Review: Toyota Prius

It's shit.
Don't buy one.

The most fun you'll ever have in a prius
without taking your clothes off.

The prius' USP (unique selling point for those that don't watch Dragons Den) is that it's a so called Eco Friendly vehicle. While it may be eco-friendly, remember that this is purely to do with it's emissions. The Fuel economy on the other hand, has been proven to be worse than that of a BMW M3. The prius and the m3 had the same tank of fuel, and were consequently driven around a race track at the prius' top speed (I'd guess 60mph, though Al Gore was caught doing over 100, probably off a cliff...) and the bmw M3 went on to do almost twice as many laps on the same tank of fuel. The point is, you can claim it's efficient but if you drive down a highway you're going to be doing faster than walking speed at which the prius is VERY fuel efficient. So if you want fuel economy, get something small and preferably German. Alternatively get a little 87' honda civic. It's lighter, faster, matches if not beats the prius in fuel economy and let's face it, it looks better. Also it's a lot cheaper. With used ones starting at around £400 on autotrader.co.uk (about $700)

Alternatives

 a '86 honda civic CRX

the Tesla

Personally, I wouldn't spend all that money on a hybrid. I'd either get a practical  car like the civic below, or go all the way and get a completely electric car that's cool like the Tesla Roadster. With a top speed of 160mph, the Tesla is no toy.