So I, like most people, are very gas conscious these days. I have an old 98 Chevy Blazer that gets roughly 20 miles to the gallon and is up there in miles. So I went looking for fuel economic cars....came down to 2 that I was deciding between...Toyota's Prius Hybrid and the Honda Civic Hybrid. Need I tell you that there is quite a long wait list to buy on both of these hybrid cars. It seems that alot of people are thinking like I am and have read the consumer reports on both. They are not quite in the same class due to size but are not far apart from a price point of view! Have any of you been doing the same and what are your findings? What are your thoughts between Toyota and Honda in general?
Lets keep the bashing to a minimum and just give your opinions here please!
BTW: I am leaning towards Honda Civic Hybrid but I need a few convincer's!
I faced the same dilemma about 2 years ago when looking to purchase a hybrid. I have never owned a Honda or Toyota previously (only US and Swedish brands), but I knew regardless of which manufacturer I ended up with I'd have a quality product, which was paramount to me to begin with. Then, as now, there was a waiting list for both the HCH and the Prius, but I ultimately chose the Civic Hybrid for a couple of reasons: I was really smitten with the (then) new Civic body style. I'm one of those that actually like the design of the Prius, but the latest generation Civic just looked better to these eyes. One pro in the Prius column was the extremely useful hatch and fold-down rear seat. The Civic is really hampered by the battery pack located behind the rear seat back which prevents any sort of fold-down/pass-thru option. But, carrying big stuff wasn't really a necessity for me; your situation may differ.
I also had rented a Prius in California and was slightly confounded in just getting the car to move after starting it. Most times, I had to power the car off, then turn it back on just to get the egg-knob gear selector to engage Drive. Very irritating. And that sort of summed up my main dislike of the Prius. It felt very "disconnected" to me. Like I was driving a Mac. I preferred the more car-like feel of the HCH. And, I know much ballyhoo is made about Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive being able to cruise at low speeds on all-electric power (something I can only get my Civic to do when steadily creeping along the interstate in heavy traffic at between maybe 15-22mph), but in daily driving the Prius almost never moved on just volts, at least in any real world useful way. Starting from a red light, anything more than a featherweight, and I mean featherweight, touch of the accelerator would cause the gas engine to chime in. What I thought was a major advantage of the Prius was completely erased. And I'm no leadfoot either. In average driving, that Prius system acted exactly like my Honda's.
Shortly after purchasing the Honda, a friend of mine bought a new Prius. A group of us were driving from Charlotte to Topsail Island, NC (about a 5-hr drive). As some of us were going to the beach on different days due to scheduling conflicts, we had to drive separately. My Prius friend and I decided we'd have a little "hybrid-off" to see who'd get the better mileage (almost all highway miles). We both started off with full tanks of gas, a solo driver, and one suitcase. Weather was the same on each day we traveled. She got 57.8mpg in the Prius, and my HCH got 58.7. Now, that's splitting hairs, but since she's a very competitive person, I had to relish the moment.
Bottom line is that both are great high-tech, quality vehicles and you'll win with either choice. I'd suggest that you test drive both, if you haven't already.
I'm interested to hear what you ultimately ended up with. Happy Hyrbiding!
Thanks for the reply. I ended up purchasing the 08 Honda Civic Hybrid w/ nav. It is Magnetic Pearl...(blue-metal grey type of color) I absolutely LOVE the car! I took delivery of it last week.
The story goes like this...the Toyota dealer would never actually give me a final price. I then tried to get a price over the internet and they forwarded me to the same dealer. Still no price. Called around to other Toyota dealers.
Besides the fact that there is like a 3-6 month wait depending on the package that you want, the dealer that I was working with wanted $7,000 over msrp for the Prius. YIKES! I started shopping around with similar results. I shopped and found the HCH and found that is was much cheaper than the Prius and I decided that YES...both would have been good choices but as you said and I totally agree, I like the way the Civic looks much better! There is something about the Prius that I just can't put my finger on but I just don't like it. It might be the shifter on the dash, or it might be the bad view out of the rear hatch window...not sure but I absolutely LOVE the Civic and I'm glad I went with the Honda instead!
As far as not having folding seats or a hatch back for longer items on the Civic, I also still have my 98 Chevy Blazer and I also own a 07 Chevy Silverado...both gas guzlers but I can use either of them if I need to haul something larger. Otherwise, they stay parked in the driveway. My son will eventually get the Blazer in the spring when he is old enough to get his license! I'm looking forward to many years of 40-50+ mpg and a lot more money in my pocket too!
Hej! Very clever decision to by a hybrid. I am considering of a hybrid Jazz that will come on 2010. Very strategic long-term decision. Toyota and Honda are great rivals on the hybrid market. It just depends what brand do you prefer... I prefer Honda a little more, but also Toyota is extremely competitive brand on a hybrid market...
I will vote for Honda. The main argument would be then some guys from some TV program made a journey from London to Ziurich (?) with Toyota Prius (hybrid) and BMW 3 series as I remember. The result was that BMW won with better comfort, lower price and lower fuel consumption.
And if I would have a chance and there would be enough hydrogen around I would buy Honda FCX Clarity - I would love to see faces of Oil magnats who are getting millions of $ for the oil then all peoaple should get those money.
If this is true, but I just could not believe it, than I am even more convinced that Honda will overpass Toyota soon. Anyway, I am a little bit skeptic that BMW 3 series is more economic as Prius (Hybrid). This is about 4l per 100km I think... Comfort is not the question!
O.K I am not an expert, but this just an is impressive result if it is true...
Hi friends
That depends. I looked into this three years ago and decided the Honda Civic Hybrid filled my needs/wants better than the Prius. (Plus I wouldn't have to wait for months - I walked in to the dealer and drove out.)
My (admittedly overly simplistic) opinion was that the Honda Civic Hybrid seemed to be optimized for highway driving and the Prius seemed to be optimized for city driving; that the Honda is mechanically simpler than the Prius; and it simply looks better (i.e., more like a normal car).
My car now has 82,000 miles on it and has not had one problem. My wife liked mine so much we bought her one too
__________________________________________________ ___________
Well, I have no intentions to lie... Several days ago I have seen another series about cars... This time it was Toyota Prius vs some Citroen (diesel) vs some other cars (with small engines). And guess what? Toyota was the the biggest fuel consumer. But they explained the problem - the test was done mostly by driving in highways as I remember. And you can only take advantage of Prius electric motor while driving in the city. It starts using fuel as the main source of energy in highways. So I would sayif you are a city man - try toyota, if not - forget about it.
Anyway, I like Toyota brand, but not Prius - it's only a big marketing thing in my opinion. Honda is far much better.
AutoForums.com is the premier network of enthusiast-owned
enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
We operate more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share
experiences and opinions as a community.
I would buy 
Linear Mode
