the pics for what the U.S. civic will look like are here at honda's website.

http://automobiles.honda.com/civics/index.aspx

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcel

Hi Lars-ss:___When I saw the leather seats, I was thinking what the #$%^, is this an 06 HCH I haven’t read or heard anything about … No way, that is the Euro version If they would only let me own the 06 Civic with the upscale leather interior and propelled by the infamous 2.2 L iCDTi, I would be in heaven
___Good Luck ___Wayne R. Gerdes ___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Yes, isn't this whole "one kind of treatment for the Euro and another for the Asian and another for the USA" thing kinda "old fashioned" to anyone else but me?

I think it is very sad and silly and in some cases darn near criminal for the companies to do this crap.

I realize they are trying to "fit" the cars into the preferences of the different cultures, but sometimes it just borders on ridiculous !!

For example - not giving the USA Priuses the "EV Mode" button. What on EARTH could Toyota have been thinking? That USA drivers are "too stupid" to know how to use that button wisely, but people in other countries can figure it out just fine? That kind of thinking by the car companies can sometimes be SO FAR off base !!

I mean, I completely understand the Euro emissions versus the USA Emissions, and the differing safety features and requirements of each area, etc.

But FEATURES and the inside look and the "creature comforts" of the cars should NOT differ country by country or continent by continent !! If it looks nice and works well for Londoners, it's going to look nice and work well for San Diegans, is it not?

I mean, look at that picture of that HCH interior - it's BEAUTIFUL !! Is the USA version of the HCH gonna look that good? I doubt it. It might look good, but I did not see a leather-wrapped steering wheel on the pics of the USA version of the HCH. Why a difference like that? Are USA drivers not "deserving" of a leather-wrapped steering wheel?

It just peeves my pet to no end !!! GGGRRR !!!!!

 

I never understood that either, especially with the pretty minor things, like the Prius I in Canada came with cruise control standard, but the US version didn't even have it as an option! Very strange indeed.

 

Here are pics of the 2006 HCH (USA), including interior. The blue on ivory interior (which looks upscale and totally cool) is available with the Alabaster Silver and Magnetic Pearl (graphite renamed?) exterior colors only. Looks like I might be looking at the silver for a second car early next year. The graphite just doesn't do it for me.

http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-ar...icle_id=396474

 

Man I cannot get over that interior...I just LOVE it !! Not as nice a the Euro one though - Honda, where's my leather wrapped steering wheel and 6-speed manual tranny !!?!?!?!?

 

Also note the small quarter windows beside the dash (not functional, but kinda retro modern). Having a huge analog tach front and center and a digital speedo on top is curious...do HCH drivers ever really look at the tachometer (I don't in my HAH). At least the wheels would be easy to clean

 

I can't urge you enough to rent the 2005 HCH and the 2005 Prius and see for yourself what the cars are like. I am in San Diego and rented both through Fox Rent-A-Car. I know they have an outlet by LAX which has both cars available for rent as well. You can order the cars online from foxrentacar.com.

My own observations were that the Civic got horrible mileage unless you were very careful with how you drove it, whereas the Prius got excellent mileage, even when cruising on the highway at 80-90mph. Edit: Some HCH owners will argue vehemently about this, but on this forum you can see many owners complaining about 34mpg averages with the car.

That said, I expect the 2006 HCH to get similar mileage to the Prius, so I myself will be waiting for it to be released, which should happen on October 5th. I recommend you do the same simply because it's only a month away, but in the meantime you should rent those other cars and play around with them.

 

I'm surprised you don't know this. This was necessary to meet emissions requirements or something along those lines... basically, the guidelines for testing cars were sort of messed up by the ability to switch to pure electric mode at will, so that was disabled for technical reasons. There's nothing wrong with getting it re-enabled as some have done, it just can't officially be supported in this country.

But obviously the reasons for not including leather would be more arbitrary. Remember that the Accord Hybrid comes in leather, and only leather. Personally I hate leather so I'm really glad the HCH is cloth... and I know I'm not alone. I guess Honda is targetting different markets between the Civic and Accord.

I've never been to Europe, but don't people tend to drive cheaper cars there than in the U.S.? Maybe the Civic isn't viewed there as the practical boring car it tends to be viewed as here.

 

The 06 Civic Hybrid is not gonna come in a manual.

3 adults would be VERY cramped in the back of an 05 Civic. I guess it depends on how big the kids are that you are hauling around. Best advice yet came from the guy who suggested renting them all before you buy. Great idea that one.

I love my 05 HCH, it was cheaper, I didn't get stuck on some waiting list, and the bugs were mostly out of the HCH by 05. I like the less complicated system Honda uses in the Civic. The HCH will run without the main pack, no problem. The Toyota is fantastic but is quite a bit more complicated and pretty much every single part must be in good working order or the car ain't gonna run. For example there is no mechanical reverse in a Prius, it is a pure electric operation. I believe that the Prius is a bit better car so long is it is new and working great. Over time I thing that the manual tranny Hondas will be a better value (could be wrong). Personally I don't care for Honda's belt and pulley CVT so for me the 06 HCH is out. This is a matter of taste, if you like CVT go for it, I'm not the one buying the car after all.

 

OOOOh I just checked out the link: http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-ar...icle_id=396474 and the real time milage display looks like it has not been improved for the 06 HCH. In fact it kinda looks like it might be worse with only zero, 50 and 100 mpg ticks. Yuck!