Honda guy going to make the switch! Anybody else out there?

Yeah, and I'm saying, in any subcompact, or mini you have what you have.

I've found with my Sub-Compact Honda Fit, which dimensions are very simular to The Prius C, that the rear space is surprisingly usable.

People can buy whatever they want. Value whatever they want. But IMO the Iq is also going to have many of the weaknesses that the poster is criticizing in the Prius C.

I wouldn't expect the Iq to have a "Much Better Interior".

Infact, if you want to pay for it, the Prius C 4, with Softex, Heated and Fully Adjustable Seats, is IMO very nicely equipped for a vehicle in the subcompact class.

Any and all hatchback subcompacts...are hatchback subcompacts, that means 3 compartment areas. I consider my Honda Fit...a 2 person vehicle, that can be pressed into service for 4 in a pinch.....the reality that it's not as comfortable or spacious for the rear passengers as it would be in any mid-size, or larger vehicle is obvious. But I don't evaluate that as a negative. The beauty of a subcompact hatchback, is the ability to turn those 3 spaces into 2, thus taking a small vehicle and making it suddenly capable of a surprising amount of storage ability.

I think it's fine if anyone says, a sub-compact is not for me. For a variety of reasons...but to say it's too small for me...but an Iq will be better? Doesn't quite make sense to me.

 

Well, maybe he's actually looked at one so knows that to him it has a better interior.

With your "if you want to pay for it" you've just added $4k to the price. I wonder what options that gets you on an iQ.

Given that multiple reviews have complained about the interior plastics I don't find it surprising that somebody would take issue with them.

Go back and read his post again. Then again and again until you actually understand the content.

He's NOT saying it's too small. He's saying that the ADDITIONAL space of a Prius c compared to an iQ IS NOT SIGNIFICANT TO HIM AS AN EMPTY-NESTER.

 

If we didn't buy a 2012 Civic when the came out we would have bought this instead. I joined forum because this vehicle really intrigues me.

 

I'm glad you feel you know the posters opinion, and have the spare time to attack mine.

All I'm saying is criticizing the Prius C, which they admit they did not even test drive, based on Interior Quality and available Space....in comparison to a Iq...doesn't make much sense to me.

I think you can "like" whatever product. But both are economical, and small.

Like I SAID...I consider my small hatchback, really a 2 person, "empty nester" like vehicle. But I wouldn't criticize it in comparison to an Iq because it does have a back-seat and the ability to fold it down and create more space.

If you want an Iq? A "Smart Car" like vehicle...fine. But I would not expect it to be roomier than a Prius C, nor would I expect a significantly higher grade of interior. Which were the original criticisms of the poster.

 

The interior space engineering of the Fit is brilliant. That of the 'c' ... is not. That of the iQ is in between those two.

I should have clarified when I said earlier a mixed function design is appropriate for a small car. The space behind the front seats cannot accommodate both passengers and luggage with ease, comfort and utility; so the next best thing is to engineer the space so that it can *either* be a good passenger space OR a good luggage space, and you can switch between them. The 'c' is always a poor rear passenger space, and at best a mediocre luggage space.

Compare that to the iQ: about Prius 'c' range luggage space with rear seats folded down, or cramped luggage space while carrying a cramped third passenger. The iQ does almost as much as the 'c' in a smaller space.

I'm not here to trash or troll the 'c', I assure you. Member Itsnot AboutTheMoney read my posts as intended. By the way, the iQ is not much cheaper than the 'c'. You will just have to check out both cars in person to form your own opinion about the trim and interior finish quality.

 

Good thought!
I'll pay attention when I see the car next.

If that is the case, then my criticism in that regard should be softened for other people. I personally will probably not get over the interior quality, but please keep in mind that I have been spoiled by buying a CTh recently, and part of the reason I bought the CTh over another Prius was my fussiness over the interior cabin and annoyance at squeaks and rattles.

 

Yep.

The iQ (which we did take for a short test drive) was (dare I say it?) fun to drive. Even my wife said the same thing; and until today she adamantly refused to understand the idea of 'fun to drive.' I have trouble with the notion too, in general

I do enough parallel parking in our city to find the idea of vertical parking at the curb to be attractive. Not a reason by itself to buy the car, but a perk for sure. My wife cannot parallel park, so she might find the 'feature' to be awesome even though she did not think of it the morning we were looking at the car. She has just gotten used to driving further away from where she is going until she finds a place she can pull into. One thing I noticed I did not like -- the first gear in noisy. Subsequent gears are not intrusive.

Lastly, the iQ seating is high enough so that the driver feels more like they are driving a mini-van than a mini-car. Big car feel in some ways, little car in ways that matter.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, I am trying to clarify to EMe why we found the iQ more attractive than the 'c'

 

iQ is most efficiently packaged car in the world... if you added 1m extra to the iQ (to match Prius c or Fit), you would have Camry sized cabin .

But of course you pay for it...

Even Prius c is very efficient - you have to consider that they have full hybrid system under the seats!

 

The passenger space measurements between the Fit and C are nearly identical. The C has slightly more leg room in front and back, while the Fit has slightly more hip and shoulder room. The Fit has more head room but reviews all indicate plenty of head room in the C. The Fit does have several more cubic feet of luggage room but then the car is nearly five inches longer as well.

Saying that the iQ does nearly as much as the C in a smaller space is baffling. If you like the interior materials of the iQ better that's great. It seems to be a well thought out little rig for city use. However with it's very short wheelbase under 79" it's poorly suited for freeway speeds unfortunately...


ron

 

We have a '07 Fit and love it - great car. When my wife drives with her friend in front I sit in the back with the dog(s). Room is okay - I'm short and fat and I fit. Wife is short too so the driver's seat is forward.

The C is not like the v in the rear but quite comparable to the Fit. I usually sit in the back of any car I test before I get in front and the C was easy to get in and out of. Maybe a little more leg room than the Fit. The v was better but not by much - virtually identical to the "hatchback" (?) standard sedan according to my short, tubby body.

The only car I didn't do this with lately is the Honda Insight - got in the driver's seat first and hit my head getting in (again - I'm short). Got out and left the dealership - I knew the rear seat would be worse.

 

Sold my Yaris and traded in my '11 fit with 3400 for new Prius c, loving it so far.

 

Doesn't the iQ have a CVT?

 

Too. Much. Coffee.

I thought this poster's comments about all the cubby holes were amusing. It seemed of the highest priority. I must be the only that just shoves the odd unplayed CD, banana skin and sweet wrappers in these things.

Isn't the iq quite expensive for what it is? I thought it was coming up close to the Prius C...

 

Drove a Prius C II yesterday. The quality of the interior materials is some of the worst I have ever seen. About on par with the 89 Escort I drove in college, maybe even worse.

I really want to like this car. I am going to go look at it again with some rose colored glasses on.

At 16.2k, the iQ is almost 5k cheaper than the II. And yes, the interior quality is much better.

 

I'm a Honda fan. We bought our first Honda Civic CVCC Hatchback in 1974 as a second car. We've probably owned 6 Civics in various forms, from wagons to a del Sol. The last new Honda I bought was a 1993 Civic Coupe EX with the O package. No automatics... all manual. I bought a '97 del Sol in '06. I still have my '93 Coupe. We bought a used '96 Coupe EX for our son and got him hooked on Honda in his last year of high school in 2001. He loves Honda manuals and good MPGs.

After Soichiro Honda died, the company he founded started to lose it's leading edge engineering. That's also what happens when any company expands and gets too big. Acura is a fine Honda, but it took focus away from Honda and spread the engineering too thin.

I wanted to buy an original Insight, but dawdled and lost the opportunity after Honda decided to stop production. Why did they stop building that brilliant little car? If they built it today, I would buy one.

Went to Prius in '05. They came up with the best combination of room and MPG. Honda has not been able to catch up with Toyota's hybrids, sad to say.

Now, I don't know why I get into these things! But here it is...

You can get a super "High Quality" interior in an iQ that will blow the doors off the quality in many luxury cars. But the iQ has a seriously short wheel base so on the road it will not ride as smoothly as a c. The iQ would probably be a great city car. That's about it. I wouldn't want to take a long trip in it. It will also not be as frugal to drive, compared to the c.

Aston Martin sells the iQ as the "Cygnet". To get this upgraded iQ, you would pay a little over $50,000. But, I have to admit that it really does have a killer interior that drips quality!

 

I owned a 2007 Honda Fit and a 2010 Honda Fit and absolutely loved them both, but Toyota finally had the right car to lure me back, the 2012 Prius C! I picked it up last week and am very happy with it, am averaging just over 50 mpg's after 650 miles. From my experience in the Fits, it was an amazing little car with the best steering wheel I've ever had, an awesome driving position with excellent visibility, and an amazing ammount of cargo space for such a small car. It was very loud on the highway though and got tossed around in the wind, the road noise was horrendous. The C is also extremely comfortable with not quite as good of a driving position, the visibility for the front 3/4's is awesome like the Fit but a little worse in the rear with the larger pillars and large headrest, still pretty good tho, it seems to be built very well with every gap, seal, and trim perfect, very heavy doors, surprisingly comfy seats front and back, and it drives super smooth and quiet with minimal road noise but some wind noise. It feels like a much heavier larger car while driving. With the Fit, I wanted to drive fast everywhere and with the C, I wanna enjoy the relaxed planted ride and eek out those 50+ mpg's. My opinion Honda has better ergonomics and sportier rides but much louder, Toyota seems a little more solid feeling and much quieter. Both are awesome cars and wish I could have one of each! Although the C seems like a much better car than the Insight to me even though I like the Insight's gauges alot and it will be just as reliable.

 

Honda Guy here as well. 2 Civics 1 Accord 5 Motorcycles and finally sad to agree Honda/Acura has lost their edge.

 

I just trade in my 2012 Honda Fit Sport to the 2012 Prius C (IV), I have racked up 10k+ miles since I got the Fit in Oct 2011, So I think it would be better fuel economy and budget if I rack average of 20k+ miles/year on a Prius C, Just got it for 2 weeks now and already driven 800 miles and average of 50+mpg and often on cruise setting. Haven't look back or any regret since. Honda Fit was a nice and fun car but short on power and mpg.
:rockon:

 

Honda Fit versus Prius C

I own a 2012 Honda Fit and recently drove a Prius C Four. I am looking to replace my wife's 2009 Civic. As a previous owner of both a 2010 Honda Insight and a 2010 Prius, it is interesting to compare Honda and Prius vehicles. I ditched the Prius for a Fit because of the total lack of the "fun to drive" factor. Let's face it, the Prius was boring to drive. The Fit has way more usable interior space than the Prius C (the magic seats are awesome) along with much better driving dynamics. In addition, the off-the-line acceleration of the Fit is way better than the Prius C. One the other hand, the Prius C Four synthetic leather seats are great, as is the gas mileage. The wider tires and quicker steering on the Four makes it a better handing car than the "standard" Prius.

 

I just traded my Civic for a PC3 and have zero regrets!