The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[xavierprivas]

Honda hybrid technology is behind Toyota. In 2015 I shopped for hybrid cars . There were 3 choices: Toyota Prius, Ford C-max, Honda Insight.
My daily commute is 10 miles each way but traffic is bad, 1hr in the morning and 1h 15min in the evening.

Subjectively I liked the C-max the best, followed by the Prius and the Insight. Insight had the lowest mileage (not that I cared)
but the deal killer was the Insight had to turn off AC/heater when the car was stopped in traffic and the gas engine was turned off
just to get that mileage. The Prius and C-max also turn off their engine during stop but the climate control stays on. If the battery
charge falls below a certain level then the gas engine turns on long enough to recharge it.

The thought of being broiled in Atlanta summer during traffic eliminated the Honda from consideration. Ford C-max had bad rating from
Consumer Report so I went with Prius. This does not apply to ICE cars.
The Prius mileage is really good. One time we drove back from Gulf Shores Alabama home on one tank of gas. I was tired and did not want to stop when I was so near.