Corolla Cross, Kia Niro. wife and I weren't so hot on the small SUV style, and the cars were pretty boring to drive. Civic had large trunk, good back seat, fun to drive yet very economical.

 

No. I had the same Civic - 2024 Sport Touring Hatch. Did not know the hybrid was coming. I immediately sold the 2024 to get the 2025 Civic ST Hatch hybrid.

 

Was it worth doing trade in for 1 year old car? You must have lost few grands...

 

It was between the Civic Hybrid Hatchback and the Toyota Corolla Cross. This was for my kid and I wanted the larger vehicle for added safety and ease of entry/exit. But I got jerked around by two Toyota dealerships so I went with the Civic. The Civic is a much better vehicle. The Corolla Cross is a “Gets you from A to B” vehicle. Not a lot of fun to drive. The only issue I have with the Civic is how low it is. Tough for old bones to get in and out.

 

I started thinking about buying a new car but wasn't looking into it too much yet. A couple of months later coworker bought Corolla. At the end of that week, on friday evening I started looking into hybrids and eventually came upon a comparison between Corolla and Civic. Didn't even know Civic 11th gen existed, let alone hybrid (I dislike 10th gen styling). Next day on saturday I went to the local dealer, checked out the car and set an appointment for test drive on monday. On monday I went on a test drive and ordered the car when I returned. Just a tiny litle impulsive buy, but 2 years and 30k miles later I don't regret it.

 

I had entertained the idea of the latest Prius. I wanted something that had some get-up-and-go. I read the reviews of the Civic Hybrid and took it for a test drive and was immediately smitten with it's performance and handling and made a deal for it that day.

 

I considered every hybrid that was available. I drove a 2025 Camry and a Corolla, which I did not like compared to the Civic. Also, the local Toyota dealer is not a place I would give my business to. The Honda drive system is superior to all others from my point of view.

 

Looked at the Prius which I personally found to be almost crude when compared to the Civic. Considered, but never drove the Camry. The closer competition came from the Crown Signia, but even with big discounts still rang in at around 10-15K more than the CST. Different class of vehicle, but similar from a functionality stand point. Fun/Sport won out against cruiser/luxury in the end.

The only hesitancy with the CST revolved around the lack of AWD, but in the end, I enjoyed it more than anything else I drove, including a CPO 4 Gran coupe and MB E class, so I concluded it was worth tossing the goodyears and throwing on a set of 3 peaks for light duty winter use. Reality is for the heavy stuff, I have a better option in the driveway anyway.

 

Anybody looked at Hyundai/KIA? They have (sort of) attractive design and a lot of tech... Previous (first) Ioniq generation (hybrid, plug in) was so cute little car but for some reason they stopped making it and replaced it with those boxy EV. And current Elantra is so weird looking and kind of unnecessary big...

 

I have a 2018 Kia Niro Hybrid. It’s been a good car. But I don’t like the styling of the newer models. Plus I usually don’t want to get the same car again. As I mentioned before, the Civic was for my kid so I didn’t want to go full electric. Who knows if they’ll have a place to plug in overnight when they move out. Plus they don’t even like having to go get gas so having to go fast charge more often for a long time was a no go.

 

I considered a couple of other vehicles before I purchased my sport touring sedan.

I looked at the Corolla but there were very few in stock and none of them were the top trim so the feature list and materials in the interior were not to my liking. Also the powertrain felt really in Toyota like as it was rough.

I was looking at the Accord Hybrid Touring and while I liked it, the overall feeling was just that it wasn’t as connected to me as a driver as I wanted. It was also bigger than what I needed.

The CRV hybrid was also a consideration. It was very polished and would have been my choice if I didn’t already have 2 SUV sitting at the house and if I could have picked up a top trim one for less than 40k out the door.

The Civic checked all the boxes, it is powerful, has fuel economy that is at least double our other vehicles, it’s comfortable and it has some very good driving dynamics.

I would definitely buy it again.

 

I looked at Corolla and Prius. A friend had the Corolla and it's really a dullard as far as get up and go plus the drone of the CVT. The Prius I found to be a bit ridiculous, trying to look like a Lamborghini without all the stuff that actually makes a Lamborghini a Lamborghini. I also looked at the Alfa Romeo Tonale Phev which I really liked but it was getting up around $50k. The Civic checked all the boxes except I would have liked vented seats but the Accord would have been an extra $8k just to get those and it was bigger than what I wanted. Because of the arrangement of my garage the Civic barely fits lengthwise so the Accord would have forced me to move things like sink and workbenches around. One year later and I'm convinced I got the right car.

 

I didn't consider any other hybrids in the same class. I had a Corolla Hybrid rental last year and knew I didn't like it. Honda, Mazda and Toyota were the only makes I would consider....and Mazda doesn't have a hybrid car.

I checked out the Toyota Camry SE and was impressed with the driving experience. But they obviously cut some costs on interior materials, which was very disappointing. Toyota dealers (at least in my area) are very smug and refuse to negotiate or discuss removing add-ons.

The only serious competitor was the Accord Hybrid. They had some '24 Accords left with cash incentives and 2.49% APR. I could've had a '24 Accord Hybrid Sport-L for a slightly lower payment than my '25 Civic HST (despite the $4k difference in price).

But I loved the look of the Civic and it was the most fun to drive. I've had it for seven months and 13k miles with no regrets!

 

When I needed a vehicle late last year, it was between the Civic Sport Touring Hybrid Hatchback and the Tesla Model 3 RWD.

For the money, the Tesla is an amazing vehicle and superior to the Civic in nearly every way.

That said, I make lots of 300+ mile trips, and simply didn't want to deal with the time/inconvenience of charging away from home.

 

For the money, the Tesla is an amazing vehicle and superior to the Civic in nearly every way.

Right. Tesla crap cars come with the different modes for crispiness so no coffin is needed.

Big screen in the middle of the car only moron like elon could come up. Your eyes should be on the road and not looking somewhere around your crotch and tapping, tapping, tapping to adjust anything. Unless you are looking for a stiffy after blue pill...
Anyway, HATE tesla crap cars so end of story.

 

I had the Prius and Kia Niro on my radar. Had a 1.5hr test drive in Prius. I've driven every Prius generation and tried to like them, but I just- can't. Too many ergonomic and design details that just infuriate me. I like the Niro a lot, never actually drove one. I rented a plugin XCeed in Europe, which I think has the same drivetrain. It's kind of like a Crosstrek. I was curious how the DCT worked. It was ok but nothing special. The Mazda CX-30 has always intrigued me, and I was a 4-time Mazda owner, but Mazda hasn't changed a single thing about that car since it was introduced before the pandemic, and no hybrid availability. I drove the Civic and was sold.

 

only moron like elon could come up.
Anyway, HATE tesla crap cars so end of story.

Wow @HondaEh , it sounds like you have some serious unresolved issues to work through. I'm surprised such a mundane post triggered you like this.

I'm no Elon fanboy, and have no dog in this fight, but you do realize he's one of the most successful men in the world and runs several of the most technologically advanced companies in this country?
Not sure how you determined he was a "moron".

How much time have you spent driving Tesla models to determine they are "crap cars"?

 

 

There is no fight.
I simply stated a few mundane and widely accepted facts.

HondaEh had an unhinged reaction based on emotion instead of facts ("moron", "HATE tesla crap cars").
If this was a fight, he knocked himself out in the first round.

 

OH NO...HONDAEH is a drunken master ...getting knocked out is part of the plan.