A good friend has a Prius here in AZ. He and his wife regularly get over 40 mpg in it. I've ridden in it and it's a nice, quiet, comfortable car. But I'm not sure I'd want to pay a premium for it.

My wife and I have two cars here. Our day-to-day car is a 2002 Honda Civic with the regular (non-VTEC) 117-hp 4 cylinder engine and auto trans. We've never gotten less than 30 mpg under any driving conditions, and up to 38 on the road. Great car. The other is a 2000 BMW M5, a real hot rod with a 400-hp, 5-liter V8 and 6-speed manual. The Bimmer has gotten as much as 27.5 mpg when I've been able to drive it, on cruise control, in 55-mph zones with no traffic or lights. But once I get off the cruise control and into urban traffic, it drops to 19 mpg or less.