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

[Per]

Originally Posted by 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.

40 years ago, that would have been a neat feature. Nowadays, I need my queen- or king-size bed!

[dwdean]

Yes, I drove both.

Admitably I had more seat time in a Prius (I drove my parent's for almost four weeks this winter while visiting for Christmas), but I did give the Honda a fair chance.

I used to drive a Honda Qualude, ere, I mean Prelude. It was actually a good car, but you need to have very small hands if you want to work in the engine compartment, and you need to like surprises....(Yes, that permanently colored by opinion of Honda, it was a cool car, but real pain in the behind at the same time.)

Seriously, the Civic is, well a Civic with a big honkin' battery in it. The car doesn't drive any differently than the conventional Civics and I needed to be reminded of that, as I didn't like it the first time I drove one and seem to have forgotten the fact.

In general the Prius is a better ride, and honestly there's more stuff ther for the money. The Civic is just a Civic with a big battery and a bigger price tag.

Just my two cents...

[NoMoShocks]

I considered the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid for 12,000 miles and about 8 months before buying my 2007 Prius, but I don't recommned this type of serious consideration as it can be more costly way to test drive.

[Voidvoice]

The civic hybrid look sharp and i really like the style. Prius is special it looks like those concept car design that never see in production.
Prius win in every category that matter to me. More room, more storage, better MPG, more color choices (hey you cant beat spectra blue), and Prius can run in electricity only but civic cant ??

At last, i just love hatchback. Wonder why honda has no hatchback... is Fits hatchback?

[F8L]

Originally Posted by Per

40 years ago, that would have been a neat feature. Nowadays, I need my queen- or king-size bed!

I hear ya! I usually have a Cal King but on road trips and work outings a twin-sized thick matress works just fine. I'm only 32 though so I'm sure at some point I'll pay for all my weird sleeping habits. lol

[9G-man]

Back in '06 I seriously considered and extensively test drove the new Civic Hybrid. It's a great car, but the fact it can't travel from a stop on electric only, and everytime you take your foot off the brake the engine starts, I didn't care for. Thus you can't take full advantage of the ICE shutting down in stop and go traffic. Everytime you move forward the littlest bit, the engine starts. That would annoy me.
I know some owners have learned how to let off the brake just enough to let the Civic roll, without letting off enough to disengage autostop. Too tedious, impractical and only possible downhill.
Prius wins!

I have a co-worker that got a civic hybrid, and I taught him how to "glide" and use it's version of "stealth". His average has gone up 10MPG!

[rsforkner]

A couple of years ago I drove the Civic and the Prius and ended up buying a Camry. I read so much on the Net first I though I was going to go blind. After the driving sessions the Prius won hand down.

My research, talks with dealers, and test drives left me with the following:

• The Civic is a Gasoline car with an Electric Boost.
• The Prius is and Electric car with a Gasoline Boost.

Now, two years later, I have my Prius and no regrets.

Bob

[Ichiro]

Interesting points about the drawbacks of the Civic's hybrid drive design, especially compared with that of the Prius...

But Civic's fuel economy is not much lower! (according to the greenhybrid database).

[Patrick Wong]

I did not seriously consider the Civic Hybrid since I believe that the Toyota hybrid design is much more elegant.

I test-drove the current model Civic Hybrid several months ago. I think the handling of that car is superior to Prius. However I cannot stand the fact that the gasoline engine runs at all times while the car is in motion.

[dogfriend]

When my GF was car shopping in 2003, we test drove a HCH. It was ok, but my GF wanted a bigger car, she ended up with an Avalon.

When I was shopping in 2006, I sat in the newly redesigned Civic. My upward visibility was severely restricted to the point that it was not a viable option. Amazingly enough, I was able to fit into the Fit. My GF wanted me to buy one on the spot, but they only had one auto trans car and I wanted to drive a manual before buying.

In addition, I think that the HSD is a much better hybrid design than the IMA design.