hi everyone - my name is neil and i'm new to this group. i just purchased my first hybrid yesterday from oakland honda. they received 4 hybrids in the morning and i was lucky enough to get in there before they all sold out! mine was just driven off the truck and still had all the plastic wrap on it lol.

i've only had the car for a day but i can already tell you how happy i am with it. i was leaning toward the prius but the honda people were just so confident in their product. they didn't pressue sale me at all rather they encouraged me to test drive it and then make a decision. that's all they said. having test driven a few prius ii's i had a good idea what they felt like.

in the end, i selected the hch-ii. my top reasons were:

1. actual mpg against actual mpg, prius ii and hch-ii were almost identical (at least in my tests where i really tried to test apples to apples). i was concerned that the civic would lag the prius here but it really doesn't.

2. i really like honda's approach to the whole emissions and mpg problem. they clearly state that they believe that it is not enough to just have a spiffy electric motor tacked onto the car. as important are advancements to the i.c.e. itself. the new i-vtec engine with variable cams and the ability to shut down all cylinders is a real advantage to the i.c.e. honda manages to get the same mpg with a 20hp electric motor that prius needs with a 70hp motor.

3. i like the simplicity of the honda ima system. simplicity means less moving parts and less to go wrong. while the planetary gear system on the prius is intriguing and allows for the motors and i.c.e. to be independently powering the drive train, the engineer in me doesn't like the complexity of the system. that's just me though.

4. i *really* like the styling of the civic. i like the prius styling as well but i really like the civic's styling. i think the civic will have a broader appeal because the car itself is just great looking by itself - hybrid or not.

5. i like the interior of the civic over the prius. i can't really stand being inside the prius. it is too spartan and swooshy. when i first saw the interior of the civic i almost bought it right there. of course, i didn't. i waited a day and then bought it ;-)

6. navigational system on civic rocks. honda/acura has one of the best in the industry. voice recognition is very accurate and useful. safer too.

7. wish the hch-ii had push button start. not a biggey but it would be cool. there are advantages to not having to fish around for your keys when your arms are full.

8. wish the hch-ii could fold down its rear seats but i understand that the battery pack is back there. not a big deal for me since i don't anticipate using that feature but others would really like it. i think i the end it will benefit honda to have a common body across their civic line. that probably means not split seat in order to accomidate the battery and that's fine in my book. a common body will reduce honda's costs which will ultimately allow them to funnel more money into research or drop the price of their hybrid civic.

i love driving the hch-ii. it is a real joy to drive. i purposefully told the navigation system to "avoid all freeways!" today in order to take the long way to my destination. it complied and added an hour onto my commute. i'll post more later after i've had some time with the car but so far, the entire honda hybrid experience has been amazing. i hope they sell a million of these things!

cheers,
neil

 

Everyone....High Neil! Why do I fel like this is AA?

Congradulations

Dennis

 

Because we are all trying to overcome our "oil addiction"

 

Well, not just you - count me in as another engineer in the 'Less is More' camp.

Glad you're enjoying the car.

 

Hi: Neil Balthaser;

Man I would really like to here more about what you think of your New HCH ll after you drive it some more.

Sounds like you are Really Sold on it.

Congrats:

Terry