I bought the HCH for one reason.....it was avaliable, here in Washington DC the traffic is up in the top 3 worst in the country... I drive 44 miles each way to work with 40 of it on I-95 (aka parking lot) If you own a hybrid here in DC you can use the HOV lanes....that is why I needed a hybrid, the amount of time I save is tremendous.

I wanted a Prius, the "bells and whistles," better mileage, better warranty (very important as I probably do 30k a year), better looking in my opinion, fold down rear seats, almost same price (base model that is) made it a no brainer... however there was a 6 month wait and the commute was getting to me so bad I was thinking about moving.

With all the benefits I stated above about the Prius...I am by no means unhappy with my HCH, it is a great car.... and as some mechanic friends have informed me, bulletproof compared to the Prius (which seems to be in the shop alot)

Mileage has not been all that impressive, but I tend to have a lead foot, as I said I bought this car for HOV usage, not mileage (the clean emmisions and gas mileage is just an added bonus) I have just found this site so I am going to try and match some of these incredible figures that some are getting...it is just SOOOO hard to roll that SLOW lol