[wyatt]

Here's what drew us to our Prius:

• We wanted good gas milage, so we were limited... either a super tiny car with a small engine and a manual transmission (like my Swift) or a TDI or a Hybrid... Since my wife WILL NOT drive a manual transmission (this is primarily her car), and we have a child and are planning on more, we opted for a larger car than what I currently drive.
• We looked at some TDIs, but people wanted $15,000 for one with 100,000 miles on them... or $7,000 for ones with 200,000 miles... just not cost effective (at least in our area), plus, diesel has been more expensive for a long time, and it's more expensive to get them worked on... oh, and for the best FE, you have to have a manual transmission...
• We looked at the new Insight, but, since they are new, you would have to pay new prices for them...
• The Prius gets outstanding fuel economy, particularly in the city (where we do most of our driving).
• I was really surprised at how roomy it is! Really, you can fit 5 adults in it without a problem! It is also big enough to fit everything we need to take on a trip (car seat, dog, baggage, snacks, etc.). Coming from my wife and I having two sedans, the hatch is awesome! Much easier to get things in and out, especially large objects like ladders or over-sized boxes.
• We have had it for about a year, and averaged almost 50mpg with it. To put this in perspective, we have a friend with a manual transmission TDI, he gets better highway FE, but his average FE is low 40's.
• It also has lots of cool features that I hadn't seen before, like the ability to open your door, and start the car without taking the keys out of your pocket, or the ability to creep along in traffic without having the engine running.
• We were also able to get ours for a really good price from a guy that was buying a TDI and going to make his own bio-diesel.

For us, it just made sense. Maybe someday if our family outgrows it, we will go to a minivan as the primary vehicle, and I will get the Prius