age old question: Honda Civic Hybrid vs. Prius

There is no simple answer as you know, here is link 1 for you
Prius vs. Civic: A hood-to-hood comparison of two hybrids - NWautos

 

Deciding factor for me was: the Honda is not a true hybrid. Gas engine is ALWAYS running, always on. Not what I was looking for.

 

I considered the HCH before I bought the Prius. What made the decision for me was, first, the overall superiority of the hybrid system, as Freedom suggests. Other factors were the practicality of the hatchback and the greater rear seat legroom for my tall teenagers.

The Prius wins hands-down on fuel economy in city driving. The two are more closely matched on the highway.

Reliability should be good with either.

 

I had a 2006 Honda Civic which I traded for the Prius so I was able to look at the Civic hybrid before I bought. The big difference is that the Prius is a hatchback (huge space) and the Civic Hybrid does not allow for the seats to go down because of the batteries so you have a trunk and back seat but they do not connect. Even the gas Civics allow that.

 

we're still waiting to get our Prius - this coming week ... maybe??? - but i can share some of our thoughts during the decision-making process.

for us, "city driving" mpg was a HUGE factor for us. as most of our driving is around town AND as our current car gets only 16-19 mpg under those conditions, the Prius - by far! - seems to be the better choice for us; of course, that's assuming the EPA mpg-ratings hold more-or-less true for us ....

as to the "other" from your original post ... how about passenger room, cargo space and cargo space versatility?

we actually looked at the HCH first; mostly because my wife thinks the HCH looks more like a "regular" car ... because she thinks the Prius just looks "weird". while my wife seemed satisfied with the space in the passenger cabin - she's only about 5'-2" in height - there was barely room for my knees in the back seat with the driver's seat positioned where i would want it for driving ... and i'm only 5'-9"! also, my feet were literally wedged between the floor and the bottom of the front seat; no "wiggle room" whatsoever!

with the Prius, my wife immediately noticed the increased interior room ... AND the substantially larger storage space beneath the hatchback; even with back seats up! it was when the sales rep showed her that the back seats - either side OR both sides - could be lowered for even more storage - a VERY "valid" option for us, as we are a family of three - that she started leaning away from the HCH and toward the Prius.

it wasn't long at all - a couple of days after seeing the Prius - that she "confessed" that she agreed with me: for us, the larger passenger cabin, the greater storage space and versatility, and the much better "city driving" mileage justifies the extra $3000 - $6000 on the price-tag ....

 

Just echoing what some of the others have said: we were looking at both vehicles. We are previous Honda owners and would have had no problem with either car. It ultimately came down to the versatility of the hatchback and seat configuration and rear seat room for high school carpooling (other reasons also, these two were some of the major ones). If we were buying solely for commuting and had a higher % of highway, the HCH or new Jetta TDI would have rated higher consideration.

Greg

 

I looked and test drove both vehicles before I bought my Prius. Here is what I found I liked more about the Prius:

Better Hybrid System
Better Fuel Efficiency
More technological (Smart Key, Back Up Camera, MFD)
More cargo space
Hidden Cubby Areas (I have tons of stuff in my car but your couldn't tell by looking insde, looks very clean)

The Civic Hybrid does have the height adjustable seats and telescoping steering wheel which was kinda nice. Both had a nice ride to them. The Prius was a clear winner for me.

 

The Prius is an engineering marvel. Ahead of its time. It beats a Civic--and that is hard to do. Toyota has hit a HR.

 

Check headroom if you are tall and have a long torso. The Civic was not an option for me due to the shape of the roofline. I fit in the older Civic hybrid but not the new version released in 2006.

I also believe the Toyota hybrid design is superior, but that wouldn't matter if I couldn't fit into it.

 

Both cars are excellent and they currently represent the pinnacle of environmental performance and fuel economy.

What I say here comes strictly from my personal experience of owning both and enjoying the best of both worlds.

Contrary to what some of our friends here say, the Civic Hybrid is a true hybrid just like the Prius. The difference lies in their respective architectures and what driving regimen they are best suited for.

Fuel economy:

On city like driving regimens the Prius is hands down winner by default, while the Civic Hybrid requires a good driver in order to escape a fuel economy massacre.

On the highway, they are both evenly matched except when placed in the hands of an expert driver. The Civic Hybrid is simply untouchable since it will give 70-90 MPG at speeds between 55-65 MPH.

In terms of combined fuel economy the Prius still edges above the HCH-II by 1-2 MPG.

For driver ergonomics and dynamics, opinions vary but the Prius human interface could use a few improvements for some folks and the expertly tuned suspension on the Civic gives it better driving dynamics. For some the HCH interface is too simple and the Prius too odd. I think they are both awesome.

Reliability:
The Prius is rock solid. The Civic Hybrid is proving to be that way as well and baselining as the most reliable Honda model.

Safety:
The Prius is very safe particulary if equipped with side curtain airbags. The HCH-II is often rated slightly higher in terms of occupant and driver protection.

Environmental performance:
The Prius is the best at CO2 emmisions rated AT-PZEV and Tier 2/Bin3
The Civic hybrid is best at smog forming emissions rated at AT-PZEV and Tier-2/Bin 2


Recommendation:
Drive them both and pick the best one for you and your type of driving. Whichever one you pick you certainly cannot go wrong.


Cheers;

MSantos

 

i think if you were to go and ask this q at the honda civic hybrid forum, 99% of respondents will favour the HCH, at the end of the day everyones opinion is subjective to their likes and dislikes, but i think both cars are great, although i dont have neither!

 

I agree with Clayton.

I could give you all the details (technical and otherwise) on the HCH-2, but this is a Prius forum and 99% of the folks here also favor the Prius (for excellent reasons ).

I would suggest you ask the question at a forum where peoples expertise transcends the fan-boy brand Myopia. You get much better and almost unbiased responses at such a place.


Cheers;

MSantos

 

It's the carrying capacity and gas mileage that did it for us. The Prius holds a hockey bag and sticks and the Civic doesn't. The Prius can hold our dogs in their crates and the Civic doesn't. 90% of our driving is within 20 miles of home- some country mostly city.

But as noted above, most of chose the Prius. We're probably a bit biased!

On a flat freeway, we get about 70 mpg. Our lifetime average (all 1550 miles) is 53.1 mpg.

 

i decided not to get the honda civic because it was ugly to me. that is the main
reason i did not consider it. also the other reasons people mentioned.

the prius is a cool good looking car design.