I'm renting an HCH (from Fox Rent-a-Car / EVrentals at LAX). No manual in the glove compartment, and apparently they order the cars with autolock enabled, since it's been on in most I've rented. (Old threads here indicate that it's normally disabled by default.)

So can someone post the instructions to disable autolock, since I don't have a manual to consult?

Actually a link to a download of the manual would be great, but it looks like the car companies mostly have not entered the 21st century in this respect.

The cars I've had recently have had between 25K and 45K miles on them, so I'm thinking they are probably '05 or '06, but I'm not sure. Undoubtedly I could figure it out from the VIN if it's important.

I'll happily bypass the related discussion of whether autolock is god's gift to the universe or the devil's almighty curse -- I'm more than willing to accept that some people have good reason to like it and some people have good reason to dislike it.

Thanks,

Edward

 

paleolith -
It's possible to get the manual online, but you first need to be signed up for Honda Owner Link. Download it at the link below. The manual is for a 2008, but will be accurate for 2006-2008 Civic Hybrids. Check out page 82 for the info you need on autolock.

http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/p.../ANC0808OM.pdf

 

Thanks! I've printed the relevant page and will try it in the morning.

I was able to download the manual using your link without needing to sign up.

Edward

 

Glad I was able to help.

After renting the Civic Hybrid, what are your impressions? Are you going to be getting one of your own soon?? I decided to buy my Civic Hybrid after renting one for three days while on a biz trip. I rented from Fox in SF. Being able to "test drive" the car for an extended period was what sealed the deal. I'm now on my second Civic Hybrid.

 

It even worked on the first try.

No car purchase for me any time soon. About four years ago, our 237K Tercel died. I considered hybrids, but for an average of under 5K miles/year (we moved from the country into town about the time the Tercel was dying), I could not justify the cost, and bought a Mazda Protege with 40K miles on it for about a third of what a hybrid would have cost. Had we stayed out in the country driving 20K miles/year, the choice might have been different.

So my rentals on business trips have been purely that, rather than trials, though I've been more than a little interested in the cars. I had been renting the usual run-of-the-mill and was increasingly unhappy. I generally care about cars only as functional objects, but function does matter, and a car that rattles my *** off or can't play a CD annoys me. Add to this the car rental companies' rigorous equation of "compact" with "economy" -- they don't rent good quality small cars. But I like small cars, and consider a larger car to be a downgrade. So I kept looking (even asked on FlyerTalk) and eventually located Fox / EVRentals. The HCH and Prius are small-to-medium size good quality cars -- and from Fox I can reserve them by model instead of just category.

Of course, now that I've had the chance to drive them, I won't go back. And I fervently recommend the rental experience for anyone interested in buying either hybrid, if any Fox outlet which carries them is within range.

I like both the HCH and the Prius and if I were buying, I might have a hard time choosing between them. There are differences which will matter to some, and if I were researching for purchase, I might find differences which matter to me.

So, the differences below are in the category of "just different", not good or bad or preferential except as noted.

The Prius is Buck Rogers, in-your-face about the fact that you are using this technology. Honda has done a stupendous job of making the HCH feel and drive exactly like the cars that people are (unfortunately) accustomed to. Someone who has never driven a hybrid can drive out with a HCH without even noticing anything different, but will need a quick lesson on the Prius. The Prius can give more information about recent efficiency, but that's probably only relevant when you are new to it. The Prius automatically resets its charts when you fill the gas tank; the HCH gives you normal A and B trip odometers which include MPG figures that reset along with the mileage, giving you more control on how you monitor the efficiency.

The Prius is larger, takes more space to park but has more space inside. The HCH has a traditional solid small car feel which I like. Nonetheless the Prius has a smaller turning radius.

The Prius is more fun in terms of experimenting with the technology. I once had to creep at 3 miles per hour for half an hour, and watched it top 75 mpg as the engine stayed off and it ran on the battery. OTOH, this is probably almost totally irrelevant once you've driven it long enough to get used to all this.

Having the efficiency (mpg) constantly displayed is extremely enlightening as to how driving habits affect it. This is true of both cars, though it's somewhat better displayed in the Prius. The contrast between driving a level road and driving up and down mountains is shocking.

I find myself REALLY objecting to the driving habits of most Americans -- flash off at the green light, pedal to the metal, push hard to stay in front of your neighbor. While I'm looking at the gas mileage instead of trying to save three seconds, and thinking how much better we'd all be with a little more cooperation, in particular if we all accepting accelerating a lot less quickly. Why does it matter so much who is first in line at the red light? Hybrids do that to you.

Both cars do much better when the engine is kept hot. This seems to be the major factor for both, rather than the city/highway difference. Both can do extremely well in either city or highway driving, but both lose a lot when driven for only two or three miles with time to cool down in between.

I can't compare the efficiency. One thing that renting makes clear is that maintenance will matter, and I'm sure that Fox isn't taking the time to monitor efficiency and to tune for top efficiency as an owner will. I see major differences in efficiency from one car to another of the same model.

Non-hybrid-related features probably came out on different schedules, but since Fox undoubtedly specs the cars for their own purposes, what I've seen may or may not represent what an individual could/can buy on the open market. For instance, Fox had MP3 CD players in one before the other -- I won't mention which because AFAIK that's just a matter of what Fox bought. Similarly I've had one car break down on me (probably alternator failure), and that's too small a sample to be worth mentioning which it was. Of course since I've only been renting, I have no idea about maintenance issues.

I dislike the Prius' cruise control -- it cancels the setting when you even slow down very much, and always if you come to a stop. The HCH's cruise works normally. The Prius has the standard on-the-column cruise; the HCH has a very well designed on-the-wheel cruise which I like. The HCH's cruise stays on when the ignition is turned off and back on; the Prius' cruise must be enabled each time you start the car.

The Prius, bizarrely, has an American-style parking brake (foot operated). The HCH has a parking brake operated by hand, as God intended.

I dislike the bar across the back window in the Prius. Well duh, does anybody like it?

The Prius has a lot of on-the-wheel controls which I suppose can be very handy once you memorize them. Many weeks of driving it have been insufficient for me to memorize more than part of them. The Prius gives you the choice of memorizing these on-the-wheel controls (which are not even backlit) or going to the touch screen, which requires too much eyes-off-the-road time. I think the HCH's controls are generally better designed for these reasons.

I've had problems with the CD players in both (skipping). When you put an MP3 CD in the Prius and do random play, it only does "random within folder", no option for "random on entire disk". At least in the rental cars, neither has an iPod interface or even an auxiliary input. If I were buying, I'd probably look carefully at audio options (dealer and aftermarket).

But I still like them both ...

Was that more than you asked for?

Edward

 

If you like small cars, the Honda Insight could be a good choice.

It's a decently sized, aerodynamic two-seater. Honda produced them from 2000-2006. They are quite rare, and extremely hard to find. As I speak, (well, write) there's only twenty something choices for the whole nation on autotrader. That's because they only made ~13k and the owners hold on to them.

Now here's the kicker: it's the most fuel efficient car in America, in fact it has the lowest carbon dioxide emmisions in the entire world.

It has excellent reliability. In the current issue from Consumer Reports about 08 cars, they reccomend the Insight on their used car list. Reliability is large factor in deciding that. However, sometimes there are problems with the battery. Sometimes. Honda usually has you covered though with a 10 year/150,000 mile warranty on the battery pack. Honda also provides updated controls for the battery monitor. This warranty only covers the 00-04 models because the 05-06, presumably, already have the updated controls. If you have any questions just go on over to insightcentral.net

 

Ahh, another person from FlyerTalk - welcome! I used to be more active over there when I flew frequently.

Like you, I also like small cars because they are easier to drive. I can't imagine trying to parallel park a Tahoe. That would drive me crazy. I was surprised to hear you mention that the Prius has a smaller turning radius than the Civic, is that correct?

Driving a hybrid does make one a better driver. I am a much safer driver since I switched to a hybrid. Honestly, I think every car should include a MPG guage, because if people actually saw the lousy MPG they were getting when they slam that gas pedal, they would probably change their driving habits for the better.

 

Based on a little web searching ("prius turning-radius" or "honda-civic-hybrid turning-radius", without the quotes), I find that the HCH turning radius is 17.4' and the Prius turning radius is under 15'. Apparently it's a bit more complicated than one might expect; these figures measure the turning radius for the center of mass rather than the outside edge of the car. However, you also find numerous reports praising the Prius' tight turning radius.

I was not expecting it either, so it's not a matter of finding what I was looking for.

Yes, I agree, that continuous MGP readout is probably the most important fuel-saving device in the hybrid cars!

Edward