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As an afterthought to the O.P., I've only recently had the opportunity to drive both a gen 2 prius and a gen 3 prius (only about a week apart), and I drove the gen 1 before it came out (tour de sol in Burlington NJ). I must say that hypermiling techniques are made incredibly easy with these cars, and the heads up display is pretty useful. Excellent for city driving, and in all honesty, probably a good band-aid for people who want good mileage but refuse to drive manual. I don't like the extra weight of the batteries/motor, especially when traveling long distances ("highway driving"), and when driving the prius, I found myself wishing for a non-hybrid CVT that acted like a hybrid (easy EOC using a shifter knob similar to that in the prius). It just doesn't feel small and responsive, but then again I was just driving them for a few hours - I hadn't developed that close connection between human and car where I could REALLY have a feel for what was going on. I'd at least rather see someone driving around in a prius instead of some crown vic/lumina/impala/jeep/taurus. Meh.
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