coming from honda civic hybrid...

We have a HCH (2005) and it is horrible when compared to the Prius. All the little quirks like the AC not working when the engine shuts off and the absolute lack of power coupled with the rear seats not being able to fold down and you wonder why we even bought them!

Prius is much better overall, and gets better mileage too. Welcome to the club.

 

Oh boy... try telling that to some of the HCH/Insight II fanboys/anti-Toyota folks over on greenhybrid.com...

 

haha me too! Used to own a Civic before it was total loss. Decided to buy a Prius due to its high gas mileage, look, and much better features than any Hondas. (but somehow I decided to keep my screen name from the Civic forum)

 

^We'd eat them for breakfast.

 

You made the right choice finally.
Welcome to our club.

 

That's weird. Why are there no Toyota forums on GreenHybrid? Is that just a site for the car companies trying to play catch up?

 

GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars

 

:welcome:

 

Oh man.... I have owned a lot of cars in my time, and the 2007 HCH I owned was by FAR, the WORST ever. The car drove me nuts. It had zero power and got crappy fuel economy. I really like the interior and having the digital gauge above the steering wheel... etc. But the performance was A W F U L.

:boom:

 

I had my stepfather drive his 05 HCH down from western CO last month so I could either fix his IMA pack or retrofit one with Gen II cells (and have chosen the latter). I sent him my emergency Autel scan tool to reset the DTCs. I told him that if he really babied the car, staying light on the throttle and brakes to avoid heavy boost or regen, it would keep the IMA light from coming on too frequently and thus keep the DC converter running and the 12V charged. The result of the trip was a 49 mpg tank in the middle of winter, his best ever, after 110,000 miles of ownership. No IMA light either.

My sense is that Honda learned next to nothing from all the work on the Insight and just cobbled together the HCH in order to keep existing customers from defecting to Toyota.

Coming from an HCH, you will love the Prius.

On the other hand, I love my Insight. Once the engine is worn out it will become an EV.

 

Its really only americans that equate a hard ride to being sporty...

As for bigger wheels and tires with more grip making a minimal impact on mpg... Ain't gonna happen. That's a contradiction in itself. Bigger wheels alone and you are looking at 2-3mpg hit. Add grippy tires and you just shot under 40mpg more than likely.

There are so many stories of people waiting until gas was "so high" to consider buying a better car, it amazes me. Cheapest petrol in the 1st world and $4/gal makes everyone crazy running out to buy a new car. At least you have the foresight now, and that's all we can hope for.

Anyways, :welcome:

 

Not sure if I would ever classify my Prius's ride as 'soft'. At best firm and jittery at 37/35.

Well, maybe compared to a Mack Truck.

 

I went from an 07 HCH to my 10 Prius as well. Each car has it's pros/cons associated with them. A couple I noticed for me:

- Ride quality: HCH
- FE: Prius
- NAV: HCH (Even despite entering "unverified area" on my way to Cedar Point)
- Handling: HCH
- Headlight access: Prius by a TON
- Storage capacity: Prius
- Acceleration: Prius

Overall, I like the Prius better. Considering the price was idential OTD between the 2 vehicles, I feel the Prius is definitely the better bargain. I always felt the HCH had sufficient power for city driving, the highway is where it really struggled. Maintaining 75mph was like a struggle without pushing the little ICE to its limits. But for the 80%+ of my driving, it did just fine.

To me, the HCH was a regular civic, retrofitted with a smaller engine and IMA.

 

I drove a 2003 HCH and was dealing with a catalytic converter failure that was going to cost me $2400 (dealer price) to replace. This is a recurring problem on the HCHs. A few years back there was a recall for a software update to help preserve the life of the CC, which of course I had done. I was trying to get Honda to cover the cost of replacement. I argued the damage had been done prior to the recall, the recall was done within the warranty period, therefore this should be covered by warranty. The service manager -- literally -- laughed when I told him I expected this to be covered.

Naturally, I was disappointed, and indicated my displeasure on the followup survey. My next time we spoke he was indignant, saying it was MY fault his guys didn't get their bonuses that month!

The following week I bought my 2010 Prius. I've been happy ever since.

In case anyone lives in the area, and drives a Honda, the dealership I dealt with was

Piazza Honda of Pottstown
Service manager: Larry Lilley

Don't go there.

 

I migrated from a '06 HCHII to my Prius. I have seen a few posters here that were on the Civic boards. I put 145,000 miles on my Civic. I liked the car. It never let me down, was low on power to be sure, but all in all it was a good car. It was in to the dealer twice in all the time I had it - both for recalls (should never have taken it back in for the software upgrade) For 2 years I knew the Prius was going to be my next car. The Prius is the best car I have owned (overall, that is. The Subaru WRX was by far the most fun).
I have put a little over 7,000 miles on in the two months I have had it.
This site has been a wealth of knowledge.