Maybe I am just dreaming though.

In my experience driving the Prius, I found the driver interface to be a little too quirky for my taste (though some may like that) and the interior sparse. I was driving on the 17 in the hills between San Jose and Santa Cruz and the little combustion engine was giving every ounce of its energy to carry us up the hill at 50. I could tell, cuz what had been a nice quiet ride turned into a roar fest once we hit the hills. (though the hills on the 17 or no modest hills, and coupled with some twisty roads, makes for an interesting ride) This makes sense due to the small dispacement engine though and lack of transmission, so I kinda expected it. As for the interior, it was a Toyota, so I again expected that kinda, but not the quirkiness, which Toyota generally avoids, but I guess the aim was to make a statement of different-ness….inside and out. It got us from point A to point B returning good fuel economy numbers, and it has good safety ratings (that I luckily did not have to test personally on this trip) so would probably make a fine commuter if you didn’t car about looks at all…….I mean at all….completely……almost masochistically.

Fine vehicle, bad ergonomics. but you guys know that’s my normal complaint for Toyota. Gimme a Honda/Chevy/Nissan anyday. : )

(Hell even one of those nice new Hyundai Genesis)

I drove from New Hampshire to Virginia then across Interstate 40 to California over 9 days at my usuall/average highway speed of 70-75 mph. The car was incredibly comfortable and ergonomic, but I’m only 5’5.” I usually get lower back pain while driving, but not in the Prius. As for handling, again I was duly impressed at the pick up and little time it took to get to 65mph, responsiveness while driving through the Smoky Mtns., rather tight turning radius and overall stability control (extra). The only complaint was being overtaken by certain truckers getting paid by the load on the interstate and feeling like I was in a tin can as the car got caught in wind drafts and shook somewhat…hard to avoid on a four lane highway and, being caught in a terrible downpour, again with wind in Tennessee. Had to exit and wait it out with almost every other driver. Overall I’d rate the experience a 9; 10 being best, but remember I was with 2 teenagers! Previous cars have been a BMW and Explorer and having taken many road trips over the years, I feel I’m a pretty fair judge of a vehicle under these circumstances. While I enjoyed driving the other cars for various reasons, the Prius is truly a joy to drive (already logged 56K miles), even if I did at one time say I would never be caught dead in 1 cuz they’re so ugly…Yes, it has grown on me, as it takes on a particular beauty when I’m in the HOV lane passing traffic, including alll the Porsches, Lexus, Lamborghinis (I do live in the “OC”!). Funny, the only thing I wanted in my ’06 was a sunroof! Of course, a 2010 isn’t an economical purchase for someone who already owns 1, given the relatively minor added mpg…but there’s that moonroof! My present conundrum, how do I transfer my priceless HOV sticker to a 2010???

Thanks for looking up the values for 1992; that was probably about right. As for “making up stuff,” I would say instead my memory was slightly off (I was right about highway, close on the city). I just remember being shocked, seeing these two cars side by side with EPA ratings so close, even though one was much larger than the other. Wouldn’t you have been?