I bought my car about a month ago and it's been running great. I enjoy the smooth ride and how many miles I can drive without filling up. I had a '98 Honda Civic that would need a fill up every 2 weeks because I drive over 400 miles per week. But now that I have the Prius I only fill up my tank once a week. The tank holds 11.9 gallons, and I can get about 450 miles per tank. Although they say it can run about 55mpg, don't believe them. I think it all has to do with where you drive, city or fwy, and how you drive. I like to take my foot off the gas pedal as much as possible in slow traffic or residential areas because it doesn't use any gas and it charges the battery.

I had the chance to drive in bumper to bumper traffic and it completely drained my battery because if you're moving at slow speeds, I would say 5-8 mph, it uses the battery to run. But once you start to drive at a higher speed and use your brakes, it charges back up again.

The power start up and gear shift features are really cool, with one simple push of the button your car is ready to go. You don't have to wait until the engine starts (it takes about 30 sec) you can go right ahead and pull out of your driveway and head out to wherever you're going. Either if you're pulling out or stopping at a light it's so quiet because the engine turns off. But one thing, when you first feel the engine turn off it's a little scary because you feel a little shake. It's not too noticeable but when I first felt it I thought something was wrong with the engine because no one at the dealership mentioned it.

The seats are comfortable and the fabric is nice. The car has extra compartments for storage too, like the 2 glove compartments, a small spot under the cd player, the island thing in between the front seats, the trunk and under the trunk.

One thing I have a problem with is how the windshield wiper is so close to the PARK and POWER button. When I'm in a rush and I go to push the buttons real quick I tend to accidentally hit the windshield wiper switch and it turns on. It's so loose that it easily switches on and messes up my wonderful cleaning job of my windshield. (Darn)

I was lucky enough to get a car that had the keyless entry, which is a great thing to have. I am a girl with a big bottomless purse, and I can never find anything in there! so just having to touch the door handles to open it or pushing the little black button to lock it, is a time saver. I also don't need to stick the key in the slot, so I never take out my keys.

When parking it's really easy because the steering is great and it's a pretty compact size. But since the breaks are pretty strong, I'm assuming because they charge the car?, that my head bobs a tiny bit. It takes some getting used to, but as long as they work I have no complaints.
I think the acceleration is equal to my '98 civic, hills can be a challenge but I've gone up big ones with a constant speed of 75mph, I think that's pretty good. I would say, if don't have a need for speed, this would be a good car to have.

The screen for the speedometer is a little different since they just have a number of how fast your going. And right next to it is the gas meter, which is not easy to read. It has 10 bars that light up when you have a full tank, and when you're down the last couple gallons the last bar starts to flash after you hear a loud 'beep' over your speakers. I wish they made it more accurate, like 11 or 12 bars, one bar per gallon. 10 just doesn't make sense to me?
The screen that controls the radio, A/C and shows you what the car is using (gas or battery) while your driving, is really handy. (I have a Thomas guide map so I didn't need a Navigation system) It also tells you an average of how much gas you're consuming every 5 min.

Overall I think it's a great car, the mileage is much better than a regular 4-door, it's quiet and a smooth ride. I thought that the head room was a little tight, but from what my friends tell me, it's actually roomy in the back. I'm hoping to be able to get the Carpool lane sticker soon so I can pass by all the crazy traffic in Los Angeles!

11/08/05 - I've had the car for over 3 months now and it's still driving great! i even got the carpool lane sticker so i'm zooming right by the traffic! this car really relieves a lot of stress because i'm not refilling my car as much and as long as there's a carpool lane i'm hardly ever driving in traffic! i still don't understand the gas meter, but i'm learning how to deal with it =)
Amount Paid (US$): 25,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: Seaside Pearl, Keyless entry, side impact airbags