Toyota Prius vs. Honda Civic Hybrid v. Honda Insight v. ?

simonru

How could they have messed this up?! Don't they do that for a living? I feel so betrayed. Makes me wonder if the Big Three pay them off. This is the second front page report within 12 months that claimed hybrids are rip offs. Issuing a statement just doesn't cut it, the damage is already done. My coworker was quoting this report the other day to defend his argument...

Moreover, comparing Prius with Corolla is just not fair. Corolla is like that box building off the street. Prius is a design breakthrough, a collectible museum piece, a chick magnet... Alright I exaggerate a bit but you get my point

vanbast

I am interested in transfering the CD/radio unit and speakers from my 96 Camry into my new car, which is likely to be either the Civic or the Prius. Has any user out there attempted something similar, and with what result? Given that the stereo is integral part of the dashboard in both cars, is this even possible? I appreciate any pointers or recommendations. Thanks.

bvisailman1

After months of research I ordered a 2006 Prius in February. It took 6 weeks to get the exact color and option package I wanted. Paid MSRP of course. There has been much written about the mileage and comparison to non hybrids (mainly the corolla). However this car was built from the Ground up as a hybrid. I sold my 1999 Lexus GS 300 to buy this car. it is as close to a luxury automobile that you can find and it has features one woould expect only on a Luxury car such as Navigation, leather, backup camera, keyless operation, HID lights, I could go on an on. If anyone reading this wants more information from owners, there is a great website : Priuschat.com There you will find out everything you can on the Prius. My first tank of gas I got 48.6 MPG and the second I got 62.3 MPG in a mix of city and highway driving Love this car....My wife is still getting used to it and told me the steering wheel is like steering with a bagel....I am sure after filling the tank a few times with only 9 or 10 gallons after driving over 400 miles, she will love the Bagel steering

davhan

Hi Gary,

Anytime you want to come and visit please let me know. We live on a small farm (ranch) about 8 acres with horses and dogs and lots of fresh air. You know, front door left unlocked...feeding wild birds outside the back door...and inside if you give them half a chance. But we still only live about 40 miles out of Melbourne. 45klm to work, 25% rural roads, 50% clogged freeway and the rest congested main raods...but I still get 50mpg out of the Civic...bloody amazing! I guess we really are the lucky country as they say.

Anyway, diesel is anywhere from 8 - 12 cents per litre more expensive than petrol(gas). This is mainly because the vast majority of vehicles in Australia run on petrol. - so (4.45 x $1.50 = $6.67 per gallon for diesel). We also have a lot of cars now running on LPG (Liquid Petrolium Gas - natural gas), and this usually sells for abot 40-50 cents per litre.

Strangely though, there are a lot of diesel models to choose from - but they are generally for rural and tradesman use...pickups (ute's) and the like. Equally strange is the total lack of concern that people have for the price of fuel, although I think that is starting to change with prices heading up to $2.00 per litre ($8.90 a gallon) by the end of the year.

Tee Hee

David

gagrice

feeding wild birds outside the back door.

I guess life is not so much different here in the USA. We feed about 50# of bird seed a month to a variety of wild birds. My favorite are the bright yellow Orioles. They feed from the humming bird feeders around the yard. I spent an hour watching a Bewick's Wren taking bugs and spiders to her nest inside a BBQ glove. I have a tough life now that I am retired. Thank you so much for the generous offer. I would love to look you up if we get a chance to visit Australia.

marys236

I'm thinking about buying a Prius or a Matrix, and would welcome any opinions. I want a small to midsize wagon or hatchback, that gets over 30 MPG. I have it narrowed down to a Matrix or a Prius. I considered a used 2005 Jetta wagon, but they want $25,000 for the one I looked at, which seems kind of steep. With the Prius tax credit, which I understand should be available until the end of September, the Prius seems like a better deal, plus I don't have to worry about particulate emissions. The Matrix is significantly cheaper, but it's really hard to find a 2wd with ABS and side curtain airbags, and I don't want a 4wd, because of the mpg loss. I might be able to special order what I want, not sure yet. The other small wagons seem too small, and don't get great mileage. Has anyone else compared the Prius and Matrix?

godzillaismad

Dear all,

I have been thinking of purchasing a hybrid car for a while but would like to get more information on how good hybrid would perform over long distance, freeway type of travel. I work relatively far from my house and travelled about 100Km to and back from work per day... However, my question is how will the hybrids handle constants 100Kph travel mostly? I know hybrids are designed to work very well in the cities... are they just as fuel efficient as they claimed to be? Please let me know... thank you.

coalburner

at 100kph (62mph) my prius gets about 4.3 liters per 100km (55 mpg US)

godzillaismad

That's great to hear... I guess my worry is a bit on the paranoid side due to the fact that the engine is relatively small (1.3L for civic or 1.5L for prius)... just not too sure whether it would be a good idea to drive those hybrids long term in the freeway. Will the engine way wear much faster than it is designed to handle?

davhan

The Prius is good highway and better in the city (stop start traffic). The '06 Civic (which I own) is good in the city traffic - typically 5.5 l/100klm, and only gets better on the highway, where you can control speed better. I haven't really had a chance to take it on a long drive yet. But once when I filled up next to the freeway, for the next 60k or so I was getting mid 4's. Hope that helps. Oh, and also, the civic is much nicer to drive and cheaper to buy...and it looks better inside and out.

So...for purely city driving the Prius is the go. For a mixture I preferred the Civic.

Happy driving

godzillaismad

Thanks for your info... I have to agree with you about Civic advantages have over Prius. However, the Civic hybrid does not have SatNav!? Well the one that's being sold in Australia anyway... Is SatNav important?

davhan

OK...so from that comment you live in Australia too. Melbourne for me.

True, only the Prius comes with SatNav. I did actually buy one of those carry with you Satnav's by Navman and put it in the Civic...I'm a security salesman by trade, so I figured that it would come in handy. I had actually used one in Brisbane once, in a hire car. It was great there because the roads are all over the place. But I actually found the Navman at home in Melbourne more of a nusance. The Prius Satnav is a very expensive add on, and you'd really have to have a solid reason for buying it. It's a fun gadget...but that's about it. A bit like a covertable (of which I have had one). An expensive toy that in reality is not used that much.

My recommendation...don't bother with it. You'll enjoy the Civic much more. No...you wont get the absolute best MPG. But it will be a hell of a lot better than anything else. I consistently get 5.5 l/100klm and better driving from Frankston to Blackburn and back - absolute bumper to bumper traffic.

I really love the Civic. If you want to make an expensive statement buy the Prius, if you want to save money, look good, handle well and the pay back time here is about 2 years...less when we hi $2 a litre, buy the Civic.

The short answer is...NO Satnav is not important. It's just another gadget...thing that you have to deal with when driving. The Civic...for all it's efficiency and technical sophistication drives like a nice car...like you would expect a Honda to drive like.

Does that help?

David

stevedebi

"That's great to hear... I guess my worry is a bit on the paranoid side due to the fact that the engine is relatively small (1.3L for civic or 1.5L for prius)... just not too sure whether it would be a good idea to drive those hybrids long term in the freeway. Will the engine way wear much faster than it is designed to handle?"

I wouldn't worry about the Civic, at least. Honda has been making small engines that go a long ways for many years. The ICE Civic has a 1.7L engine, which is pretty small. But in any case Honda builds their engines to REV high and last long, provided the required maintenance is done.

davhan

The HCH 1.3l engine is no ordinary motor. Like all Honda's it has variable valve timing, but in 3 levels. The first is for maximum torque at low revs, the middle is for standard cruising and the top is for maximum power at high revs...all handled automatically of course. At freeway speeds (100kph) it sits at or below 2,000rpm - very low indeed for such a small motor. This is also a function of the CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission). So all in all the engine should last forever at highway speeds.

stevedebi

"The first is for maximum torque at low revs, the middle is for standard cruising and the top is for maximum power at high revs...all handled automatically of course."

That is an Atkinson cycle ICE, it doesn't have a lot of torque at low revs. Hence the electric assist.

Your description sounds the same as my 2003 CR-V; computer controlled variable valve timing.

davhan

Correct. Nevertheless thanks to the electric motor assistance it has a surprising amount of low end torque. On looking at some other car manufacturer sites the average 1.8 - 2.0l engine has about the same amount of torque as the HCH...about 170nm. So it can take off from the lights quite briskly. It's at higher speeds 110kph and above where it starts to lack power.

stevedebi

"So it can take off from the lights quite briskly. It's at higher speeds 110kph and above where it starts to lack power."

It depends upon the battery depletion. It supplies power at all speeds.

nnpptt

55 mpg! Wow. I average about 65 mph on traffic-free highway driving and I'm only getting 46 mpg in my 2004 Prius. I'm also having battery troubles, though... so I guess it's time for a service.

Thanks for the info! btw - I put a bunch of interesting stuff on this website. I think it's a good way to get people to see the light and drive a hybrid. Check it out:

http://comparati.com/941-Gas-Powered-Car-vs-Hybrid-Car