Hybrid Review: 2005 Toyota Prius

There was a time when I hated driving in heavy traffic, such as the years I spent commuting from Queens to Manhattan. The 13-mile trip from Flushing to W.48th Street, by way of the BQE and Midtown Tunnel, would take between one-and-a-half to two-hours, each way. This meant that my average speed was 6.5 to 9 miles-per-hour, slower than you'd drive through a parking lot.

Thankfully, I only did that for five years!

I'm not saying that I would have enjoyed the commute better if I was driving a Toyota Prius, but if I did, I sure would have gotten great fuel mileage. From what I can tell, there are only two quirky things about the Prius (although neither is quirky-bad, just quirky). The first is its exterior shape, the second is that it gets better gas economy in slow stop-and-go driving (as compared to traditional, non-hybrid vehicles that get better fuel usage at highway speeds than in city conditions). During the week that I test-drove the Prius I found myself looking for ways to maximize its fuel efficiency. I drove routes that I normally don't take, drove during times that I typically don't, and drove slower than I usually do. It’s like I was trying to make up for all the bad fuel economy years I spent in New York and later in Southern California.

http://www.theautochannel.com/F/news/2005/.../15/005133.html