No wonder Toyota can't keep 'em on the lot!

I'm a small car person, but after our first child, I let my husband talk me into a van. I absolutely loved it, but as we watched both our family and gas prices grow, we found we needed better gas mileage. I was thinking a more standard car, like the VW Golf I used to drive, but my husband hit upon the Prius, so we rented one for the weekend and test drove it.

I loved it so much, we bought one. It handles like a dream, and there's plenty of interior room for my 6'4' husband, two car seats, suitcases in the trunk, and me. It's nowhere near as roomy as my van, so we can't put things in it and never take them out. (Like the gifts we found in the back of the van before we sold it--several months after Christmas.)

It's very good on curvy roads, the kind I used to hit the brakes for in the van at 45 mph, and the gas mileage is amazing. Initially, we were getting about 45 mpg, which we had absolutely no problem with. I then set about getting the kind of gas mileage I'd read about, which does require one to be more aware of how they're driving, but in no time, I was getting 54 mpg or better on a regular basis.

I fill the 12 gallon tank about once a week now and pay around $40. In my van, I did the same thing, but with a 20 gallon tank for about $75.

My only caveat is, if you are considering a Prius, do what my husband and I did. Rent one for a few days, and this will really help you evaluate whether what owning one will be like. We liked it, but you may not. My very tall husband was comfortable in it, although we both had trouble with the lumbar support when we first drove it. Over the weekend, though, we discovered that, even without height adjustment, we could change the position of the seat back and the steering wheel. With those changes, the Prius became much more comfortable, and we regularly make the 4 hour drive to our in-laws in the Prius now.

Here is a good user guide to the vehicle, something to look over as you're gathering facts in your decision making process. Our rental didn't have one of these, which meant that we pretty much taught ourselves how to drive it. This guide also tells you how to turn off the annoying beeper when you're backing up. http://john1701a.com/prius/documents/Prius_User-Guide.pdf

In making your decision, please consider whether you'll have to finance your new car. My husband and I were fortunate, because we traded two vehicles in for our new Prius and we didn't have to finance. Consider how long you'll be hanging onto the car, because while you have to make payments, those payments might nullify any gas savings. That being said, my in-laws are the type of people who always have car payments, no matter what, so it wouldn't really be an issue for them. Just another vehicle with another loan, as per normal. :)

Just be prepared to wait a bit for a Prius if you've made your decision to buy one. My husband and I had to wait a month for ours. The sales people told us they were selling so fast, they couldn't keep them on the lot. So, we had to get a custom job done, which took a bit of time. Our dealer was wonderful, but the car is very in-demand. Added to that, we were very picky about getting exactly what we wanted, so that was our best option.

The only real con for me was the big gas mileage screen in the center of the vehicle. That took some getting used to. I became obsessed with my gas mileage, and since you do need to use it for maximizing your mpg, I think it needs to be there. I just had to learn to watch the road more and the screen less, lol.