Went for the Civic Hybrid Instead

eaflorida · 01-08-2006, 11:58 AM

I was in-line on a waiting list for a 2006 package 7 Prius, but decided instead to opt out for the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. I added an xm radio package to my 06 Civic Hybrid which included their navigation system - at a cost of 24,500. I did not get the backup camera that the Prius offers, and my seats do not fold back. But, I have to tell you that the 06 Civic is a greatly improved Hybrid over their earlier models, and I think very comparable (and cheaper with the NAV) to the Prius. It was also named motortrends car of the year.

The voice activated Nav system is awesome. You can call out commands to change radio stations, set your thermostat, and of course find routes for you with the GPS. Another fantastic feature the car has is its ability to accept a scandisk flash card to play audio mp3 and WMA files. This literally allows you to look at your music folders on the Nav System, and track and play your songs by title or artist. I actually was able to record around 660 songs from my windows media player onto my scandisk pc compact flash card.

My first tanks gas mileage was 50MPG, although I do tend to drive slow on the highways to get that mileage. By slow I mean 55-60MPH. The mileage tends to drop into the mid to upper 40's when I go 70-75MPH.

Anyway, I do not regret switching from the Prius to the Civic Hybrid. I saved a few bucks and I really like my new car. I should get an estimated 2,100 tax credit which is less than the 3,150 from the Pruis, but I am happy with my decision.

Good luck to all.

**Tideland Prius** · 01-08-2006, 12:04 PM

Congrats on your purchase! Keep us informed with HCH quirks and such, we'd love for you to stay.

tumbleweed · 01-08-2006, 12:08 PM

Well I love my Prius but I think you have a good car also. I've always liked Hondas and bought a new Prelude and a new Accord in years past.

Log on back here at PC and let us know how the HCH works out for you, what your mileage is after breakin etc.

silentak1 · 01-08-2006, 12:22 PM

Excellent choice! The HCH is definetely a huge step from its predecessor.

GreenMachine · 01-08-2006, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by silentak1@Jan 8 2006, 12:22 PM
Excellent choice! The HCH is definetely a huge step from its predecessor.

[snapback]185970[/snapback]

I am very interested in the HCH mpg performance on short trips and in cold weather? Let us know if it takes a major mpg hit as the Prius seems to do?

pfile · 01-08-2006, 12:49 PM

my dad got one of these (06 HCH) at about the same time i got my prius. (a couple of weeks ago)

my subjective opinion is that the civic's ride is a little "tighter"... the road feel is a little better and i dont think the power steering has as much boost.

i drove it to work 2 days in a row (42 mile freeway trip) and got about 43MPG. the prius did about 47MPG on the same stretch.

the honda system is a lot more straightforward as far as the electric motor goes, but it does have an honest-to-gosh CVT which could be trouble.

the ICE start/stop is a little more obvious, since it has to start the ICE immediately when you start moving. and a couple of times in stop and go traffic it got a little confused and was thrashing on the ICE start/stop.

overall i do like the prius better, but the civic is probably a better value.

fishertheband · 01-08-2006, 01:12 PM

Well written. Sort of like a 'personalized' press release.

DaveinOlyWA · 01-08-2006, 01:53 PM

congrats on your car! ill be honest with ya... i dont consider the HCH as a betrayal. its target market is the same. i'd rather see you in that then even a Highlander.

glad to hear about the card function. do you have BT phone function? i was hoping that the Prius would have a memory card function in later models that would save ALL car settings.

hear too much about people who load up ph and Nav info, then have their 12 v battery die and lose everything. that is pretty poor planning on Toyota's part. a card inserted to backup that data should have been part of Toyota's maintenance plan.

QED · 01-08-2006, 02:34 PM

You got a nice car. I really like the idea of the compact flash card feature. I don't have an Ipod, but I have a bunch of CF cards!. Now why didn't Toyota think of that! :P

I looked at the Civic Hybrid also, and if the local Honda dealer was a little better (make that a lot better), it would have been a tougher choice.

With my new Prius, I now own both a Toyota and an older Honda. No problem, they get along just fine. The Honda does not seem to be jealous of the Prius at all.

odamone · 01-08-2006, 05:15 PM

i absolutely agree with this assessment -- my exact same impression of the HCH

Quote:

Originally posted by pfile@Jan 8 2006, 12:49 PM
my subjective opinion is that the civic's ride is a little "tighter"... the road feel is a little better and i dont think the power steering has as much boost.

the honda system is a lot more straightforward as far as the electric motor goes, but it does have an honest-to-gosh CVT which could be trouble.

the ICE start/stop is a little more obvious, since it has to start the ICE immediately when you start moving. and a couple of times in stop and go traffic it got a little confused and was thrashing on the ICE start/stop.

overall i do like the prius better, but the civic is probably a better value.

[snapback]185986[/snapback]

01-08-2006, 01:53 PM	#8
DaveinOlyWA Opps !! I Did it Again!! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: South Puget Sound, WA Posts: 9,544 My Car: 2006 Prius Package: #4 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 5	congrats on your car! ill be honest with ya... i dont consider the HCH as a betrayal. its target market is the same. i'd rather see you in that then even a Highlander. glad to hear about the card function. do you have BT phone function? i was hoping that the Prius would have a memory card function in later models that would save ALL car settings. hear too much about people who load up ph and Nav info, then have their 12 v battery die and lose everything. that is pretty poor planning on Toyota's part. a card inserted to backup that data should have been part of Toyota's maintenance plan. __________________ My 2006: Last tank 463.1 miles @49.2 pump (49.4 computer) 4.22 cpm winter mpg 50.70 summer mpg 54.59 lifetime: 33,038.3 miles 52.79 mpg pump (54.04 mpg computer) 5.74 cpm My 2007 Zenn Driven 5849 miles, 2.00 cpm/ 105 mpg (at $2.05/gal), 4.04 miles/ Kwh Savings over my Prius $300.79 The Corolla...567.79 The REAL SAVINGS from not driving Corolla 657.39 +Prius= 958.18 (excludes maintenance costs...would be unfair to ICE vehicles) My Plate: DUALPWR (Dual Power)

01-08-2006, 02:34 PM	#9
QED Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sunny Hawaii Posts: 267 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	You got a nice car. I really like the idea of the compact flash card feature. I don't have an Ipod, but I have a bunch of CF cards!. Now why didn't Toyota think of that! :P I looked at the Civic Hybrid also, and if the local Honda dealer was a little better (make that a lot better), it would have been a tougher choice. With my new Prius, I now own both a Toyota and an older Honda. No problem, they get along just fine. The Honda does not seem to be jealous of the Prius at all. __________________ "Keys?...We don't need no stinking keys!"

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01-08-2006, 11:58 AM	#1
eaflorida Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 3 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	I was in-line on a waiting list for a 2006 package 7 Prius, but decided instead to opt out for the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. I added an xm radio package to my 06 Civic Hybrid which included their navigation system - at a cost of 24,500. I did not get the backup camera that the Prius offers, and my seats do not fold back. But, I have to tell you that the 06 Civic is a greatly improved Hybrid over their earlier models, and I think very comparable (and cheaper with the NAV) to the Prius. It was also named motortrends car of the year. The voice activated Nav system is awesome. You can call out commands to change radio stations, set your thermostat, and of course find routes for you with the GPS. Another fantastic feature the car has is its ability to accept a scandisk flash card to play audio mp3 and WMA files. This literally allows you to look at your music folders on the Nav System, and track and play your songs by title or artist. I actually was able to record around 660 songs from my windows media player onto my scandisk pc compact flash card. My first tanks gas mileage was 50MPG, although I do tend to drive slow on the highways to get that mileage. By slow I mean 55-60MPH. The mileage tends to drop into the mid to upper 40's when I go 70-75MPH. Anyway, I do not regret switching from the Prius to the Civic Hybrid. I saved a few bucks and I really like my new car. I should get an estimated 2,100 tax credit which is less than the 3,150 from the Pruis, but I am happy with my decision. Good luck to all.

01-08-2006, 12:04 PM	#2
Tideland Prius Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 13,785 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: B Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 11	Congrats on your purchase! Keep us informed with HCH quirks and such, we'd love for you to stay.

01-08-2006, 12:08 PM	#3
tumbleweed Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Eastern Oregon Posts: 1,005 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Well I love my Prius but I think you have a good car also. I've always liked Hondas and bought a new Prelude and a new Accord in years past. Log on back here at PC and let us know how the HCH works out for you, what your mileage is after breakin etc.

01-08-2006, 12:22 PM	#4
silentak1 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 546 My Car: Other Non-Hybrid Package: N/A Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Excellent choice! The HCH is definetely a huge step from its predecessor.

01-08-2006, 12:49 PM	#6
pfile Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 73 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	my dad got one of these (06 HCH) at about the same time i got my prius. (a couple of weeks ago) my subjective opinion is that the civic's ride is a little "tighter"... the road feel is a little better and i dont think the power steering has as much boost. i drove it to work 2 days in a row (42 mile freeway trip) and got about 43MPG. the prius did about 47MPG on the same stretch. the honda system is a lot more straightforward as far as the electric motor goes, but it does have an honest-to-gosh CVT which could be trouble. the ICE start/stop is a little more obvious, since it has to start the ICE immediately when you start moving. and a couple of times in stop and go traffic it got a little confused and was thrashing on the ICE start/stop. overall i do like the prius better, but the civic is probably a better value.

01-08-2006, 01:12 PM	#7
fishertheband Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 13 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Well written. Sort of like a 'personalized' press release.