LOL! No tach in the DX? so why not get an EX or LX, something better but the same body? I must admit; beyond the HX I have little interest in civics and do not know much about the trim levels besides some guesses about what EX, LX, and DX (assuming I got those right) might mean. I also don't really care to know about the features in the deluxe civics because that will only tempt me.
Yeah I have felt the same way, like having a 4-door HX would be nice, but whatever. 40mpg is pretty slick, and I'll use the trunk for crap and make the occasional passenger squeeze in the back.
My supra hasn't much of a trunk. (subwoofers...)
There's a build for a four-door HX powered rig, and lots of info on potential drivetrain swaps, so I'm not saying it would be terribly hard beyond finding parts. But yeah, I am saying that the cost of a good runner is actually not terribly high at $3k, considering the cost of a comparable Prius and associated running costs I believe $3k is a sound investment. As far as swaps are concerned, I think the money you could have earned at your job, assuming you have one, *may* hopefully be equal to or greater than the value of simply buying a car equipped with what you want.
I see some people going to crazy lengths to get an extra few MPG out of a car, when the time and money they'd spend on the goofy plywood and foam mods endeavor make me question the savings on the fossil fuels burnt by just NOT doing the silly mods. Mainly because time=money=fuel. Mainly though; I appreciate vehicle aesthetics.
Then there's the the whole prius idea, and the data suggesting they cost our earth MORE to produce in CO2 emissions than a good 'ol v8 muscle car run it's entire lifetime, so running costs aside; earth-savers are actually on a thin line there. It's all relative, and everybody has their hobbies I guess. I wouldn't mind a prius, assuming I'd sell it before it's battery went flat.
Personally, I need another vehicle and I wanted over 35MPG, because something I read suggested 40mpg was a savings sweet-spot.
So I looked for a cheap <$5k vehicle with a decent safety rating, decent size (not an insight), and MPG to help my small income take me further. Thanks to ecomodder I became hell-bent on the HX...
Nothing else this side of a diesel or ugly does what I want with reliability in my price range, sadly.
Rambled a bit there...