Still not a Prius owner--bought a Camry Hybrid instead

So, NEITHER my husband's regular commuter (19-year-old Chrysler) nor the backup vehicle (farm truck) would start this morning.

So he called in to work to take the day off, and I sent a message to the profs to let them know I'd miss class, and off we go on an emergency car-buying mission. It was TIME.

The biggest dealership in the area was the only one that had all three models that we wanted to test drive--the Prius, Prius V, and Camry hybrid.

The Prius had decent acceleration for its size, and I found that I didn't mind the horizontal bar across the back at all. Even with the bar, the Prius had great rear visibility, and I couldn't think of anything that could hide behind that bar. The only spot that gave me trouble was the front left corner. Trying to make a right turn on red while checking to be clear of protected left-turners merging into my intended path required several right and left weaves to make sure.

The Prius V felt quite a bit pokier than the Prius. And since I didn't mind the horizontal bar and decided that the cargo capacity on the Prius was adequate most of the time for a two-vehicle household (the RAV4 could handle the bigger loads), then the V was crossed off for its lower fuel efficiency without any perceived advantages in our situation.

We had already decided to test a Camry LE since it was only one MPG different than the V we were considering. Unfortunately, the only hybrid Camry on the lot was an XLE (40/38) and a pretty loaded one at that.

Driving the Camry with its combined 200 hp was hardly like driving a hybrid at all. And both of us appreciated having a little more space all around in the event of a collision.

Since DH and I are firmly in the "middle-aged" category plus kids and because a lot of my miles are at highway speeds with the occasional idiotic or inattentive driver we went with the Camry. It still should get quite respectable gas mileage, though not as stellar as the Prius!

After a total of about six grueling hours at the dealership, we are the owners of a nice little Hybrid Camry XLE. I have to come up with a stodgy-sounding name for it--it certainly doesn't "feel" as young or freewheeling as the Prius did.

So, I STILL don't have a Prius. Do I get banned now? :ban: