Honda TV commercial comparing HCH to Prius

not seen those ads.

But Toyota are running a very classy campaign for the prius here is the UK at the moment stressing the fuel ecnomy, clean air and smoothness.

The 4 page ad for the Prius in the 13 September New Scientist was excellent - talk about knowing their market !

 

isnt it true that the HCH does not have folding rear seats?

 

HTTP 404 Not Found

 

More headroom? Maybe. But the Prius' headroom is more than enough for this 6-foot 4-incher.

More legroom? For the front, ditto. For the rear, no way. That's one (small) reason I chose the Prius over the HCH. My tall teenagers would have been rather cramped in the Honda.

 

Did the ad point out that the reason Toyota Prius didn't qualify for the $2100 tax credit while Honda's Civic did was because the Prius has been so successful it has passed the sales volume cutoff?
I think they must be refering to front legroom and rear headroom. I think Prius has enough headroom I could wear a hat, not a cap but a full hat.
(I wouldn't wear a hat while driving, I believe that is the international symbol for mobile road block.)
Leg room in the back is bigger than any car I can think of!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rigormortis @ Sep 17 2007, 04:51 AM) [snapback]513594[/snapback]</div>

True, only real storage is in the trunk.

 

We didn't go with the HCH for several things, but primarily because the rear seat does not fold like our current Accord does. I love the 60/40 split of the Prius. Also, when I test drove both cars, I specifically sat in the rear seat behind the driver's seat after I had adjusted the seat to my position (I like the driver's seat quite far back) and I was pleasantly surprised at how much leg room I had in the Prius compared to both our current Accord and the HCH. Third, I hit my head on the HCH when I sat down into the back seat... I quickly realized that the shape of the body/roof vs. the Prius would enable this to happen repeatedly (seems like it tucks down sooner. It really was no comparison... the Prius won hands down, especially when you consider the stealth mode!

 

No way does the HCH (Civic) have more headroom than the Prius. I tried to sit in one last summer - I couldn't fit in the car and I couldn't see out the windshield.

The Prius just barely has enough headroom for me. My hair touches the headliner.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimboK @ Sep 17 2007, 06:41 AM) [snapback]513606[/snapback]</div>

I know, it's ridiculous! Who are they marketing too? 7.5" basketball players?!? This commercial makes them sound desperate.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Sep 17 2007, 09:15 AM) [snapback]513738[/snapback]</div>

Yup. Same thoughts here. Reminds me of GM saying "We stopped the EV1 because we could only sell 800 of them. Can't make a business out of selling just 800 cars."

The missing part, of course, is that they only MADE 800 of them... and every one was leased with a huge waiting list left behind. But it is still true - they could only sell 800 of them.

 

The Prius has more rear leg room than my Crown VIC! Too bad it doesn't have the same width, I wouldn't need to trade it in next year if it did. As far as head room, it is parked next to a regular civic right now and the top of the Prius is much higher, yet the ground clearance is about the same.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ACD @ Sep 17 2007, 12:53 PM) [snapback]513796[/snapback]</div>

They must mean rear seating headroom for sure! Prius must be one of the tallest, if not the tallest car out there when it comes to the front area, but in the rear at 6.2" I can't fit. Never been in a car with so little headroom in the rear. So that's what they must mean.

 

Facts as advertised by Honda/Toyota:

Prius legroom (f/b): 41.9/38.6
HCH legroom (f/b): 42.2/34.6

First ad statement true for front seat, not for rear seat.

Prius headroom (f/b): 39.1/37.1
HCH Headroom (f/b): 39.4/37.4

Second ad statement true

Third statement as we know is true, so they are pretty close!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Per @ Sep 17 2007, 04:24 PM) [snapback]513969[/snapback]</div>

Based on my testing (I sat in the drivers seat of a 2006 Civic) this statement is not true. I was not able to find a position where my head didn't touch the roof near the door jamb and I could see out of the windshield without having my upward vision severely obstructed.

I suppose it is possible that the highest point of the roof is .3 inches higher, but the usable headroom is less in the Civic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Per @ Sep 18 2007, 08:54 AM) [snapback]513969[/snapback]</div>

The first statement is clearly false!
It did not say the HCH has more front seat leg room but; -

41.9 + 38.6 gives the Prius a total of 80.5
42.2 + 34.6 gives the Honda a total of 76.8
Sorry Honda but where I went to school I was taught that 76.8 is less than 80.5 and by almost 4 inches!!!

I have given some tall friends a lift in my Prius and there was a comment about the lack of head room in the rear but all praise for the leg room.
Maybe Toyota could have made the seat an inch lower, the seat runners a little longer and it would have blown the HCH out of the water on both counts?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rigormortis @ Sep 17 2007, 04:51 AM) [snapback]513594[/snapback]</div>

When I was hybrid shopping last year, this was one of the reason I opted for the Prius - a lot more cargo space - and I have used it.

The 06 HCH seats didn't fold down. Salesman said the batteries are stacked between the rear seat and the trunk.

More legroom - didn't take a tape measure, but I didn't think so.

I thought the HCH was a dog in performance too. My test drives included freeway on-ramps and the Prius accelerated much better.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Curtis SAC @ Sep 17 2007, 09:57 PM) [snapback]514094[/snapback]</div>

That's what turned me off the most. In theory 2 seconds difference shouldn't be a big deal, but in real life it is very noticeable.