Drives like a mid-size, Drinks like a tadpole.

Surprisingly Excellent
I put 5,000 miles on this car in the first 2 weeks. I filled up only 8 times while driving 65 MPH all over Arizona, Nevada and California through mountains and mostly on freeways. This car costs nothing to own and is a nice ride. I'm still shocked when I think about the comfort, the acceleration AND economy, the money I'm saving, the car's mass potential to reduce the need to fight wars in oil rich countries and the fact that so many people have silly little hangups about this car.

Hybrid Durability
Passenger and freight trains have been diesel/electric "hybrids" since the 1930s. Toyota has never released a vehicle that had American or European level bugs or problems. In fact, Toyota has been selling hybrids for 5 years now with no surge in repairs compared to regular models. But some people still won't try a hybrid because they think it's too "new". That's American car experience training for ya - "gotta wait a couple years till they work the bugs out". Not that all Japanese brands are created equally, because they aren't. But Toyota hybrids have no bugs - and it's been 5 years. But still, some will wait and wait and throw away about $1,000 a year in wasted gas money overseas and perpetuate mid east drama. Maybe you can afford to waste a few miles per gallon. But ever think about "soldiers per gallon"?

So lets cut to the chase. This is the best car on the market for most uses. Roomy, great ride and fast off the line. There are only a few options like DVD navigation and BlueTooth because the standard Prius is pretty much loaded. I can see why Consumer Reports magazine gave it a top pick. It might not look flashy, but getting a comb-over and sports car won't help you get more dates either.

Fuel Economy
And yes, I DID get the stated EPA numbers of 55 miles per gallon - with a catch - you have to have a very light foot and ease up on the gas when you've reached your max speed until you feel it "shift" up into its highest gear. This is because the continuously variable transmission (CVT)doesn't just stick in the highest position possible for max fuel economy - 4th gear. Because it doesn't have actual gears, the CVT kind of ranges between what we think of as gears when it needs more or less power and ends up sitting in positions somewhere in the middle of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

The problem is, even gentle, rolling hills on the highway will always pull the CVT out of its highest "gear" and hang around say 3.25 gear if you were comparing it to a 4 speed auto trans. But if you're always mindful, you just ease back on the gas pedal for a second until you feel it "upshift" and just hold the pedal steady and you will get those magical fuel economy numbers showing on the display that some magazine writers said they couldn't achieve. They probably drove like regular drivers which means not paying much attention to acceleration/efficiency details.

In ANY car, mileage drops dramatically over 65 MPH due to wind drag. But tailgating another car helps mileage by cutting wind drag.(not safe) Also, in any car, your mileage drops when you give it all the gas you want and don't pay attention to acceleration. You just won't know how much you are losing because there isn't an onboard gas useage display to disappoint you in most regular cars. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.

When I drive the Prius without thinking like "regular" cars that don't have fuel economy displays to inspire efficient driving, but still without a lead foot, I only got about 45 miles per gallon. It also helps to coast in neutral for really long, steep declines so there's less powertrain drag to slow you down, but that's only a minor help compared to pedal tweaking and you're not going to find many long, steep declines in most of the country anyway. But tweaking the pedal is fun and you get used to glancing at the numbers safely and eventually, you'll get a sense of when it's time to tweak without looking at the mileage screen. If you like manual transmissions for the sense of participation and control, but hate the chore aspects of shifting all the time, you'll love the gas savings games you can play with this car if you want to and still have the convenience of an automatic you can put in "D" and just drive without thinking about it. And you'll still get mid 40s per gallon.

No Belts, But Some Minor Downsides
The other thing that hurts the Prius's fuel economy is running the electric air conditioner and heater. Because there aren't any belt driven accessories, the A/C, heater and power steering are all electric. This means the gas engine stays on longer than it has to while driving under 40 miles per hour to maintain battery charge when the Heater or AC is on. But the mileage will only drop to the low 40s on the highway in a worst case scenario without tweaking the pedal and with the heat or A/C on ALL the time on EVERY trip. The beltless electric steering is kind of vague and doesn't have much kickback or "feedback" from bumps. The good thing is being able to stay in a heated or cooled car with the engine off for some periods of time. In fact, the military likes the stealthy "low footprint" of hybrid cars for spy work.

Feels Bigger
And yes, I DID say the car was roomy. And I'm a big guy. And it's fast. And has a good ride. It just LOOKS small on the outside. But it sure feels big when you sit in it. The other thing you may notice, if you're detail oriented, is the plastics and fabrics and other materials inside are very good quality. There are no tell-tale cheap or ill-fitting plastics or poorly sculpted seats. Everything is top shelf.

Because of the heavy batteries that store electricity, the car has a well weighted ride that feels like a much bigger car - lets say a Taurus. Because it's a hatchback, rear visibility is bad, but you get more rear storage (a big TV can stand upright in the trunk) and more rear headroom than other cars that are this "small" on the outside. Small outside used to mean small inside. Not anymore. Automakers can't play the size game to get you to move up into a more expensive car. They have to offer value in every exterior size class. Especially since "small" cars are more popular in the rest of the world where governments don't subsidize the true cost of gasoline with a high military budget.

Safety
The Prius also got top scores in all the crash tests beating out some larger and supposedly safer cars. There is nothing to explode or catch fire and it's pretty much engineered for anybody to operate - light foot or not. The only thing that threw me is you have to hold the brake pedal when you press the "start" button otherwise it won't come on. Big deal. You'll learn.

Operation
At low speeds (under 40) the gas engine is off and it drives silently on electric power until the car senses more power is needed and the gas engine comes on. It is so serene with the windows down on a quiet road. You can actually hear birds chirping and people can actually hear you talking from inside your car with the windows down while driving in all electric mode. Again, by easing back on the gas pedal, you can actually get the gas engine to turn off and go back to just electric if you've been slowly accelerating in city traffic but not slow enough to keep the gas off. It's a very neat car and you can have big fun seeing how much you can tweak the pedal to save gas. Because when the gas is off, the display reads 99.999 miles per gallon. It's as addicting as the internet was when it first became available to the average Joe (and Jolene) back in the 90s.

It's faster than similar cars because it has 2 motors. And because electric motors have more torque than gas engines at lower speed, the electric motor is primary - it gets the car going off the line until the gas engine is needed to help it at higher speeds where electric motors lose horsepower.

There's nothing to plug in because the gas engine also recharges the batteries at just the right RPM for max efficiency and the brakes turn a generator which recovers all that energy wasted when you stop in a non-hybrid car - a big plus for hilly streets, city drivers or simply those who come to a stop which is everybody. Cruising range is 500-600 miles on one tank of regular gas.

Misconceptions
"But isn't it small? Won't it catch fire? I don't understand how it works. I don't trust it. It's probably really slow. I don't want to plug anything in and run out of electricity far from home."

Ok, lets review. It's a Toyota. Bullet proof operation after 5 years on the market. It's comfy and roomy enough on long trips for my 6'3" 210 pound behind. It's top rated by every educated magazine writer who's friends or family weren't laid off in Detroit for producing junk the managers and marketing studies said customers still found acceptable. It's fast because electric motors have better low speed torque than the gas engine that helps it at higher speeds. You don't plug it in because it makes it's own power for 500-600 miles per tank. There are no crazy maintenance requirements. Fleets are getting them. Resale value is extremely high. This car is very refined. Just test drive it. You'll love it.

Money!
If you drive the average 15,000 miles per year and pay $2.50 a gallon, in the average 22 mile per gallon car, you will pay about $1,700 a year just in gas. Thats $17,000 over 10 years assuming gas won't go up.

If you drive the average 15,000 miles per year and pay $2.50 a gallon, in the 55 mile per gallon Toyota Prius (with light foot), you will pay about $680 a year in gas. Thats only $6,800 over 10 years assuming gas won't go up.

That's $10,000 saved! Still want a 22 mile per gallon guzzler?

Overall
This car drives, rides and feels like a midsize car and is very comfortable and high quality but drinks gas like a tiny car. Like any car, you'll get the posted mileage IF you pay attention. The style is very practical so if you have issues with your looks, image, age, sex appeal, hierarchy rank or job satisfaction get in touch with yourself, free yourself from your mental prisons (maybe with therapy) and THEN get this car. Can you name one car that has a better balance of all worlds?

More information
If you want more information on the Prius, go to toyota.com/prius. Also Google search "hybrid cars" and check out iihs.org for crash tests, fueleconomy.gov for mileage comparisons, intellichoice.com for cost of ownership and calcars.org for the next leap in hybrid technology.

Other Reviews
If you need a good magazine to make your own heat and electricity for your house, or need a good kitchen range, range hood, cooktop, wall oven or dishwasher see my other reviews.