You probably saved a few thousand over the prius as well! When the mileage database shows the HCHII at 47mpg avg and the Prius II at 48mpg average... too close to spend the extra $2K - $4K for a Prius. Although you do have to weigh your driving conditions and habits... each has its own benefits under certain conditions. I'm loving my 07 HCHII Opal Pearlescent I got in April!

 

Very good point and one reason I purchased the Civic. I used a 15K mile annual usage point and gave the Prius 48/mpg and HCHII 47/mpg. Using those numbers and a 12 gallon tank, the annual gas expense difference is $17 per year in the Prius' favor. The cost of ownership for a 5, even 10 year period, is certainly in the HCHII's favor at the moment with the tax credit difference alone. The best Prius deal I could find was still $725 more than the HCHII and couple that with the full tax credit, you spend considerably less for the HCHII.

 

Not sure if its the same in your area but your Honda might be cheaper to keep insured as well. Adds up over time to override any prius gas savings I think

 

The mileage difference is miniscule in real life. I put several thousand miles on rented Prii, and got in the 40's, just like the HCH2 I ended up with.

Also, Road and Track got 40.7 for the HCH2, and 41.0 for the Prius2.

And boos to the magazine writers that always quote the car's computer for mpg. Toyota seems to be, shall we say, "very optimistic" with their mpg computations. My HCH2 is conservative, on the last tank underquoting the actual mpg by 5%.