Not only does the Prius look "odd", but some people identify those who drive them as being environmental extremists

 

...which has no accountability to reality. Now that is "odd"

 

HCH-II was less money
I was replacing a 1990 Honda Civic that's served me well
Prius didn't have side airbags (except with the 'B' package)
I didn't like the Prius shifter and parking brake
I didn't like the limited view out the back of the Prius
I like having a trunk
I like the look of the HCH-II (especially with the ground effects)
I like the HCH-II dash layout, tach etc.
I didn't like the blank dash in front of me in the Prius.

I just got my HCH-II yesterday!

 

I don't like the HCH's parking brake either, but that all I don't like

 

At the time the Dealer I worked for was next door to the Honda Dealer that my Friends worked for.

Plus I owned a New 2005 Limited Edition Civic. So it was much easier to talk numbers for the same car line.

So I went with the 2006 HCH II.

Now I am constantly reviewing the ever growing Articles on the New Prius that will I think come out next yr. as a 2009 model. Also Honda is releasing their Accord line in the months to come and it will be interesting to see what they decide to do with the HAH for 2008.

I think it is going to get real interesting as time goes on to what we see announced from these major players.

Terry (tiger)

 

Actually I only looked at the HCH, first as an HCH I with a 2004 and now with a HCH II with a 2007. I have not regretted either purchase. This time around the higher remaining Federal tax credit did not hurt either.

I still see far more of the Prius on the road than I do the Civic Hybrid...both skimp on gas consumption, and in the end, that's a very good thing.

 

My sentiments were very similar to the OP's. I didn't buy a Prius because it wasn't fun to drive, visibility wasn't very good (5'6 here), and the interior seemed really cheap.

The Civic Hybrid had none of those problems, but I grew dissatisfied with its more mundane hybrid system, and it got crap mileage at high speeds; I averaged around 31 mpg driving 90 mph between Phoenix and San Diego,
and the steering was very squirrelly and nerve-wracking.

So I bought the hybrid Camry. It has none of the problems of the other two cars, though its weight lowers mileage significantly in day-to-day driving, and its length can make parking a bit annoying.

I will probably replace it in 2008 when the new 2009 hybrids come out; hopefully the next Prius solves the problems of the current one, and there are other interesting hybrids coming out then too.

 

Kind of seems like an oxymoron when you say it got crap mpg's at high speed. What do you expect it to get when you are going 90mph??

 

Well, the Camry is 700 lbs heavier and about 4 seconds quicker to 60 mph, yet it got 34 mph on the same drive. A Prius would have achieved likely 39-40 mpg. The Civic Hybrid had an unusually extreme drop-off in efficiency at higher speeds; at 80 mph it usually did 40-42 mpg, but at 90 it was 30-32 mpg.

 

I think the point I was trying to make is why are you going 90mph? wasn't the reason to get a hybrid(any brand) is to conserve fuel and be more evironmentally friendly?