I bought the 500 and something Prius sold in this country, in 2001. It now has 98,000 miles on it. You actually can get between 45-50 miles per gallon on the highway, if you drive intelligently and don't speed.

There is this meme going on that Prius owners buy them for the status, because they look different, unlike the Honda Civic hybrids. What no one who writes these stories, which always includes a comment about the status factor, discusses is the fact that Prius and Civics have a different hybrid technology, based on a different set of ideas, and that someone might just like the technology of one rather than the other and thus make their car buying decisions.

I chose the Prius not for any status (and I have gotten rather tired of showing my engine compartment to complete strangers in parking lots) but because I liked their technology better. I think that writers on hybrid technology should mention this along with the comments about status when they discuss motivations for buying hybrid cars.