H Jreas - great review, especially as a previous Prius owner.

One note about recirculation: The system is, generally, entirely automatic based on your climate control requests at the time. Many people aren't aware, but the drivers side vent system houses an ionizer to filter/clean the air. Recirculating cabin air, in theory, cleans already cleaned/ionized air.

Additionally you can replace your cabin air filter with a stock HEPA filter - increasing the recirculating benefit.

Colorado generally has beautiful crisp clean air (I used to live in Longmont) but there are definitely places where this becomes a benefit.

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"It's not easy being green..." - Kermit the Frog