Hi Guy’s:

___A 15 - 20’ in an 01-03 Prius? Not a chance. 31.5’ - 33.5’ according to Edmunds (02/03) and Car and Driver (01) respectively.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

That's what I thought. I had heard it had an "amazing" radius and that the HSD Prius was not as good. Apparently it practically is

I think my 15 number must have been a true radius instead of a diameter.

 

I have about 36K miles on my HCH and have to say it is one of the best cars that I have ever owned. Between my fiance and me, we get around 50mpg. The car handles and brakes very well. I recently did a trip from Hudson, NH to Westerly, RI (about 110 miles) in hour and half... and still managed 47mpg. I don't think any other 4 door car can put up those numbers.

People ask how can you justify the extra cost and I always reply, what are you comparing it against? A bottom of the line Civic? If so, it's closer to an EX with all it's features. With the tax credit we are talking about $1K more than a similar equiped car. At current gas rates ($2.00/US gallon) it works out to around 30K miles to get that money back. The rest is gravy.

My only complaints are that I wish it were a hatchback ala prius only keep the conservative civic look as opposed to a futuristic look. Having the battery flat instead of sandwitched between the back seat and trunk offers more flexibility and a lower center of gravity. This will only add to a already good handling car.

Really minor complaint:

Mirror adjustment button should be on driver's door handle instead of its current location.

Really really minor complaint: Honda have decided to expose the engine bay through the front wheel wells. This isn't limited to HCH but several Honda models. I think this is a bad move because all sorts of crap can get in now. Not as bad as I initially thought though.