I can see you have friends who think more about cars than me, but I do love my Prius. Big trunk, plenty of room in the back seat, good gas mileage, does great on hills and slick weather (front wheel drive, traction control; we put studded tires on in the winter, because we go skiing). The only drawbacks I see: (1) Relatively expensive compared to non-hybrids, (2) Can't tow, (3) Poor clearance (does fine on unpaved roads, even in winter, but if the roads are very rutted, you're hosed).