ILAMD has a good point. I am tired of hearing of all the "status" reasons I bought my Prius. I bought it becasue it saves me $150 per month in gas, and it is roomy, comfortable, and has great acceleration. And the clincher for me was the fold-down rear seats. I can fit 8-ft lumber or 16 bags of garden mulch in it. The Civic Hybrid rear seat does not fold down becasue they have the battery there (at least the model year I looked at was that way).