You don't say what kind of work your wife does, or what sort of things she has to haul around.

Looking at Prius spec's:

From

http://www.toyota.com/prius/specs.html

Looking under "capacities," there are 96.2 cu.ft. "passenger volume," and 14.4 cu.ft. "luggage space." Since the rear seats fold down, much of that passenger volume is available as luggage space. The hatchback makes it possible to load larger objects as well.

If your wife's stuff will fit in a Prius, you definitely have the emissions and fuel economy issues solved.

I know my Prius has way more room than my Civic, and way more than a Hybrid Civic, since the Hybrid Civic does not have fold-down rear seats.

It's amazing having a roomy car that gets better fuel economy than my motorcycle.

It may be that your wife needs more room than a Prius provides, but it's worth considering.

Harry