Did you consider the Civic Hybrid and why did you pick the Prius?

[mrblaise]

I felt too confined in the Civic. There is much more room for the driver in the Prius, especially on the sides. I felt claustrophobic in the Civic.

[Stev0]

The Prius was actually my second choice. I actually wanted an Insight. Unfortunately, the dealer had no more and it was the last year they made them. I have no regrets with the Prius, however.

[928Quest]

Honda acceleration worse, and I have a fear of large silver "H"'s

[mr_zorg]

Originally Posted by Ichiro

If you seriously considered the hybrid civic, why did you pick the Prius instead? I think I could have gone the other way, especially if the Prius wasn't available or much more expensive. I don't regret buying the Prius, but I wish I had also test driven the civic.

We actually have both, a 2006 Civic Hybrid and a 2006 Prius. Although I like the syling on the Civic better, both my wife and I prefer the Prius. It's roomier, it's more comfortable and it just plain drives better. Since the Civic doesn't run in pure-electric from the get-go, it's not as smooth at low speeds or off the line. The Prius is just more responsive and "zippy" all the way around.

[okiebutnotfrommuskogee]

I owned a 03 Civic Hybrid for almost 5 years. Then one day I had a chance to drive an 07 Prius for a day while my 05 Avalon was in for some warranty work. There was no comparison. To make a long story short, in less than two weeks I had a new 07 Prius and my 03 Civic Hybrid had a new owner. The 0% interest for 24 months helped make the transition an easy one.

[Per]

Originally Posted by richard schumacher

Anticipated reliability. The Civic has a conventional transmission and does not have regenerative braking.

You may be talking about the older generation HCH. The current HCH has a CVT and regenerative braking.

We considered the Prius and chose the HCH instead. The big deal-killers on the Prius were the uncomfortable seats, the far-away steering wheel, better instrument panel, and a much better ride. Mileage is close enough to realistically be a wash, and with the tax rebate, the HCH was at least $5,000 less expensive.

[okiebutnotfrommuskogee]

The first generation HCH had regenerative braking. Mine was the one with CVT, but I wish it had been a 5 speed. The CVT had to be replaced twice. Start-up clutch problems. It was done at no cost so I can't complain about that, but all in all the car was out of service for 21 days.

[Boo]

I considered the Honda Civic Hybrid, but eventually eliminated it because it wasn't a hatchback or wagon.

My final four were the Toyota Prius, Honda Fit, Subaru WRX Wagon and Mini Cooper.

My final two were the Prius and the Fit. I got the Prius because I happened to walk into a Toyota dealer first. The dealer had a Prius in stock in the exact color and package I wanted and at an acceptable price. So I bought it on the spot, and never made it to the Honda dealer up the block.

[Per]

Apparently Richard was wrong then. We have had no issues with the CVT after 9000 miles. However, we're now starting our third week without the car after being rear-ended and pushed into another truck. The rental Altima is just not the same! 32 MPG on the Altima vs. 48 on the HCH!

[F8L]

Utility was my main concern besides the milage. The Prius's hatchback design was perfect my my needs. I smile everytime I blow up the air matress and roll out my bed in the back of the Prius. No way I could do that in the Civic.

The Civic looks nicer and handles a bit better than the Prius but if those were my main concerns I would have kept my GM cars.