Buying issues

Having bought 4 Prius cars, I was looking forward to buying the 4G Prius. That is, until I saw the pricing.

I am safety conscious and wanted the Toyota Safety Sense package that included blind spot monitoring, accident avoidance, radar cruise control, etc. I was holding out for a Three with the Toyota Safety Sense added on. I could not find one online, so my only option as others have noted was to go to a Prius 4 for $30K--more than I wanted to spend.

I opted out for a 2016 Honda Civic Touring model. This (like Toyota) is the Civic's top-of-the line model with Honda's safety package included. I tried to get the package on a lower trim line, but no such luck.

The bottom line was that the Civic was $3000 less than the Prius. I have most of the same technology features, but am not getting the great Prius MPG rating. The Honda's MPG averages 35 with a highway of 41. Not bad for a gas-only engine.

For what I am saving, I can afford the lower MPG and still be ahead.

 

it's not about the money.

 

Perhaps to elaborate on bisco's point , in a low-price gasoline environment there really isn't a direct payback on hybrids. Hybrid buyers tend to be interested in the technology and how to use it to maximize fuel efficiency (there aren't many hyper-miling hobbyists in F-150s), and many want to encourage development of that technology for broader adoption with an eye toward improved fleet MPG and the consequent environmental benefits. I'd never argue that those concerns should be top of mind for all buyers (I'll leave that to more political types), but those factors do add to the value of the Prius for many that choose it. Many others like the driving characteristics of electric motors, and prefer a driving experience that's as electrified as possible (I'm in that camp - my other car is a full-on BEV).

In fairness, a comparison to the Civic isn't really apples to apples, since the Prius is actually a larger car in terms of capacity. This is a common mistake in the mass media, who often do price comparisons of the Prius to, e.g., the Corolla, which is just as unwarranted. The Prius is very space efficient, so while its footprint might be similar to a Civic, its interior volume is closer to that of an Accord (the Prius actually has slightly more interior volume than the mid-size Nissan Altima). Taking that into consideration, if you really got a comparable conventional vehicle, you'd have to spend more money and get worse gas mileage compared to a Civic (e.g., an Accord LX w/Honda Sensing is about $25k and gets 27city/37hwy). None of these cars match up exactly, of course, but my point is that it's never hard to find less car for less money, so no news there.

 

It's funny the common comparison I see often with the Prius is the Honda Fit. Maybe because they are both hatchbacks?

 

Well there are many reasons for hybrids, I mean I appreciate all higher gas mileage cars but the ability to use less limited resources and to have fewer CO2 emissions is my primary reason for looking at a Prius.

 

That comparison's mainly about fuel economy, since the Fit is so efficient (a co-worker of mine gets close to 40 MPG, beating the EPA numbers). But in terms of utility, the comparison is at least as inappropriate as with the Civic. The Fit is also very space efficient, but in that case it's done to fit Civic-type space into a smaller footprint. It's a great car and I think a great value, but it's not a Prius. Again, less car for less money.

 

Agree had a 2nd generation Fit car handle great when slightly lowered and a 6 speed manual that shifted as good or if not better than my Miata. Yet for the top of the line model was very spartan , no height adjustment on the driver's seat, no outside temperature reading, no blue tooth, seats that the fabric was lacking, etc. But overall a great car.

 

As far as the interior volume goes, the Civic beats the Prius at 95.0 to 93.1 cu. ft. which is negligible. But the Prius wins hands down when you figure in cargo volume (24.6 to 14.7 cu. ft.) since it is a hatchback.

 

Hmm. I was using the EPA interior volume numbers reported on edmunds.com, which were quite a bit higher for both cars, suggesting a different methodology? What numbers are you using?