[johndglynn]

I'm just about ready to order a Prius. We pay income tax on company cars here in the UK and owning a Prius will save me about £50 a month in tax plus the fuel. If you work out the saving plus tax, it's the same as getting a $3k raise per year - not far short of $10k extra in salary over the 3 years we will have the car. That pays for a lot of track days in a 911.

My current car is a Volvo V50 2.0 TDi which the manufacturer says should get 50-plus mpg on the extra-urban cycle. It gets 41. Few guys at work have the Prius, they are getting 56 average and the car is bigger inside than their previous Audi A4 Avants - the rear leg room is enormous and the trunk is huge also. Plus it has the best crash protection on the market.

I have a 4runner and an old Landcruiser (both diesels) for towing duties etc but they do maybe 4k miles a year between them. I do more miles in the 911 than both of them combined. I'm not overly 'green', am mindful of the issues but not evangelical. I'm not into giving away my money to the guys running/ruining the country either, so the Prius makes lots of sense on lots of levels.

If you've never been in a Prius, but are prepared to run them down just because of who you think drives them, then that's a bit small minded but easily rectified. Go sit in one and check out the way they are put together, read the brochure and get a handle on the technology and engineering that has gone into the product. They are good cars even if they're not 911s. For what most people want from a car in that sector they are almost perfect - all they need to get past are the media-fuelled misconceptions.