August 21, 2007
Hybrids - Honda Civic vs. Toyota Prius
I took the hybrids for a spin while I was on vacation, since it's time to turn the aged Camry over to a deserving heir.
I considered other options, but the mileage of small cars with gasoline engines fell so short of the hybrids that it seemed perfectly silly to to make any other choice, particularly in an age when we are warming our globe into oblivion. Speaking of which, did you know a hybrid car can be used as a back up generator during a hurricane or other natural disaster?
Both cars handled really well, had comfy seats and abundant cup holders, thus meeting my most stringent requirements. Driving the Prius, with its strange silence, informational screens and joystick gear shift was a bit like playing a video game, and almost as much fun.
As you can see in the top photo, the Honda Civic Hybrid is sleeker and slightly more glamorous than the Prius (bottom photo). I was told that since it looks exactly like the regular Civic, a Civic Hybrid driver cannot easily be spotted as good citizen, unlike those behind the wheel of a Prius.
The Prius has room for cargo, with flop down seats, whereas the Civic has room for four good girlfriends if they haven't put on too much weight. I have given up carrying cargo and glamor in recent years, so neither of these factors really counted for me. Everyone already knows I am a good citizen.
Surprisingly, both salespeople pointed out that I would probably not make back the premium I'd pay for a hybrid in gas savings. I'm not really buying it for gas savings -- but how about mentioning the environmental savings, boys?
HERE"S THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE, and it was very hard to unravel from any report, on line or otherwise. These babies have big batteries. The big batteries cost between $5000 and $6000 (the Honda dealer "mistakenly" told me the battery cost a few hundred dollars, but he was mixing it up with the plain old Civic, undoubtedly an "honest" mistake) The Honda Civic Hybrid battery comes with a warranty for 85,000 miles or eight years. The warranty is prorated as the battery ages, so if it's old and it fails, it is entirely possible that the owner will only get a fraction of its replacement cost. On the other hand, the Prius battery has a ten year/125,000 mile warranty with full replacement value whenever it fails. I'd say that was a HUGE difference, and I don't know why it's not mentioned prominently in all comparisons.
So I'm buying the Prius, but I'm waiting until the end of the month when the Toyota salesman will be more desperate to improve his sales figures. I hope there's a silver one left.
Photo note: I was snapping pictures of parked hybrids for my own edification, since I didn't have the good sense to do it at the dealership -- thus the hideous photographs which were never meant to be published. For better shots go directly to Honda Civic Hybrid or Toyota Prius. They spent thousands getting just the right angle.
Addendum: Even better - the air car
Posted by Dakota at August 21, 2007 07:33 PM