think all the headroom and legroom would be the same.

 

True, except the EX has less headroom to accomodate the moonroof.

 

Prius Guy,
I'm not real familiar with the older molels (HCH & Prius). But I was surprized to read that you picked the Prius over the HCH because of size. I compared the two cars '05 Prius with the '06 HCH. The HCH had more front seat leg room and head room. The backseat in the Prius had the edge for leg room. What I find interesting is that the new HCH is 1/2" longer (total car) and has the same wheelbase as the Prius. How do they figure the class of cars - "Compact" vs "Midsize"?
The Prius has some really nice features - sounds like you are pleased. I chose the HCH mainly because of the view out the back window, the styling, and the driver's seat height adjustment. I'm 5'3'' my wife 5'2", so we like to see over the hood! I think both Honda and Toyota are to be comended for taking the lead. Where are the US auto companies? Buying Toyota's Generation 1 techonology (Ford Escape) is not what's good for this county. Best wishes with your Prius, I'm enjoying my HCH.

 

Yes I am pleased with my 04, I have heard mixed reviews on the 06's I would like a Tundra Hybrid.... The next car I will get the wife will be a Camry or the Accord.

As for class sizes thats a good question...

Also My old saying over the years was "Buy American the job you save may be your own"

I have found the american made big three auto manufacturers just dont make as a reliable products as honda, toyota & nissan
I guess you could say ive been converted to imports only.. lol

 

Funny, I just typed something on a GM blog that said much the same thing. I bought the Civic, as I posted earlier in the thread, because it is very much the same to drive as the non-Hybrid Civic. No futuristic TV screen instruments, everything clustered together in front of the driver. Some of these reasons are also why I probably wouldn't buy the '06 Civic as a first choice.

I have found the fit, finish, quiet, and comfort of the '04 Civic to be far superior to any GM I've ever owned. And those include a '64 Nova wagon, a '64 BelAir, a '68 BelAir wagon, a '72 Impala convertible (with the gull wing roof), a '77 Chevette (came closest to the Civic in fit, finish, and comfort), a '82 J2000 wagon (Sunbird/Cavalier), an '83 Cavalier hatchback, and I've driven even more that my parents have owned including 3 Astro/Safari vans, 2 full size pickups, an '84 Caprice wagon, and 1 Ford, an '89 Taurus wagon (which was the worst car they ever owned). The closest GM has come to the Civic in terms of comfort, fit, finish, and quiet is the Chevette for a smaller car, and the '05 Safari van (which gets worse V6 mileage than it's larger V8 powered sibling). The only thing that would get me back now is a Civic sized REAR WHEEL DRIVE station wagon with hybrid technology! Since a snowball in hell is far more likely, Honda will have to actively work to get rid of me as a customer.

 

• Longer waiting list
• More $$$ added on for market adjustments
• Unwanted accessories added by dealership
• Treated badly by Toyota dealership
• HCH (IMHO) better looking car

Don

'06 HCHII no navi Mag Pearl.