The Prius is a Prius; not a cheaper, greener Mercedes or BMW

Make sure reality matches your expectations. Also, if you are a lead foot driver, Prius MPG will be considerably below EPA.

R2-E2, 2G Prius.
Highway/City/Husband/Wife MPG: 56.5, as of 12/2005, 26K miles

Jac Nasser, Ford President: "We are planning to launch a hybrid version of
this car [P2000] within this year [1998]. We will also make FCEV available in
2004."

Driving styles vary from person to person so radically, that I hesitate to say what is acceptable to you. You really need to test drive ANY car under your own conditions.

The Prius power plant accelerates very smoothly at all speeds. This is a result of the planetary gear arrangement so that everything is continuously variable with no discrete jumps. I've accelerated on the Interstate from 70 to 78 to pass a truck with an unsafe load, and that was smooth and relatively quick, but there again your quick and mine might not be the same. I don't cruise at more than 70, and have never driven the Prius faster than 80.

Some dealerships have dealt with the Prius supply/demand imbalance by charging premiums above MSRP; mine didn't, and I had to wait a year from Apr 04 to Apr 05. I believe that wait time is down now, though with gas prices steadily increasing, the wait may lengthen again.

I'm not sure if you are still on the fence, but I thouht I would weigh in.

1. I haven't had any problem with passing (I tend to get frustrated when people are not going within 5 miles of the speed limit). At any rate, on a recent trip, one a two lane highway, I passed 3 cars and 2 semis in a normal size passing zone when the cars were too hesitant in their passing (none of them had pass for 10 minutes). I went from 50mph to 90mph by the time I had reached the last semi. I have accelerated past individuals on the interstate without any problem as well.

3. IMHO, you should be able to find a dealership where you dont' have to pay a premium, or even MSRP.