[john70t]

I don't know how one can obtain 38mpg in a Prius, my experiences were 48-54mpg in the city with a lot of coasting.
The "estimated CAFE results" was quite a dissapointing fabrication on Toyotas part, but in reality the only one with better milage is the Honda Insight.

My mother bought a Prius a few years back, and at first I thought of it only as a good and necessary environmental hype.
It actually has very good seat and headroom height, a decent trunk area, decent interior materials, and visibilty is good as well. Accelleration was acceptable with the second generation.
The integrated controls are serious crap, though, and a major hazard to use-I felt safer driving a stick shift through rush hour traffic while drinking a big gulp, smoking, and playing with the radio stations.

If one averages total fuel expenses over the lifetime of the car, the extra money will start to be worth it. Kinda sad, though, that new Hondas have bigger engines, bigger price tags, and worse fuel economy.