My $.02 worth...

Started out looking at the Prius, since it is the mileage champ, and very "green". Test drove it, and liked it enough. Before leaving the dealership, sat in a Camry XLE (since Hybrid Camry was not nearby), and I thought nice, but I want to be greener. So, I left thinking it was going to be a Prius.

Wife convinced me to just try a Civic Hybrid too. So, I drove it. Handled a little better than the Prius, does not scream all its technology at you like the Prius does, and size was about the same inside. However, we did not like the color choices, and the darn head restraint pokes way too forward (left the dealership with a bit of a headache. Wife complained about it too). So, I said I could swap the headrests with ones from an Accord, and I could add after-market Bluetooth, and I could live with the color I guess, and....hang on, way too many changes.

So I started thinking that maybe the Camry Hybrid is the right choice. I currently have an Avalon, and this is more of a lateral move. About the same amount of room and luxury, with the benefit of hybrid mileage.

So we went to the dealership, drove the Camry Hybrid, and right away I felt at home. Same bells and whistles I cared about in the Prius (hybrid mileage, smart key, Bluetooth, generally technically leading edge), but more comfortable, and not hybrid in your face.

So my new Camry Hybrid is on its way. For the last year or so, I was convinced that my next car was going to be a Prius, because of its technology and its bold statement of concern for the environment. But, maybe because I am in my mid-40s now, I was in reality not happy with giving up the comfort of the Camry.

So let the Prius be a high technology platform for Toyota, with future plug-in versions etc. And hats off to Toyota for this break-through car! Where hybrid technology is going to make the most difference is the integration into "regular" cars like the Camry (and Civic), where the MPG of the masses can be improved more or less seemlessly.

I might have wimped out by not getting the Prius, but years down the road, when the new car-ness wears off, I think I am going to be more comfortable day-to-day with the Camry.