What 45mpg Means To Me

When I heard 45mpg for a Prius, I thought great. Better than the 18mpg on my Expedition. (Ok, it's more than twice the efficiency)

When I heard the Prius engine shuts down when the electric motor has enough power to move the car at slow speeds. I thought great how much gas can that actually save.

When Priuses first came out I thought, yeah, yeah, yeah, greeen, hybrid, environment, hollywood, tree huggers, san francisco, unproven technology, youre not really saving money until 3 years into it.

However it's all about perspective. Expedition vs. Prius = lots of savings $$$.

So here is what 45mpg means to me...

1) Having to pay only $32 for a full tank vs. $75(only because the pumps automatically stop at $75)

2) Having the ability to drive more than 450 miles on one tank of gas.

3) Appreciating using 87 octane vs. 91 octane. (our Subaru recommends 91 and I used to use 91 in my Expedition)

4) Having a wife who now likes the consumption display because she feels challenged trying to keep the electric motor engaged vs. the gas engine.

If youre tired of hearing about the Prius, I humbly apologize. I'm becoming my father's son in that I am turning into Toyota's #2 fan (tough to beat my dad as the #1 fan), and me and our Prius are becoming BFF's.