I test drove a 04 Prius. In all honesty if you wanted a 5 passenger car is probably about the most practical one out there. The hatch back design makes it great for lugging stuff around, with the back seats folding down you can fit a small ladder in there if needed. The drive system is much improved, yeah 60mpg city is a little far fetched for what people will actually get, but it's still going to get far better mileage than anything else mid sized.
Impressions: I like the interior, the seats are very comfortable and supportive, both front and back and has a very futuristic feel to it. The screen is subjective to your own opinon, but is kind of neat considering the option of DVD navigation and certain aftermarket possibilities. The controls would take a little getting used to though, but I think the voice activation would make it easier once learned.
Driving is very nice and quiet for the most part. Biggest two complaints, when the engine revs a lot it's rather harsh and my first turn no half thinking about it produced a lot more body roll than I expected. Guess I got used to the Insight.
Overall my test drive consisted of a mile to the freeway, getting on the freeway for a mile (not the most efficient thing ever) then getting off and a mile back got me 55mpg in a car that wasn't even broken in yet so for such a large vehicle one can't complain. No doubt the Insight is the mileage king and always will be.
The Insight deffinitely wins in the fun factor hands down. With the way it handles and the 5 speed fun you can deffinitely never get that from a Prius, though they do have a good bit of umph going now with 295 ft lbs or torque :shock: As far as rust yes any steel car may eventually be subjected to it, however, automotive coating technologies have gotten better in recent years. Rust through warranties have gotten pretty generous with certain manufacturers. The thing I would be most concerned about with a Prius is the added million moving parts.