The 2010 Toyota Prius represents the 3rd generation of this 4-door 5-passenger hatchback introduced in 2001.  The Prius was the second mass produced hybrid-electric vehicle to be sold in the USA, with the first being the 2-passenger Honda Insight in 2000.

Last year, my director, (aka Scott Sanders; Executive Director @ Earth Day Coalition) and I had the pleasure of driving a 2008 Prius 2500 miles (roundtrip) to attend the Clean Cities Annual Leadership retreat in Big Sky Montana.  This year's Leadership retreat took place in Gatlinburg, TN, on the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 500 miles southward.  The year before that, we drove 350 miles in a 2007 Prius to Mammoth Caves National Park in the Bluegrass state.  I say all this to enforce the point that I have a good bit of experience driving long distances in a vehicle that was designed to operate most efficiently in stop-and-go city driving.