Hello from Central Wisconsin!

You would LOVE the Prius with your commute! Our closest large town where we need to go for most of our shopping is 56 miles away. Our speed limit is 70, and our Prius does great! As far as winter driving, we live in ND and I drive my Prius to work every day and it handles the snow and ice really well! Now for the best part, with your current vehicle you probably get 15/mpg or so, with a Prius will get at least 40/mpg. With your annual mileage of 30,000 miles and gas at about $3.75/gal you would SAVE $4687.50 a yr just on gas! So if you would buy a used Prius for around $10,000 you'ld pay for it in a little over 2 yrs just by the savings! And the Prius is a VERY dependable car! It's a win-win situation!

 

I have to agree, you'll love a Prius from a financial perspective. However, I'd ask, have you driven a Prius before? It's a different driving experience. That said, as a new Prius owner myself, the technology is fanfreakingtastic! Go take one for a test drive, then if you don't like it, go back in a few days and try it again. If you like it, then there's your answer!

 

Welcome to Prius Chat!

Your commute and driving style should fit well with the Prius. I would expect you to average 45 MPG or more depending on your actual driving habits and topography. YMMV

As posted above, I suggest you go and test drive a Prius. Don't take it out on a five minute drive. Rather go rent one from a local car rental place. That way you will have a good idea of what the experience is really like.

It is unlike conventional cars in a lot of ways. Very economical, and highly technologically advanced.

 

A great car for such a commute. Longer commutes = better mileage, since the warm-up time becomes a very small percentage of the running time. The mileage gets better as the speed goes down, you can see graphs posted around here by bwilson - staying at 65 on interstates will help. Being in WI, the mileage will be quite a bit lower in winter (as it does for all cars, Prius drivers just notice it more because we're paying attention). I'm from WI, and while my commute is at much lower speeds (25-55), your relative difference will likely be similar, take a look at my fuelly NCC-1701-H (Toyota Prius) All Fuel-ups | Fuelly , notice the dips during the Jan/Feb cold spells.

 

Eisberg,
30,000 miles is a prime candidate for a hybrid. You will be very happy with the reliability and longevity if you buy a Prius.
You may want to put your city/state in your profile.
We have a hybrid car club in Madison that has been meeting since 2004. Would love to have you stop by and show off/ask question. PM me or email me directly if you want me to put you on our reminder mailing list.