So, I'm car shopping...

[effervescible]

Today I test-drove a Fit and a Civic hybrid at the Honda dealership. They both have their advantages (one of the Fit's being that it's almost $10,000 cheaper) and I'm going to look at some other stuff too, but damned if I don't want the hybrid on sheer cool-factor alone.

Comments

[offscreen.livejournal.com]

[robot voice]The Fit is go.[/robot voice]

The Civic Hybrid is a cool looking car, someone at my office has one. What else are you going to look at?

[jaina.livejournal.com]

Haven't decided yet-I'm going to look on greencars and see what other dealers have. We've just always driven Hondas in my family so I was more up on what to check out there.

[enogitna.livejournal.com]

My coworker is looking into a Fit as well. He also wanted a Hybrid but it wasn't financially feasible for him, and a Fit has a low mpg, so it's still "green" in that sense at least.

[fee.livejournal.com]

i drive a fit! i'd love to have a hybrid but until the prices come down, they're out of my price range. when i got my civic in 02, a hybrid was 10k more. in 06 when i was getting my fit, they were 5k more. maybe in a few years they'll be closer to par.

[nomoreprinces.livejournal.com]

I have a Fit and my dad has a Civic Hybrid.

I much prefer the Fit hands down, not because it's mine, but because the visibitily in the Civic is shit. Also you can't believe how much crap you can fit in the Fit when you drop the seats down. The biggest things so far have been 2 fully assembled bikes and a 52" boxed plasma TV. I've taken it to Ikea several times and crammed that little guy up!

If you drive efficiently you can get 300-310 miles out of the tank on the highway and about 275-290 city. It's pretty comparable to the Civic honestly. My dad gets about 10-20 miles more out of his tank, but his maintenance fees are ridiculous because he had to do the oil change and all that other stuff at the dealer whereas I can just go down to a Jiffy Lube or Grease Monkey and get the same stuff cheaper.

[magi-balthasar.livejournal.com]

I believe you get a tax rebate for the hybrid.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Go for the Fit! All the cool kids are driving them! :D

[angelinamaria.livejournal.com]

The Civic is just way too expensive for what it is. The hybrid will cost even more over time than the Fit, because the maintenance costs negate the tax breaks and savings on gas. You'd have to drive the hybrid for ten years to break even with the Fit.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

That's a good point about the maintenance. My parents are paying up to $20,000 on the car, so I've got more spending leeway, but that doesn't mean I should go nuts, and the Fit does seem pretty cool. I'll write all this stuff down on my pros and cons list. Thanks!

[jaina.livejournal.com]

Hmm, thanks for the tips! It's going to be a while before I actually buy the new car, so I'm going to start a car shopping word doc up and write all this down in and pros and cons.

[greyvorfeed.livejournal.com]

I really, really want the Honda Fit. I'm probably going to get one next year, hopefully after wringing just a bit more value out of my current car (a Nissan Sentra).

I drove both the Civic and the Fit, and I just didn't like the feel of the Civic. Comparatively, it's a pretty huge car -- way too big for me! The Fit was a better, um, fit. I also like the Magic Seat system... nothing beats a hatchback for general utility.

At any rate, you can't go wrong with either of these cars. US News and World Report has an article which combines all the scores from the car reviews in other magazines, and these two lead their class: #1 (Fit) and #2 (standard Civic)! The hybrid Civic is #4.

[angelinamaria.livejournal.com]

Eh, save them some money. :) There's no point in having $20k on wheels when you live in the Northeast. The weather and bad roads are rough.

Also, it's worth noting that Hondas generally cost more than Toyotas, but rank lower on the reliability index for non-luxury cars(# of problems reported during the first five years of ownership.) Toyota has a few high mpg non hybrids for around $15-17k sticker.

Good luck shopping!

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I thought you were more for the Versa! The Scion was decent, too. But, I do love my Fit. :)

[greyvorfeed.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was originally thinking of a Versa, but upon trying them both, I think the Fit is a better car. We'll see how I feel in a year or so. :)

[missandrony.livejournal.com]

There are generally a shitton of tax breaks attached to hybrid cars, so it might balance out in the long run.

I have the standard Civic and I'm really enjoying it, although I think when it's time to buy my own, I'll do the Fit. It would be nice to have a car with real storage capabilities without the gas guzzling.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I thought the visibility in the Civic was shit too. We bought a Prius. I love it love it love it love it. Having said that, I think the Fit is a pretty decent small car with less bells and whistles.