COMPARISON - '08 Civic Hybrid vs. Prius

The real question is what is important for your friend.
Some low hanging fruit are the size and style of vehicle.

The Prius is larger than the Civic.
The Prius is a hatchback, the Civic is a sedan.

These are usually two pretty important factors and separate people into one of the two vehicles.

In other general ways they are similar.
They both get good gas mileage.
They both cost in the $20K range.

 

I bought a 2006 Civic Hybrid and took it on a 12,000 mile test drive before I got my Prius which now has close to 30,000 miles. For me, there is no comparison. From my perspective as a just under 6 ft tall male, Prius has more leg room and head room for from and rear passengers. Your friend should climb in and out of each car ten times in a row to see if they feel like they are crawling out of a pit to get out of either car.

Civic cargo capacity is very limited with battery behind the back seat, extending upward to the rear window shelf. The seat cannot fold down like an all gasoline Civic.

The Hybrid system is less integrated. More of an electric assist for a conventional gasoline power train. The ICE only shuts down when the car is at a complete stand still. Will stay on if you are continuously creeping ahead such as waiting for metering lights.

The Civic might be better for those who have mostly short trips, but it is not optimized to provide better city mileage than highway after the initial warm up like a Pirus. I averaged around 38 MPG and best was all highway about 46. With my Prius, I can easily average 48 with all my combined driving. I go over a couple of big hills each day from near sea level to about 1000 feet.

Some say the Civic handles better, but after a few simple modifications, I believe the Prius can handle as well or better than a stock Civic, and I believe Prius has slightly more get up and go without enering the Sceeming stage of opperation.

In summary, Pius has more room and versatility. Civic may be better if most driviing is very short 5-10 minute trips or if more asteticly pleasing to buyer. Your friend should try to rent one of each for at least a day long test drive over a minimum 1 hour extedned road trip.

 

You're obviously going to get Prius-biased responses here. However, there are a couple of things that some people consider positive about the Civic. One is the more "traditional" styling (i.e. it doesn't "look like a hybrid," whatever that means). This is not something that is matters for me, but there are definitely people who feel that way. Another thing which I actually like about the Civic is that it has more "knobs and buttons" for controlling things like the climate control and the stereo. I like the Prius's MFD for some things, but I'm not crazy about it for the climate control.

Better things about the Prius include better gas mileage, more cargo space (a virtue of the hatchback), and a more versatile interior in general (i.e. you have the ability to fold down seats to increase cargo room).

 

ericbecky,

I am a proud PRIUS owner. I looked at the CIVIC too. I was a long-time HONDA owner until they started acting like GM in their design and marketing.

1) The CIVIC is advertised to shut off the engine at stops, but on my test drive this never happened. I do a lot of stop and go driving, or what they call traffic jam, so this feature in the PRIUS is way cool.

Also, when my baby is being difficult and I do not want to get him out of the car. My wife can run into the store and get something while I run the AC with the engine off. In the shade, I can have the AC running 15 - 20 min. without the engine turning on.

2) IMA information sucks if you like to know how your gas mileage is doing. There is no information like on the PRIUS, that is unless they have changed it for the 08.

3) CIVIC has a great clear and clean instrument display. Colorful and in front of you. I feel like a jet pilot in the driver's seat. PRIUS display is also in front of you, but just not as colorful.

4) PRIUS audio is far superior. The CIVIC sound system sounds flat and no bass response.

5) The back-up camera on the PRIUS is great if you have lots of kids in the neighborhood or in the parking lots. When I am trapped between two large SUVs, the camera has a wide enough angle lens that I can see people in the video (MFD screen) way before I would have seen them by turning around.

6) Far more people drive the PRIUS, means more trained techs, more mods, more stuff for your ride.

7) People asked about your PRIUS more than the CIVIC because they cannot distinguish a CIVIC hybrid from a regular CIVIC easily.

Hope this helps. Again a little biased, but I plugged the CIVIC a little too.

 

Once the car is warmed up, the engine will shut off once you hit 7 mph(when slowing down). I drive in warmer climates, so I dont know how well it works in sub-zero temperatures. If you want to creep though, it starts back up again and doesnt shutoff until u hit 7 or 8 mph again. So it sucks if you are in traffic because its going to shutdown and startup and shutdown and startup. If you dont slow down all the way, then the start of the engine is very abrupt.

Trips A and B have the mpg display. I use trip A for long term mpg display, and trip B for tank mpg (this allows me to be fairly accurate in knowing how much gas I have left, hows your bladder doing?)

o hell no, I dont think so. If you want bass response, well you need to tweak with the settings and increase it. The sound system is by far superior to the prius, but that is going of the fact if you have the HCHII with the nav and the prius with package #5. With the nav, the audio is seemlessly integrated into the nav, you get a slot for a compact flash to store your music, and the display is uncluttered like the prius.

To add, the alpine navigation is BY FAR superior to the prius. If you are getting the prius, skip out on the navigation cause it sucks.

Other than that, the prius gets better gas mileage, as much as 10-15% or more. It has more room, so more versatile. It has the smart key system (although I dont like it at all, I much prefer the regular key ignition system). Its also a better hybrid with much faster acceleration and a smoother transmission at lower speeds.

 

What about the style of the interior? I have heard many people, in conversation, agree with me that the style of the Prius interior looks "weird." Not that weird is a bad thing, but I hope the next Prius that comes out has a "normal" shaped/designed dashboard. (maybe something that looks more like the Corolla, lol.)

 

I guess before I get into all the technical details like IMA versus HSD, which carshuts off when, the consumption screens, etc, I try to get some basic understanding of what people are looking for in a vehicle.

I can easily overload people with all the nitty gritty details, but the reality is, many people just need the high level details when making their decisions.

 

Prius can be loaded with Lexus features, if that matters.

Voice Command
Me: "Seventy two degrees."
Sexy Prius Lady: "Setting temperature to 72 degrees."
Me: "I'm hungry."
Sexy Prius Lady: "System is showing restaurant icons."
Me: "I love you."
Sexy Prius Lady: "Pardon."

 

A true comment, about putting "lexus" upgrades in the Prius. I wanted a "luxury" vehicle and the Prius can be ordered that way, while the Civic cannot

 

My GF has a non-hybrid Civic. It's a very nice relatively inexpensive car. My impression is that paying any premium for Honda's mild hybrid version is not worth it. It doesn't offer much improvement in fuel economy, and with a conventional transmission it does not have the Prius's reliability advantage.

 

The Civic hybrid looks like a Civic. The Prius hybrid looks like a--Prius. More distinctive. I also prefer the hatchback for storage, and the car sits surprisingly high, with an excellent road view--not quite SUV, but higher than many passenger cars.

 

I dont know, I would have to disagree with this statement.

EPA for:
Regular Civic AT: 25/36
Hybrid Civic: 40/45

So there is about a 9 mpg difference on the HWY, and 15 mpg difference in the city. With the full gov rebate, the premium at least for me was <$1000. Without the rebate, I would have to agree, its not worth it. If acceleration is also an issue, its not worth it either, the civic hybrid is SLOWWWWW!!!!!!

 

I'm sorry, the Prius can't even get close to being considered a a luxury vehicle! The original Prius was based on the Toyota Echo, a very primitive car, and the chassis is still much the same. The mileage display on the Prius is neat, but it belongs in front of the driver, not in the middle. Putting it in the middle makes it cheaper and easier to make right- and left-hand drive cars--a big concession for the driver's environment.
The Civic is in the same category as the Corolla--a step up from the now defunct Echo. The Yaris took the place of the Echo, and it, like the Echo, gets poor evaluations in all car magazines.
The seats are far superior in the Civic, as is the cockpit--the instruments are where they belong-in front of the driver. The nav system is also superior, and don't have the annoying trait of not being able to use it when driving. We also have a Tundra with nav system, and are familiar with it--still like Honda's system better.
The Prius is in dire need of a telescopic steering wheel--The Civic puts the wheel in a very comfortable position.
The Prius does have much better utility with the hatch, and I actually like the exterior of the Prius better than the Civic. But since we have the truck, cargo capacity for us is immaterial.
As far as mileage goes, I can milk 60+ MPG out of the Civic when I try, but with fairly normal driving, we get 45-48 MPG out of it. We got 48 MPG on a Prius rental in Las Vegas, so the difference is not that great. However, in stop-and-go traffic, the Prius does have an advantage.
If Honda is smart, they'll double the HP of the motor, and figure a way to leave the engine off at slow speeds, and the Civic will get about the same mileage as the Prius.
I will be anxously be waiting to see if the next Prius will fix the issues with the current model, and what Honda will counter it with.
In the meantime, we are very happy we chose the HCH over the Prius this time around.

 

seriously a lot of people think the civic looks WAY better than the prius. i personally think the civic looks better too. and yes someone like the unique and futuristic look of the prius so both cars have their own fans.

i checked out the civic hybrid when i was shopping too and its a very nice car. but we ended up buying the prius because its a better package overall. it offers more features and mileage for the price than the HCH. and it has all the "Lexus" like luxury feature. however i just put down a deposit for a civic.

i just totalled my old accord (it was burned to its death..... :hurt and i need a car like NOW. and i want something fuel efficient and affordable.. so i went with the civic. this time i don't need any fancy options. just a transportation gets me from point A to point B. and now honda is offering 1.9% financing for 36 months for all civics. thats the primary reason that i bought one. (1.9% for civic vs standard rate for prius.. about 7%), and the civic has a shorter waiting period than the prius. (12-18 weeks for the prius vs 4-8 weeks for the civic). the civic might have less MPG but we're still talking about 40/45 mpg...

so.. if you want a hybrid without waiting for months, and if you want low APR financing, and dont mind sacrificing some mpg.. the civic is the one. my toyota dealer is now selling the prius at MSRP.. while i slashed $1300 off MSRP for my civic... i dont know if they're still willing to negotiate now.. well good luck on ur friend's purchase!

 

keypoint credit union offers 5.24% with their Green vehicle program KeyPointcu.com - Loans - Green Vehicle Program, so you can get the prius as low as 5.24%. In the bay area california, most honda dealers are 2K Plus MSRP on HCH and MSRP on Prius currently, if that matters to anyone. that extra 2k plus I hate the hesitation in the HCH when it switches from electric to gas (at least in my test drive) swung us to the Prius. We paid slightly less then MSRP, the honda guys wanted 2k plus additional stuff on the HCH.

 

The Prius may be based on the Echo but it's end result has definitely surpassed the Corolla and Civic. Much stiffer chassis, much more room inside than the Civic that it is classified as mid-size- in the same league as the Camry and Accord, and way more electronics/luxuries than Echo, Yaris, Corolla or Civic. Lexus luxuries? For one, the 04-05 Prius uses the exact navigation brain (part# 86841-50090) found on the 05 LS430 and 05-06 SC430. Bluetooth, etc. This is no Echo or Yaris dude.

 

I thought I was going to buy a Civic Hybrid because I didn't like the look of the Prius. I figured I wanted a normal sedan look.

I started reading about transmission issues on the Civic Hybrid "cone and pulley" CVT. Then I wondered why the Civics were rusting on the lot (here in Canada) and the Prius's were flying off the lots.

So I decided to overlook the Prius looks and fell for the economy, reliability, technology. In Canada is $26k for Civic Hybrid base, and $29.5k Prius base. But that $3.5k buys a MUCH better vehicle IMO.

I love the look from the side. The other angles, I'm getting used to. At least with Black the rear doesn't look as funny, IMO. It took me a while to come to terms with the rear-end on my old 94 Stealth as in my avatar too...

 

The Prius is generally a better vehicle. The Civic has great handling and acceleration but the hybrid Civic gives up some of both due to its increased weight, tire choice and smaller engine. The Civic has one advantage that I can see that may not be reflected in the EPA numbers.

The Civic hybrid uses a smaller engine and has very little degradation in efficiency due to speed other then wind resistance. The Prius does have a depredation in efficiency that becomes quite pronounced at 75mph or greater due to the way the gearset works. So if you are going to speed at 75mph or greater as the vast majority of your driving the civic may give you better mpg. Its probably just better not to speed!

 

I tried out the Honda Accord Hybrid. The engine start up and shut down and no hatchback sent me back to Toyota Prius very quickly when I bought my second Prius.

I have hauled my Honda lawn mower in my Pruis. I have brought home a new recliner. I have brought home a larger flat screen TV. I haul five 5 gallon jugs of water without folding down the rear seats. And the list goes on and on. I love my hatchback. There is no comparing it to a Civic except for MPG.