HCH V. Prius

I tested the HCH extensively before I bought my Prius. While I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of room in the HCH considering my height, (6'2"), I couldn't embrace the idea of being trapped in it for long trips.

The layout of the Prius gave me the FEELING of having more space - perhaps because of the free flow of the passenger compartment into the hatch area.

There were a few other benifits that came together to make me shake loose more $ for the Prius over the HCH, one being the tires. The Prius ride, once the novelty of the constant negotiations of the HSD managing power wear off, is much more car-like. I just drive it, and once in a while remember to see how I am doing MPG wise. I have even run it out of gas, and I know my fellow chatters will adamently state that you should never do this, but it was late at night and there was no traffic, and I limped 2 miles to a gas-station going 20MPH. The car complained constantly but survived my irresponsible test!

My short opinion is, if you find that you have outgrown the HCH you will be perfectly happy moving into a Prius.

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MASS LIC: GENER 8

 

I agree with Evan. Keep the car. When items start breaking... Transmission.. battery dies, etc... then make the switch.

I would hope they made the battery system in the civic better then the insight. Insights have been reported to die. poor things. You do have warranties though.

Switch with the next prius model. you have about 3 years

 

I got into a 'discussion' of the city mileage over at Yahoo, and finally noticed that one person who was getting 61MPG also had a 35 mile 1-way drive to work. My 8-mile drive isn't doing me better than 44MPG now, and maybe 49 tops in better weather.

That said, my next trip to Florida should again be with one tank and 54MPG, unless my karma is down. THAT is over the EPA estimate, which is why I refer to my car as a trip-mobile...

 

Actually, depending on your driving, you certainly can get 55MPG. I get anywhere from 53-57 MPG driving mostly 50 miles averaging 45 MPH with stops about every 2 - 5 miles.

Depends on driving speed, distance per trip, and weather conditions.

But I would agree, unless you are looking to upgrade class of car, as in deciding between an Accord hybrid or a Prius, keep your car. You still have very low mileage, and the gas savings will not recoup purchase costs.

 

If I had a HCH right now, I wouldn't be in a rush to get a Prius.

First, because the HCH is a prefectly good car, and if it's serving your purpose there's no need to go to the expense of changing. The mileage difference is, really, pretty marginal compared to acquisition costs (Even if it isn't as Green as the Prius )

But, second, because Honda is re-designing both the regular Civic and the HCH. They have promised that the next-gen HCH, presumably out next year, will be a major improvement over the current one. Given Honda's skills, I don't doubt it.

So, if it was me, I'd wait a year, then ask the question "Prius-II or HCH-II?".

I suspect the HCH-II will be quite a vehicle.

 

I think I know how you feel. I had a 2004 Honda Civic hybrid which was a wonderful car. However, the Prius is much more car in most every way than the Honda. The Honda was a comfortable car for the front seat folks but not in the back. The trunk being so small and the back seats not folding down for long loads made it extremely unhandy. My 2005 Prius gets 50 mpg easily and has the hatch back w/ huge back seats and lots of knee room front and back and rides very cushy compared to the Honda. I agree that you wont make up the difference in gas mileage for a while but you will like the car much better and have a much greater value. I would go for it if it meets your budget.

 

Just to add some data. I drove from Melbourne, FL to Atlanta, GA last month. Total distance was 1080 miles. I used one tank going and one tank returning. My overall average was 54.1 MPG. That's combined driving, but mostly highway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boots\";p=\"73579)</div>

Just wanted to point out that your average of 44.5 is 7% less than the advertised MPG, whereas for the Prius 49 is 11% less than its advertised average.

However, your experience with the HCH seems to be considerably better than "typical" real-world values, which are estimated to be something like 20% less than EPA mileage. So there's a significant chance that you may get better than 49 MPG in a Prius.

Based on your 7% drop from EPA in the HCH, you might, for example, achieve mileage in the range of 51 MPG in the Prius, assuming similar driving styles.

So you might want to test yourself in a Prius for a few days (rent one?) before making this particular judgement. Even that's somewhat flawed, because I would expect that the most efficient driving styles for the two cars are probably quite different, considering the differences in how they work.

 

The only other advantages of the Prius over the HCH are:

• The Prius is a hatchback
• Lower emissions on the Prius (though relatively small difference when compared to a HCH
  • 
    And I'm with Evan -- I'd stick to your guns. That's a very nice car.
    
    (I need to do a search -- has it been confirmed whether the HCH II will be another "mild" hybrid, or whether it will be a full hybrid? (Or something else in-between?))

 

The New HCH will certainly be IMA technology like all the Hondas.

However, there is a hatchback body coming in the new Civic line, and with any luck they'll offer that in the HCH

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus\";p=\"73687)</div>

Good move Honda! First smart move they've made in some time.

 

Here are pictures of the 2006 HCH:

Temple of VTEC Rumors

 

Boots;

many are in the same boat as i am and that is

"in my real world" i do average the EPA estimates. winter time is lower because of the different formulation of the gasoline. but last fall i had 5 tanks in a row that exceeded the EPA of 55 mpg. that eliminates errors resulting from different levels of the fillups.

my driving habits, we have freeways that vary from 55 to 70 mph. on the 70 mph road i drive 70. on all others i usually do 65 (yes even on the 55 mph ones)
now frequently, traffic dictates the real speed, but i am not putterer by any means. there were times, i admit, last summer right after i got my car where i made excuses to go somewhere. (before you jump on me realize, it was at or near 100º and i dont have air conditioning in my home, so the car was a HUGE relief) but you will find that 59 mpg on the streets will be nearly impossible to hit and 51 mpg on the freeway will be nearly impossible to miss.

but the bottom line is that i have to agree with others on this forum. unless you need another car in addition to your HCH, it would not be wise to buy. imho, the Prius is head and shoulders above the HCH, but at the same time, the HCH has the same advantage over nearly any other small commuter car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ml194152\";p=\"73783)</div>

Nice! If I hadn't been set on the Prius, this would have gotten me to trade in the '87 Civic DX hatchback.

From the pictures, I like the looks of it more than my current compact hatchback favorite, the Suzuki. (And I'd have a lot more confidence in the reliability of the Honda than the Suzuki to boot.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bookrats\";p=\"73668)</div>

That is not true.

SULEV is significantly cleaner than ULEV.

Quite a number of traditional vehicles offer ULEV too, over 90 in fact. So the belief that the Civic-Hybrid is doing anything to help the smog problem is incorrect. There is an exception though, there is a SULEV version of Civic-Hybrid CVT available in certain areas (like CA & NY). But Honda's refusal to offer the SULEV nationwide and the continued support for the ULEV version is big negative, something I'm very upset about. Perhaps, they will improve in 2006.

Accord-Hybrid is only available as ULEV. Prius, Escape-Hybrid, RX400h, and Highlander-Hybrid are all SULEV (or cleaner).