I personally own TWO Toyota Prius - a 2004 (current generation) and a 2002 (previous generation) that my wife now drives. My folks and my aunt/uncle each own a 2006 Prius as well.

I have about 91k miles on mine, and my wife has almost 50k miles on hers. My experience has been a consistent 47-52mpg in my car, and I've had as high as almost 60mpg when I chose to really baby it for a tank. My wife's experience is lower MPG due to very short trips and the design of the 2002's A/C system that requires a running engine. Combine that with Phoenix heat and sitting in parking lots picking up kids from school will yield a lower number. It's still higher than she'd get in a conventional car, and FAR better than a typical "soccer mom" SUV.

The battery cable info is FUD. The cables run down a protected raceway underneath the car, are bright orange, and carry DC current only. The airbag deployment does trigger a master disconnect. Even if the batteries were live, cutting through one cable would not cause injury as neither + or - terminals are bonded to the car. Toyota has, on multiple occasions, disseminated rescue info for all of it's hybrid vehicles to ensure rescue personnel safety. They clearly outline how to handle a battery puncture incident as well as where the battery cables are and what the risks of compromising them might be.

I can't vouch one way or the other on battery recycling with the exception that Toyota owns that responsibility. My original battery is just fine on my car, and there have been example cases with cars 2x my mileage still going strong on the original battery. Reuse of "wrecked Prius" batteries would be a likely option down the recycling channel through reuse to limit "adding new batteries" to the pool.

I'd say drive one - see if it fits your needs. Let go of the American need for horsepower and you'll do just fine with this. Tt's an extremely versatile "hauler" in that I can toss my seats down (front included) and fit many typical household and gardening items into the car. For me, it also makes a great server hauler. ;-)

Yes - I also participate on PriusChat.com as well.