oxlongm wrote:
...
Consumer Reports gets better mileage with the Prius than with any new gasoline-only car (Honda Fits, Scions, Versas etc) even though the Prius has more room and is hundreds of pounds heavier.

I would add the Mazda 3 (sedan) to that list. We recently purchased a basic trim manual transmission Mazda 3 sedan and the average MPG is 30-32. Compared to the Honda Fits, Scions, Versas and others, this car handles way better and feels more solid. Ideally, we would have gotten the Prius but $21k+ is a bit too expensive.

A good advice is to keep your gas tank above half full. This improves fuel efficiency greatly. In the long run you end up saving more than filling up once the tank is almost empty.

Chromodynamic wrote:Hybrid vehicles are, for the most part, a joke. You can just buy a Geo which is thousands of dollars cheaper and get the same gas mileage, if not better.

I live 38 miles away from work one way and I'm afraid a Geo might kind of suck if I have to drive instead of taking the commuter train.

It would also suck if I:

1. Got hit by an 18 wheeler on I-95.
2. Wanted the car to last more than a year or two.

Fuck a Geo. They are "cars" as much as "vegan baked goods" are "tasty"
mrs.arrison had one in the 90's and those things are fucking ugly, oil eating death traps. I'd rather have a fucking smart car even.

oxlongm wrote:no-longer-available Civic hybrid

The Honda Civic Hybrid is still available ( the only real difference with the newest, 2006-present model is an increase in horsepower), gets close to the same mpg as the Prius (42 combined city/highway), and is in the same price range. This gets my pick, I prefer the handling and looks of the new Honda Civic.

Consumer Association in the UK ran tests on the Prius and couple of other hybrids last year(?) and yes, the mpg was not substantially different from a lot of conventional engines.

my next buy is more likely to be a VW Polo 1.4 TDCI which is the most fuel efficient car i can find at the moment. shame really. i'd love to use public transport more but i live in the arse-end of nowhere.

BlackMarketLiver wrote:The Honda Civic Hybrid is still available

Ah. Maybe I was thinking of the Accord hybrid or the Insight being cancelled. In any case, glad to be wrong about that... a little more competition among hybrids is good.

By the way, it's cool that this thread has gone on for so many pages without anyone citing that ridiculous "Prius is more environmentally damaging than Hummer" "study" as "proof." I can't find the original link but it's all over the blogs of various retards.