looking at this logically..
1. 99us mpge combined is great! Thats 3 times as efficient as my saab- only issue is the range.
2. Its a positive and reasonably accessible step forward from the pious(i mean prius)
3. no one car is ever going to be viable for every tom dick and harry on the street-in this instance, body styling issues should not detract from propulsion advances
4. The high cost will limit sales, even with the car being much more economical than the majority of cars. Most people replace their car on a 3-5 cycle-the fuel savings wont cover the additional depreciation.
6. 5 is likely to change if fuel prices continue to increase.
7. I could only see widespread adoption of this tech if company car users were given facilitg to charge at work, rather than a car benefits package-tightening carbon management over here could boost that.
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All in all, its a stepping stone, and a robust one at that