--

One thing you can do is analyize the real world numbers in the mileage database. It shows the average and it shows nice charts on how that average breaks down.

My hydroponics experiment

You ever notice how hard it is to lip read cartoon characters?
"Crazy is what the sane call Delta Flyer"

That's still $58/month, which isn't bad (cuts my current bill almost in half.) However, do you think gas will stay at $2.99 for even 6 months, let alone however long you plan to own the car?

I've only had one tank get under 50mpg, and that was 48mpg driving 464 miles from Southern Cal to the San Francisco area, in headwind going 70-75mph. My average is approx. 53.5mpg and my current tank is at 58! (We'll see how long *that* lasts though!

I'm very happy with my Prius, but that doesn't mean there aren't downsides. Bluetooth useability is spotty at times, the "premium" JBL sound-system isn't so great (in my opinion), doesn't play MP3s natively, and browsing through the touchscreen can be a nightmare looking for specific settings sometimes. But most of these are small issues or can be remedied somewhat easily enough. I don't know about the HCH, but if you want storage drawers, bins or access panels, the Prius has so much storage that I can probably move our house into it!

Rick

Dependability Technology
===================
From the moment i read about the Prius i knew this was going to be the future of cars: the Hybrid Synergy Drive consists of 5 gear wheels and two brushless motors, all of them requeiring virtually no maintanance. The engine is first swung to 1000-rpm before fuel is injected and ignited, causing little if any engine wear. By using bigger / betters motors the technology can easily be scaled up / made more efficient. The batterypack is of the NiMh type and is managed by an advanced computer system that monitors the individual cells and the overall performance. It takes every measure to enhance the life of the pack. All this leads to Toyota giving you 8-years warranty on the HSD system. I would say Toyota clearly has the edge here.

Looks
====
Either you love it or you don't, but the Cw-value of 0.26 is the result and there is no whistling or wind rumble because of it. I fell in love.

Interior room and look
================
My previous car was a VW-Golf-clone (Seat Leon), and i now have two kids (3 and 1 year old) and i get both of them in the car with loads of stuff :it is generally a large family car.

If you put down the back seat you get a huge flat area, that you can use to transport HUGE items if you leave the hood open. There are loads of attachment points in the car and it is easy to ty the hood down.

I really like the finish of the interiour, but this is of course a taste question.

Hope you choose the Prius :-)

What is the MT Option? Will gas prices go down, thus making my Hybrid savings marging dip compared to when prices were above $3.00?

MT=manual transmission, going through the database it shows that people getting used to this type of transmission generally get better mpg, but it is of course not as comfartable as the Prius transmission.

Will prices go down?
Within the lifetime of your car : Yes, probably a couple of times
Will they go up structurally? That's my best guess! Being "peak oiler" I beleive that before 2010 the world will no longer be able to increase oil production. "Katrina" will look like a party compared to what will happen once people start realising what kind of trouble they will get into. (check out www.theoildrum.com)

I agree with Jorge. The Prius is much better.

Better mpg and cleaner emmissions. Prius can also become plugin hybrid with extra battery power to get 100+ mpg see Edrive and calcars. The Prius can also run in all electric mode at lower sppeds, like traffic jams.

Prius has more room, the back seat folds down buy HCH can't.

Btter CD coefficient on Prius of Drag to have less wind resistance.

I have an 03 HCH and get 60 mpg by driving smart. The Prius can get 70. My HCH has 10K oil change intervals vs 5K in Prius which is the only item I see better with HCH.
My next Hybrid will be a 04 or newer Prius.
Jim

Hi Jim;
You seem a little unsure about your decision on the Prius.

Terry

In Fla. rush hour traffic I average 99.9 , on the hwy my wife is averaging 50 mpg not like me whos a 45. she averages 55-65 mpg in the cty. (Sounds like a sleep number commecial sorry)

I really like the inside layout of the prius, the touch screen in the center is very easy to see fromboth angles infront the speedo reads at the lower end of the windscreen so you dont have to take your eyes off the road to see how fast your going.. In 04 it was more aero dynamic than the corvett.
As somone else has stated its a neat spaceship And Toyota knows they have a real hit here.

I was also told by a Toyota dealer that toyota originaly sold/shared thier hybrid technology with ford and honda, and thats where they got thiers.

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

You know, it took me a while to get over the body shape. What broke me was actually driving a Prius. My sister had an '05 that she had me drive one night...I bought one the next weekend (the dealer that I wanted to buy from had one on the lot when I contacted them through their web form). That was back at the end of November, 2005. I'm still excited to drive my Prius.

You can see from the green Compare button above what MPG's people are getting. I think I'm now averaging 48mpg. I use the cruise control every chance I get, 25mph and over. No one, with any car, gets the EPA ratings for gas mileage, unless they can drive under those same circumstances. I live in the greater Seattle area where it's very hilly, rainy, and traffic jams.

The technology underlying the Prius will amaze you. I did buy the extended uber-warranty since, to me, the technologies are so new. I've got nearly 5000 miles on her, my sister has 20k miles with no troubles.

I hope this info helps you decide some.

--jay