Did you consider the Civic Hybrid and why did you pick the Prius?

I did, but the Civic didn't have BT and leather as options, price difference wasn't really that much, compared to the Prius, I think the Prius offered more for the money.

 

I did consider the Civic ... and I liked the Civic more than the Prius is many aspects, e.g. better looks (IMO), available tax rebate, nicer interior, etc. Finally, the single biggest factor in favor of the P was the storage capacity. The P has a *lot* more room to haul things (e.g. baby stuff) compared to the Civic. On a recent long distance road trip I was amazed by the amount of stuff the hatch design can accommodate ... probably more than my full size Nissan Maxima.

 

I test drove a Honda Fit and liked it but they wouldnt take my 05 Expedition off my hands. They didnt have any hybrids on that day.

Toyota had 15of them in all differnet colors!

 

I didn't actually test drive a Civic, but I had been comparing the 2 online for 2 weeks, and I ended up going with the Prius for the better storage space, and I think the MPG is much better and I was a loyal Toyota customer for 8 years before I switched to Saturn, so I knew the Toyota products were reliable. Not saying Honda is not but I just have more experience with owning Toyota's, so I was happy to be a Toyota owner again..

Also, once I test drove the Prius, I fell in love with it on the spot... and 2 weeks later I had one,, I just could not NOT buy the Prius, for the price I think it was the better deal than the Honda Civic

 

Anticipated reliability. The Civic has a conventional transmission and does not have regenerative braking. My GF bought one because she likes a manual xmission, and I must say that for a conventional car it is quite nice for the money.

 

Yes we did drive the Civic Hybrid and did NOT like it. Too small. The wife and I are 6 ft and found the Civic small.

The price for the options was about the same. The Prius has a lot more room and storage space. The mileage was also better.

2 different days and 2.5 hours test driving Prius, 20 minutes driving Civic.

 

The Prius has more cargo space, a more "powerful" hybrid engine, better fuel economy, the different kinds of storage spaces is better, there's a little bit more passenger space (especially shoulder length), push button start, I like the sound system offered and bluetooth, HID, regenerative braking, and backup cam. What I also like about the Prius is that how it looks (although everyone I know says it's ugly) and the transaxle shift is different. I'll take "ugly" with an average mpg of 48.77 any day.

Some things I did like from the Civic Hybrid: the tachometer, the speedometer with a backlit light which makes it not look like it came from an 80's digital speedometer, outside side mirror lights, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, and A COIN HOLDER! I also find the fit and finish to be a little bit better than the Prius.

 

In late 2006 or early 2007, I drove 5 different hybrids at a Milwaukee Hybrid Group meeting. They included a 2003 Civic CVT,(which I was able to drive from Chicago to Oak Creek, WI and back) a 2000 Insight, a 2007 Civic CVT, a 2005(?) Prius, and a 2005(?) Ford Escape Hybrid. I then took into consideration the type of driving conditions I was most likely to encounter and decided that it was more likely to be slower speeds and more chance for stop&go. I decided on the Prius because of its EV capability(even without the switch) would give the best economy in stop&go. The space and hauling capacity of the Prius was a huge bonus. If I had more highway traffic due to visiting family, job, etc., I most likely would have chosen an older Civic(no newer than 2005) 5-speed because of it's lean-burn cruising ability.

 

I felt too confined in the Civic. There is much more room for the driver in the Prius, especially on the sides. I felt claustrophobic in the Civic.

 

The Prius was actually my second choice. I actually wanted an Insight. Unfortunately, the dealer had no more and it was the last year they made them. I have no regrets with the Prius, however.

 

Honda acceleration worse, and I have a fear of large silver "H"'s

 

We actually have both, a 2006 Civic Hybrid and a 2006 Prius. Although I like the syling on the Civic better, both my wife and I prefer the Prius. It's roomier, it's more comfortable and it just plain drives better. Since the Civic doesn't run in pure-electric from the get-go, it's not as smooth at low speeds or off the line. The Prius is just more responsive and "zippy" all the way around.

 

I owned a 03 Civic Hybrid for almost 5 years. Then one day I had a chance to drive an 07 Prius for a day while my 05 Avalon was in for some warranty work. There was no comparison. To make a long story short, in less than two weeks I had a new 07 Prius and my 03 Civic Hybrid had a new owner. The 0% interest for 24 months helped make the transition an easy one.

 

You may be talking about the older generation HCH. The current HCH has a CVT and regenerative braking.

We considered the Prius and chose the HCH instead. The big deal-killers on the Prius were the uncomfortable seats, the far-away steering wheel, better instrument panel, and a much better ride. Mileage is close enough to realistically be a wash, and with the tax rebate, the HCH was at least $5,000 less expensive.

 

The first generation HCH had regenerative braking. Mine was the one with CVT, but I wish it had been a 5 speed. The CVT had to be replaced twice. Start-up clutch problems. It was done at no cost so I can't complain about that, but all in all the car was out of service for 21 days.

 

I considered the Honda Civic Hybrid, but eventually eliminated it because it wasn't a hatchback or wagon.

My final four were the Toyota Prius, Honda Fit, Subaru WRX Wagon and Mini Cooper.

My final two were the Prius and the Fit. I got the Prius because I happened to walk into a Toyota dealer first. The dealer had a Prius in stock in the exact color and package I wanted and at an acceptable price. So I bought it on the spot, and never made it to the Honda dealer up the block.

 

Apparently Richard was wrong then. We have had no issues with the CVT after 9000 miles. However, we're now starting our third week without the car after being rear-ended and pushed into another truck. The rental Altima is just not the same! 32 MPG on the Altima vs. 48 on the HCH!

 

Utility was my main concern besides the milage. The Prius's hatchback design was perfect my my needs. I smile everytime I blow up the air matress and roll out my bed in the back of the Prius. No way I could do that in the Civic.

The Civic looks nicer and handles a bit better than the Prius but if those were my main concerns I would have kept my GM cars.