Vibe vs hybrid Prius/Civic ?

[stock]

Different categories, but an interesting question. Saving at least over $5K with the Vibe (maybe $7-8K).

[Kamikaze]

My parents both have Prius's. They're fun little cars. I like the vibe better for apperance, and how you sit/feel in the car... but I like the prius's gadgets and such... Both have Navigation on all the other bells and whistles... The bluetooth is nice for you phone, right thru the stereo, back up camera, and not to mention the 58mpg you can get out of them. Not to mention the trip to my parent will take me about 2x the amount of gas, so on just that one trip I could save half a tank of gas.

[skimaxpower]

I seriously considered buying a Prius. For me it came down to price.My 1.8L 2007 5spd vibe gets 30-36 MPG.My Mom's 2003 Prius gets 40-50 MPGFor me, it wasn't worth the price premium. I just don't drive that many miles. But when she bought the Prius, it definitely won over the Civic Hybrid. No Question. Better MPG, more power, more room, and cleaner emissions. If you want good MPG above all else, go for a Prius. If you want to save money, go for a used Geo Metro. If you want something in between ..... the 1.8L Vibe is a good option.

[Katscan]

What I find funny about hybrids is that they are not as echo friendly as they claim to be. Yes they use less gas....in a city environment, but thats about the only place you really get the use out of a hybrid. The electric motor only works at low speeds If you truely want to help the environment, get an all electric car or wait till they get hydrogen cars into production

[Markmysite]

I looked long and hard at moving towards a Prius. I have always hated the look of them and I just could not get over it. The 2010 model will finally have lower headlights which makes the front end look a lot better. It's a great car, can do awesome mileage with hypermiling (yes the average driver will get abou 45mpg, but people on forums are hypermiling them and getting 70mpg+) and they are proven.On the downside, they have heavy batteries, the interior leaves something to be desired for me, and they will hurt the environment more in the long run (what to do with all those batteries???). When they switch to lithium in 2010 they will be a better option. I still don't think they are worth the price premium compared to a fuel efficient 4 cyl. gas engine or a deisel. Did I mention I hate the way they look?

[joatmon]

Vibes are built in California. Matrixes are built in Canada. Priuses are built in Japan. I don't know where they build Civic Hybrids. I care a whole lot more about the economy of the US and Canada than I do about Japan's

[tx_wrx]

right now is a terrible time to purchase a hybrid in my opinion. The current gens are selling at a premium. the used ones are too expensive. The current tech is 6 years old and there are lots of new hybrids right around the corner. Wait till the spring for the new honda hybrid or the following fall for the new Prius. At that point the used hybrids will fall to their KBB prices and might be worth purchasing then.

[Daox]

The new Prius will be built in the US, however the sales still go to Japan. If economy is your thing you shouldn't be buying anything from overeseas... Oh, wait, probably half of domestics have their parts made over there. So, unfortunately, theres really no way of getting a totally domestic vehicle. Its just not how things are done anymore. On the other hand, if your inclined by the all mighty dollar, there have been numerous studies of hybrids done and they have all proven that they have a lower overall cost after 3-5 years of service depending on miles traveled. Actually, if your only incination is money, you should do as skimaxpower said and buy a used car as that is the overall cheapest way to go.If you are environmentally inclined, the hybrids win by a landslide. Lower emissions, better mileage, and yes the batteries are recyclable.Last but not least, lets not forget oil dependance and national security. The less oil we use, the less dependant we are on the people that probably hate us most in this world. Not a bad thing really.The hybrid wins in each catagory. The ONLY thing that holds them back is a higher initial price, thats really it. Keep it a few years and that price has paid for itself. Its really that simple.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by Daox »The new Prius will be built in the US, however the sales still go to Japan. If economy is your thing you shouldn't be buying anything from overeseas... Oh, wait, probably half of domestics have their parts made over there. So, unfortunately, theres really no way of getting a totally domestic vehicle. Its just not how things are done anymore. Toyota will begin assembling Priuses in Mississippi in 2010. In this global economy, no car is 100% domesstic, but some are higher %, some are low. Prius hits the very bottom of the scale. Most people don't care about such things, some are happy to see the big 3 going under. Having a high % north american content and assembled in the US was a non-trivial factor in why I bought a Vibe. Hopefully the Chevy Volt will be a big seller.

[VforVIBE]

It's funny when someone says hybrid, eveyone thinks Prius...What about the winner of the 2008 Green Car of the Year that has 332 horsepower?ORWinner of the 2008 Automotive Excellence Awards (Energy Efficiency Category), 2008 Myride.com Hybrid of the Year, 2008 Technology Of the Year (Two-Mode Hybrid System) also with 332 horsepower?I agree with tx_wrx, now is the perfict time to but Trucks, SUVs, and other low MPG vehicles, not hybrids.

[rdnzl]

If you break down, there'd better be a dealer close by, or you'll be stuck. Small shops don't have a clue about 'brids.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »It's funny when someone says hybrid, eveyone thinks Prius...What about the winner of the 2008 Green Car of the Year that has 332 horsepower?ORWinner of the 2008 Automotive Excellence Awards (Energy Efficiency Category), 2008 Myride.com Hybrid of the Year, 2008 Technology Of the Year (Two-Mode Hybrid System) also with 332 horsepower?You can't polish a turd, GM's hybrid full size SUV's are still fuel sucking pigs though. They're selling reeeeally well too, maybe into the double digits by now. They've pretty much been a flop, maybe the $10k premium to be "green" (or, perhaps slightly less environmentally destructive ) isn't helping convince Suzie Soccermom that she must get behind the wheel of one. lol! A smaller, less costly hybrid that had better FE gains than stuff like that hybrid Malibu would have been a far wiser choice for GM if ya ask me...Hybrids are nice, but yes it's a bad time to buy one. A small vehicle driven correctly can still yield decent FE so I would consider that instead....

[ToolGuy]

Yeah the Tahoe and Durango Hybrids are all a dog and pony show! Wasted time, effort and too low volume to me. These companies need to go beyond things like that. BFD. Hook a boat to one of these SUV Hybrids and it will never go into electric mode!

[VforVIBE]

Quote, originally posted by ToolGuy »These companies need to go beyond things like that.Do you think the Chevy Volt is the answer?

[ToolGuy]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »Do you think the Chevy Volt is the answer?Actually yes I do. I really think this car will propel GM out of the doom and gloom. GM just needs to execute and get it on the road as they say. The price I hear will be $32,000+ for one but I would think as more are made the technology will get cheaper thus drive the price for one down. I did not mean to rip on your post at all too, I just know a lot about the Durango when I developed tools for it and think Chrysler is just spinning its wheels to catch up and this joint effort with GM was a complete waste of time. It demostrates the technology which is great, so why not put it into small cars people want or will buy?

[VforVIBE]

Quote, originally posted by ToolGuy »Actually yes I do. I really think this car will propel GM out of the doom and gloom. GM just needs to execute and get it on the road as they say. The price I hear will be $32,000+ for one but I would think as more are made the technology will get cheaper thus drive the price for one down. Glad to hear it. Quote, originally posted by ToolGuy »I did not mean to rip on your post at all too, I just know a lot about the Durango when I developed tools for it and think Chrysler is just spinning its wheels to catch up and this joint effort with GM was a complete waste of time. It demostrates the technology which is great, so why not put it into small cars people want or will buy? Actually, I was thinking about the Tahoe and Yukon, rather then the Durango... Chrysler bad, GM... good.

[Kamikaze]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »It's funny when someone says hybrid, eveyone thinks Prius...I think of Insight... That thing is awesome... hypermilers are getting 175mpg in those things. Plus the only reason I chimed in about the Prius is this thread is Vibe vs hybrid Prius/Civic (doesn't mention any other hybrid cars)

[tx_wrx]

im not so sure about 175 but 100+ sure that is possibleif you are comparing an economy car to a hybrid read thishttp://www.edmunds.com/insidel...30069

[Katscan]

I think that too much emphasis is put on hybrids, there are far better choices out there than a hybrid. Hydrogen and Bio Diesel are very good alternatives as well.....why all the hype on hybrids?

[tx_wrx]

>>why all the hype on hybrids?cause they are the only alternative you can purchase now. BioDiesel is great but i cant purchase it. Hydrogen is great but we have no infrastructure. Ethanol is the worst option out there. Electric cars are around the corner but not here yet. Fuel cells are darn expensive and there is that hydrogen problem agian.Hybrids are nothing more than the efficient car you can buy now. In the future almost all cars will have some kind of tech that would be considered Hybrid like now. Personally i want a plugin hybrid. Those are where the real money savings will start to show up. We just need better/cheaper battery tech very very soon. And we'll get there before we all drive fuel cells.

[vibolista]

A ramble about hybrids. We have a Prius and a Vibe. My wife commutes farther than I do so she drives the Prius. Bought it back in 05. No problems. No regrets. It has been a very efficient vehicle. We still have not figured out the premium part of the purchase. It cost around 22K. Most cars we looked at in this general size ranged from 18 to 28K. My wife averages 52-54 mpg. When I get to drive it, usually vacation trips or to visit family, I get 54 to 56 mpg. Got rid of the tiny tires right away and put a set of 205/55 16's on fairly light wheels. This made the car much better on the road. Behaves a lot like my Vibe. If you don't appreciate the way it looks, you don't have a handle on the Aero aspect of the car. Without the slippery body, you don't get the great mpg. Hopefully the interior will be better in the next gen. BTW, it's really tough to push the mpg's into the 40s with this hybrid. Check your tire pressure, driving style or something. Don't know if its better to help the Japanese economy buying the Prius or driving something much less efficient and helping out some of those nice middle eastern countries that seem so fond of us. The Prius electric motor and gas motor work in different combinations all the time, depending on load or charge conditions. The electric motor and regenerative braking charge the batteries when needed. Until something else comes along, the Prius and other hybrids will be the only high mpg alternatives around. So if you really think the present Prius is expensive, wait 'til you but a Chevy Volt for 32k or more. Europeans have been driving small high tech diesel cars for a while that achieve 50 to 60 mpg. We haven't gotten a shot at those cars yet, but we might in the near future. The gas hybrids and diesels are just a temporary fix on the way to cars fueled by hydrogen or whatever else is developed. No one wants our domestic car industry to go down the drain, but they really missed the boat on this oil thing somehow. Head in the sand production planning didn't work out. They didn't notice that world oil demand was increasing at a rapid rate? They forgot what happened back in the 70's? They missed the industrial explosion in China and India? I don't get it.