The fact that Toyota has sold more than a million Priuses in the U.S. in the past decade is no accident. That they still make up about half of all hybrids sold - out of a couple dozen models - is likewise not a coincidence. This most recognized and recognizable hybrid's success stems from a combination of ultra-high mileage and a reasonable price.

The base sticker for the Prius Two trim level has risen to $23,520, and it's practically impossible to find such low-priced versions on dealer lots, but its 50 mpg in combined driving is untouchable for any car without a power plug. The 2011 Honda Insight hybrid starts at $18,200, yet its estimated 41 mpg trails even the previous-generation Prius' 46 mpg. Similarly, despite a redesign and mileage boost for the 2012 model year, the Honda Civic Hybrid achieves an estimated 44 mpg for $24,050.

Throw in the fact that the Prius' interior volume makes it a midsize car while those other two are compacts, and I'm ready to declare no contest and pull the Hondas out of the ring before they get hurt. 

The Prius is phenomenal in the most literal sense: It's a phenomenon. The car polarizes people, and, frankly, so do many of its owners. It dragged other automakers into an undertaking in which they saw no business case; many remain bearish on a design that employs both petroleum and electric drivetrains, which the conventional wisdom deems unsustainably expensive. Yet here Toyota is, more than 10 years into the endeavor and with plans to hybridize all its model by 2020, with the possible exception of pickup trucks.

The Prius Could Be Better
Could the Prius be better? Absolutely. For every person who likes how the Prius stands out, there has to be at least one who finds its styling unacceptably awkward. More compelling styling wouldn't hurt, but the aspect where the Prius really falls short is in the driving experience - most of it.

Prius owners love their hybrids with a freakish passion, but whatever it is they enjoy about the cars, it can't be the actual driving. They either don't notice, don't care or are willing to sacrifice in exchange for the car's undeniable appeal. There's nothing wrong with any of that.

More discerning - or perhaps just pickier - drivers will find fault. At the top of the list is the Prius' braking: I have no reason to suspect that the car won't stop safely, but the pedal feel is numb and the effect nonlinear, making the brakes difficult to modulate. All hybrids and electrics employ regenerative braking, which uses the drive motors as generators to recharge their battery packs. This recoups energy for reuse, and it means the conventional brake pads don't contact the discs except under heavier braking. There are two side effects: The pedal feels unnatural, and the transition from regenerative to friction braking can be awkward.

All hybrids and EVs exhibit this drawback, but I think the Prius is among the worst. We cited many technical improvements when the third-generation Prius came out for the 2010 model year, but I think the braking feel itself might have actually worsened. My new high-water mark for regenerative braking feel is the Nissan Leaf, though even it doesn't rival the best experience in a normal car.

Quick Enough
The Prius hits 60 mph in less than 10 seconds, which is not quick but is by no means a problem. The "on-ramp fallacy," as I call it, suggests that your life is in danger if your car can't hit 60 mph in 8 seconds or less (or 7, or 6, depending on whom you poll). The Prius is fine. I'm less enthused, though, about how the power is delivered compared with a conventional car or a pure EV - which is to say that it happens with some hesitation and surging, often accompanied by the gas engine revving or droning at seemingly inappropriate times.

This characteristic also appears in hybrids from Ford and Lincoln and seems to be a side effect of what is arguably the most efficient hybrid design. Honda's hybrids - and non-hybrids with continuously variable automatic transmissions - feel a little more normal, but their mileage results aren't as impressive.

Ditto for hybrids from Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia and others that employ regular six-, seven- or eight-speed automatic transmissions. These feel the most natural, but they don't achieve Prius-level efficiency.

Electric Mode - Sort Of
The Prius has a selectable all-electric mode, EV, that allegedly allows for gas-free acceleration. Not really. It may raise the threshold at which the gas engine kicks in, but it's nothing like the Chevrolet Volt - which runs electric-only under full acceleration - or even the Prius Plug-In demonstration car from our plug-in comparison, which gives respectable electric acceleration to 60 mph. Prius owners will argue furiously that they drive all-electric all the time, up to about 30 mph. Maybe - downhill, with a stiff tailwind or with no one behind them. In actual traffic, these are the people you want to pull from their cars and beat with a soy burger.

In my experience, the Prius accelerates on electric power less than people seem to expect, but turns the engine off far more frequently than you'd imagine when coasting. Ultimately, no matter how satisfying purely electric mode seems, what matters are the results, and here the Prius consistently delivers.

There are three other acceleration modes: normal, ECO and Power (PWR on the button). ECO makes the pedal less sensitive and helps you drive ECOnomically, and Power puts the gas engine on a hair trigger for quicker sprints at the flick of your sensible fair-trade sandal.

The Prius' handling is also just adequate, with steering that's a little vague and lacks feedback. Sometimes we excuse lackluster handling when it comes with a soft, comfortable ride, but the Prius is no star in that regard, either. This version is an improvement over the second generation, but the ride remains firm and a bit choppy.

What do I expect for $23,520? Better, frankly. Many small cars prove you can have pleasant ride quality at a fair price. Likewise, quietness is no longer the sole province of luxury cars, and the Prius stumbles in this area as well. Sometimes noise treatments are sacrificed to save weight, and perhaps a quieter Prius would be a less efficient one. In comparison, the Volt is impressively quiet, though admittedly more expensive. The Leaf admits some exterior noise into the cabin, too, but the Prius' overall noise platter serves more courses.

Interior
The interior is where the Prius earns its stripes. Specifically, its midsize volume makes the car's mileage all the more impressive, and the hatchback design makes none of the sacrifices of hybrid sedans - the most notable of which is incomplete or absent folding rear seats. The backseat offers adults plenty of room, and parents will want to check out MotherProof's Car Seat Check to see how various child-safety seats fit the Prius. (Anyone who wants almost 60 percent more cargo volume than the Prius should check out the 2012 Toyota Prius V review.)

Though it turns off some shoppers, the high-mounted, center-biased instrument panel is fine by me. If there's a problem with it, it's the low-resolution, monochrome nature of the displays. The Volt and hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima have high-res color LCDs. The Leaf and Honda hybrids don't have full LCD instrument panels, but at least they incorporate more color.

Storage space is generous, with dual glove compartments, a roomy bin under the armrest and an area to stash a purse under the frontmost section of the center console. Regrettably, this is also the location of the optional heated-seat buttons, out of reach and easily blocked by the aforementioned purse. They're also fully on or off - no gradations available.

Perhaps the worst ergonomic foible is the shifter, which bears little resemblance to the conventional type and, more important, degrades its function. The springy thing pops back to center after you select your direction, and you have to seek out an indicator on the instrument panel to know if it worked. Oh, sure, it beeps at you as long as you remain in Reverse, which would make some sense if it did so outside the car, as the Leaf's does. What's it for? To indicate the car's in Reverse? Then how does it indicate you're in Drive or any other setting that doesn't beep?

The Volt's conventional approach proves that the shifter never had to be reimagined in the first place. Enough already.

Safety
The Prius received top scores of Good in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's front- , side- and rear-impact crash tests. Models manufactured after December 2010 also scored Good in roof-strength tests, a measure of rollover protection. It also received the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's top score of five stars overall.

Standard safety equipment includes antilock four-wheel disc brakes and an electronic stability system with traction control. The Four and Five trim levels are eligible for Safety Connect with Mayday, Toyota's version of OnStar, which can contact authorities in the event of a collision or other emergency. The Five trim offers an optional collision-warning system and lane departure warning.

Prius in the Market
Like clockwork, when gas prices rise, so does demand for the Prius, and that means shoppers will encounter higher transaction prices and fewer choices at dealerships. Debates rage over whether the higher price of a hybrid will pay for itself in gas savings, and it really depends on what you're comparing and what you value most. There is no non-hybrid Prius and few comparable gas-only models, because most midsize cars are sedans. One of the closest is Toyota's Matrix hatchback, which starts at $19,685 with an automatic transmission and delivers an EPA-estimated 25/32 mpg. In theory, you could make up that price difference within a reasonable timeframe. What frustrates the calculation is the true price of a new Prius. Due to fuel prices, it might be at or above the base sticker price, and it's even more likely that you'll find only higher trim levels at the dealership; if dealers know they can sell loaded models, that's what they'll order.

So long as this remains the reality, one could argue the Prius is as good as it needs to be. Unless a competing automaker produces a vehicle as efficient and affordable that's more rewarding to drive and/or cooler looking, the Prius will remain the runaway winner in the high-efficiency race.

Once you get the hang of the unconventional gearshift - to put the Prius in Park you must press a button rather than use the gearshift - you're off on a smooth ride. In Eco Mode, the most-efficient drive mode, the Prius feels relaxing to drive. It takes off nice and easy from a stop, but definitely isn't in a hurry to get anywhere fast. If you're feeling a need for some get up and go, you can slip into Power Mode and have a little more aggression and responsiveness from the accelerator. Of course, you'll have to pay for it in the form of fuel mileage, which will be reduced from the EPA-estimated 51/48 mpg city/highway. In both modes, the Prius gives you just enough road feedback without being overpowering or obnoxiously bumpy.

There's also an EV-Drive Mode, which I found almost useless. It allows you to drive in electric-only mode for up to a mile, but only if the battery is fully charged.

My biggest annoyance with the Prius is something that's fixable. When in Reverse, the Prius emits a constant beeping tone to remind you that you're in Reverse. It alarmed me ever time it went off since I'm used to a similar beeping tone with rear park assist sensors alerting me that I'm about to hit something. On top of that, the actual tone is loud and high-pitched. This is something that can be deprogrammed with a trip to the dealership.

My other problem with the Prius - well, actually my daughter's problem - was the amount of road noise intruding into the cabin. To a large degree, I didn't notice it when tooling around town by myself; however, for my daughter and me to carry on a conversation while driving on the highway, she had to raise her voice to a near shout from the backseat so I could hear her. She commented more than once on how annoying that was for her.

The 2011 Prius starts at $23,520. My test car, a midlevel trim Prius III, cost $26,740.

EXTERIOR
Way back when the Prius first hit the market for the 2001 model year, I thought it was futuristic looking, like something straight out of "The Jetsons." The Prius' exterior hasn't really changed much since then. There've been a few modifications here and there to improve the proportions and aerodynamics, but the overall look is generally the same. That's great from a brand-recognition perspective, but the Prius needs a modernizing face-lift to maintain the design edginess we first associated with it.

If I only had one or two kids, the Prius would be just the right size for me. The step-in height is low enough for most youngsters to open the doors easily and clamor in and out without pause. The hatchback design creates a lot of usable cargo space. There's enough room back there for grocery trips, luggage for a short weekend getaway or even a light load from the warehouse store.

With a 1.8-liter inline-four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor, the Prius makes a total of 134 horsepower. That's enough juice to get around town without overindulging in natural-resource-draining power. Unlike electric vehicles, you don't plug the Prius in, though a plug-in Prius is coming in the near future.

SENSE AND STYLE
Family Friendly (Not Really, Fair, Great, Excellent): Fair-Great
Fun-Factor (None, Some, Good Times, Groove-On): Some

INTERIOR
The first thing I noticed when jumping into the Prius is the simplicity of the interior design. Toyota has put plenty of time, energy and money into the hybrid technology powering the vehicle, yet the inside stays plain-Jane basic. Dare I say, it's economical looking.

My test car had Bisque-colored upholstery and hard plastic surfaces. Combine that with the (yawn) beige, I mean, Sandy Beach exterior and you have nearly the most boring color scheme available. There is, however, a certain peace that comes with driving a car this visually clean on the inside.

There isn't too much in the way of storage compartments or nooks and crannies inside the Prius. There's a cupholder accessible up front, and a second one stashed inside the smallish dual-level center console. A single bottleholder sits in each of the front doors, and there are two cupholders in the fold-down armrest in the backseat. I found myself wishing for larger in-door storage pockets in the front row and more storage on any sort for the kids to use in back. There are two glove boxes and an open area under the center stack, which I guess is supposed to compensate for the lack of backseat storage.

I appreciated the steering-wheel-mounted audio controls that pop up in a head-up display on the windshield when you touch them. This shows you which control you're using without requiring you to look away from the road. My Prius III test car didn't have a lot of available features, with the exception of the optional $1,930 Navigation Package that also added Bluetooth phone and streaming audio as well as a backup camera.

The most impressive thing about the Prius' interior is its fish-bowl-like feeling. From the wide-open rear view you get with the split-glass hatch to the near-perfect forward visibility, thanks to the huge expanse of front windshield glass and extra mini windows in front of the side mirrors, the Prius gives you a great view of the road.

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT
Storage Compartments (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Puny-Fair
Cargo/Trunk Space (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Ample

SAFETY
The 2011 Prius has received the top score of Good in frontal-offset, side-impact and rear crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It hasn't yet undergone the latest roof-strength crash test.

While the Prius' seat belt buckles in the backseat are on stable bases, a feature I typically appreciate, they don't stick up very high from the seat cushion, making it tough for little ones to buckle up by themselves. It also allows migrating booster seats to inch their way over the top of the seat belt buckles. Ugh! Then I have to get out of the driver's seat, open up the rear door and try to scooch the booster seat - along with the 50-pound child perched on top - back into position.

For those using the Latch system to install child-safety seats, there are two sets of lower anchor points (in the outboard seats). They are deeply recessed into the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet. However, when equipped with fabric seating upholstery, you can easily maneuver your hand inside the seat bight to fish for the anchor. Find out how the 2011 Prius fared in MotherProof.com's Car Seat Check.

The beeping tone I mentioned earlier in this review, the one that sounds constantly while in Reverse, is theoretically a safety feature to help you know you're backing up since the gearshift is somewhat unconventional. I'd argue that it's more of a safety hazard. It was distracting and kept me from focusing on what I was doing.

The Prius has standard front-wheel drive, all-disc antilock brakes, traction control, an electronic stability system and seven airbags, including a driver's knee airbag and side curtain airbags in both rows. It has optional radar-based adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning system and a pre-collision system.

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