AutoblogGreen

All I can say is that I have a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid, which with the manual transmission equals the real-world driving MPG average of the Prius. (See: www.greenhybrid.com.) Given that the Insight is/was too small for me since I'd rather ride my motorcycle than drive a car THAT small, now, 4 years latter, there still is no better car for me to buy and replace my '04 Civic with that I would consider an improvement. Unless you count the Tesla Roadster as being "available."

Everything on the horizon, from the Fisker Karma I put a deposit on, to the LF-HS concept, to the Volt, to the CR-Z etc.,. are still at couple years away. I was really hoping there'd be some greener alternatives to my 4-year-old car by now, but there aren't. And it's looking to me like it will be at least 6 years old by the time it gets replaced with a greener alternative.

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2004 Honda Civic Hybrid: 37 city, 45 hwy

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySide.jsp?column=1&id=19590

2008 Toyota Prius: 48 city, 45 hwy

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorSelectEngine.jsp?year=2008&make=Toyota&model=Prius

You get the same highway mileage, but your city mileage is a lot worse, judged by standardized testing. These are both compared, by the way, via the revised mileage standards.

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KarenRei: standardized tests, schemsts. I have a lot of respect for your posts, but I hate to say it, but in this situation you're trying to tell me what I get, when you forget that I know what I get on average, over a 600 mile tank of gas because... imagine this... I own the car and drive it and keep track of my mpgees. Usually around 48.8. Sometimes as low as 44.2. I talk to Prius drivers here in LA that get 42-44 mpgees all the time.

Anyway, the greenhybrid.com link makes the point with a much larger database from real-world driving than this anecdotal evidence.

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A large database of unsolicited user reports is not statistically valid.

I'm not trying to tell you what you get (the "you" was meant to be the general "you" (as in, "you go down the street, turn right on Elm..."), not "you" as a person), and certainly not what to buy. I'm just pointing out that in standardized testing, the Prius performs the same on the highway but better in the city. And standardized testing is a lot more statistically sound then unsolicited anecdotal cases.

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Oh, and quite to the contrary of the impression you got, if I were in your shoes, I *wouldn't* get a new Prius. The difference is small enough that I'd save my money and wait for an affordable electric that meets your needs. I was merely trying to point out that in controlled conditions, the Civic doesn't perform as well as the Prius.

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Hybrids appear to present challenges for the EPA standardized fuel economy estimates.
My understanding is that any individual's overall average fuel economy in a hybrid is much more dependent on their driving style and driving patterns than in a non-hybrid.
One gains the greatest benefit from hybrids when driving conditions allow heavier use of the electric motors, i.e., stop-and-go and lower speeds.
My personal driving pattern weighs heavily toward extended highway miles, with only a small portion of stop-and-go and lower speeds.
I would not expect current hybrids to be the best choice for my driving when considering only fuel economy. (There are other things to consider, but I'm limiting this line of thought only to fuel economy.)

As the say, your mileage may vary.

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