drizzle said:
I thought a somewhat misleading part was making the statements that they are both not more expensive AND not small and underpowered.
So much depends on your reference point. If you compare a Prius to an SUV, they are small. Compare it to a 1993 Camry and it's about the same inside. Compare it to my mom's Cadillac STS and the Prius is actually roomier, much roomier. If you want small, try a Mini, a Miata or VW Jetta. All of those are substantially smaller. Remember, a Prius is not classed as a compact car.
The power issue is also relative. Compare it to a RAM 2500 and it appears to be pretty weak. Compare it to any "economy car" and it comes across as very powerful. I've driven my car to the airport, flown to San Diego and rented a diapointing Mustang with the 5.0 engine. The mustang was less capable when merging onto the freeway AND it was noisier, cramped and the tranny was jerky.
When driven in the real world, it's a bit different. Because of the great torque at ALL speeds, it will accelerate while driving up a 5% grade, even if you are already doing 65. That's a point where many cars start to lose power. In 35,000 miles mine's never reached the end of an onramp without matching the freeway speed, even when the onramp was uphill in the mountains. If it had more speed, I'd still have to match the speed of traffic so it would not do much good. I'd have to back off the throttle even earlier than I do now.
If you want or need to go from 0-60 fast enough to spill your coffee when you hit the brakes, the Prius is not your best choice. There are others (the Honda Accura comes to mind) that are fast hybrids but not as clean nor as frugal.
The best advise for LouRoy is to test drive both, and then evaluate how you drive. I've been told that the ergonomics of the Prius are better than the Civic. I also believe the Prius has better technology, since the ICE will shut down when not needed, even at freeway speeds. The Civic runs the ICE whenever power is needed. I've driven much more than 10 miles (coming out of the mountains) at freeway speeds with the ICE off. I've also driven more than 5 miles on level ground in LA slow and go with the ICE off. I got a picture of the display when we did that.
Yes, I'm biased. I've been spoiled by the technology. I don't commute at the moment, so I only fill the tank once every 3 to 8 weeks and I love that.
Daniel