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HCHII versus Prius

Created May 12, 2008, at 6:53 pm by uktiger

It has been a couple of months now on my '08 Magnetic Pearl HCHII and '08 Red Prius. Overall I am enthusiastic about both models and offer two thumbs up without qualifications. If you held a gun to my head and made me choose one I would probably go for the HCHII, but only by a nano-meter. Comparing the hybrids to the last few "regular" cars I have owned, BMW X5, X3, 330, 528, 318, either of the hybrids wins hands down.

The differences between the HCHII and Prius are best described as the same as the difference between a Civic and a Corolla or a Camry and an Accord. If the sweet Honda sound when you turn the key rings your bell, then you will probably enjoy the HCHII more. The little 1.3 liter looks like it belongs on a motorcycle but damn, it is a sweet machine. I also think the HCHII is better suited for the highway than the Prius. When you shut a Honda door it sounds like a Mercedes while when you shut the Prius door it sounds like a Toyota.

The Prius has more bells and whistles like a CD changer and better MP3 plug placement. Also, the magic key in the Prius is cool. I thought it was gimickey but now I absolutely love it. If you are doing short trips around town, the Prius can really kick HCHII's but in mileage. On the highway they are rated the same but I get over 50 MPG on the highway with HCHII. I love the Prius colours and had a hard time choosing (MSantos was no freaking help on this one). I think the HCHII colours are butt-ugly.

After 1,500 miles on my HCHII, I got rear-ended. The bumper cover and trunk were destroyed as well as the re-bar and foam. Total price to fix is about $2,500. But I feel like the car did its job in protecting me from harm. Thank you Honda high-strength steel.