To me, the Prius sounds like the ideal car for you, although I am not that familiar with the Honda line. Prius is designed as a run around town car. The downside I would say is it doesn't have a hatchback. That's a great feature if you do a lot of shlepping of a lot of stuff, which is what I do. A friend of mine had a Focus hatchback, she just loved it. I have a Matrix and like it a lot. Why I bought it, and what I think is its greatest strength, is it is just fantastic for hauling gear around. I'm a field biologist so I haul tons of gear around all the time, plus camp and take many road trips to visit friends and family. But if you don't do all that stuff, a Matrix may be more car than you need or want. If you're seriously into hauling though, you might prefer the Vibe, which comes with the option of having a roof rack, something the Matrix is not compatible with. But a roof rack influences your mileage for the worse, so if you won't use it don't get it. I also like that the Vibe comes in more colors. I will never again buy a silver car!! Everyone, everyone has a silver car!!! I cannot tell you the amount of time I have wasted in parking lots sifting through the sea of silver to find my car! My last car was maroon, that was my favorite color car. I do not know about any of the four doors, but I sifted through all the small station wagons and the Matrix won out. However, Suzuki makes a nice small station wagon, the Aero. It is hard to come by though, that's why I didn't buy that model. The only downside to owning a car that is good for hauling stuff around is your car always ends up full of junk, lol!

My boss loves his Prius, to me it kinda looks I could drive up onto two of them and change my oil ;)

A neighbor just picked up a SmartCar for 2 as a tertiary vehicle to run errands around town. I think that was a cool idea. They crack me up because they only fit 2 so you can see the passengers from the back and rear windows, looks like they're driving from the back seat lol!

Congrats on the license and on the drop in your insurance bill!!

I'd recommend getting another Honda, since you already have two. The Fit gets great gas mileage and Civic gets good gas mileage, too, and they are reliable. It's the only car company still selling well, their sales are actually up, and their supply is low. I have a CR-V and love it, it gets good mileage for a small SUV, but now that I'm doing a lot of city driving, I'd love something that gets even more miles per gallon.

Good luck.

I can't comment on anything but the Prius. I have two friends who gave up their luxury cars for them & both are extremely happy. I get the idea of a hatchback. I love my crossover vehicle and when I got a new car recently, I bought another one. Shopping and carting stuff around is just so much easier!

My son had a Prius and loved until someone hit him from the rear and demolished it. I will say that he came out without a scrape. I drove around in my friends mini last summer and that was fun, but you are awfully close to the ground. I do think they are the cutest things.

I need to replace my aging Accord. The new Civic is almost as big as my 1996 Accord. The new Accords are much larger. You can't go wrong with a Honda. Maybe you would like an Element? They are funny and have doors on the side that open like French doors so you have a huge opening for loading.

I am seeing more and more Smarts. It looks like half the car was left behind. Cute and efficient but not safe enough for me. However, 90 percent of the time, that is as much space as I need.

Good luck with your search. I don't know what I'll get next. I want something very fuel efficient, but also something with some personality. Oh well.

A woman I work with has the Honda Fit and loves it. They're thinking about getting a second one.

I don't know much about smaller cars. I traded my truck for a Honda Pilot a few months ago. I guess it's ok. I just wanted something reliable that could haul a bunch of kids and keep my kids separated.

Tracey

In the last 35 years we've driven 8 or 9 Toyotas and nothing else. We have 6 kids who all drove them while growing up and hub commuted 110 miles a day for 16 years. They never wear out or need repairs other than brakes and tires (not even exhaust systems!), always pass emmisions tests and are amazing good on gas.

We currently have two in the garage - hub's 1998 Corolla with 295,000 miles gets about 40 MPG; my 2004 Corolla with 110,000 miles gets about 34-35 MPG. Hub has the oil changed on his car every November when he renews the registration, but I have mine changed every 8 or 10,000 miles. I'm serious. We wouldn't drive anything else. Except for one dtr with a Honda Hybrid, the kids all buy Toyotas,too, now that they are adults. They have similar stories to tell about the mainenance on their cars. BTW, she loves her hybrid.

They are also very comfortable cars. Mine has all the bells and whistles and is bigger than hubs.

We have a 2008 Prius, it is a hatchback, and we LOVE it. It fits 4 really comfortable, and the rear seats both or independently go down for extra storage. A friend has a Honda Fit and she loves it. Both get great gas mileage. Good luck in your search

Only problem I see with a Prius is they are so popular now you would probably have to pay top dollar.

I've had good experiences owning Toyotas and Hondas.

You might have some surprises, both good and bad, if you test drive everything you would consider buying.

Thanks for the input everyone!
I went out this week and test drove a number of cars, but I'm going to wait until the 2009 Honda Fit and Civic come out in September before I make my decision. As of now, here are my impressions: the Prius, I saw one but could not test drive one. The one I saw was being reconditioned to sell as certified used. If I want a new one, it could take 6 to 7 Months! Some parts come from China so production has been at a standstill since the earthquake. I won't be buying one anyway. The controls look like a rocket ship, and although the visibility from the front and sides are fabulous, it is almost impossible to see out the rear window. I'm sure my height does not help. I test drove the Matrix while I was there but I did not like it. The steering was not as responsive as on our Hondas, and the ride was rough. Next I tried out the Pontiac Vibe. I did like it a lot; it is very comparable to the CR-V but less expensive. It is a bit bigger than I wanted though. I drove the 2008 Fit (which I reaaally wanted to love) and although the steering was responsive, the ride was rough and the road noise was awful. The seat height can not be adjusted and I felt like I was sitting in a hole, I could barely see over the dash! It also looked like the interior was made of cheap plastic, I expected better after driving around in our CR-Vs. They are supposed to be fixing these issues on the 2009 model so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I also tried the Civic Sedan while at the Honda dealer, I really liked it. The ride was smooth, the steering responsive, the blind spots were minimal, it was very nice. When the 2009s come out I might try the coupe out. Unfortunately the hybrid version has a smaller trunk because of the battery. Next I test drove the MINI Cooper Clubman. Boy was that fun! I loved driving it around! Unfortunately it is not very practical here in Illinois as a main car. The first time it snowed I would be plowed in! It is really low to the ground. The last car I tried was the Scion xD. I really liked it! It was exactly what I was hoping the Fit would be (and almost exactly the same size). So now I have to wait until mid Sept. for the new Hondas to come out and I can make my decision and order my car. Depending on the dealer they said between 4 and 8 weeks for delivery (other than the Prius). If anyone else has a suggestion I will look into it. I do prefer a wagon over a car since I do haul stuff sometimes (furniture, wood, etc...).

I agree about never buying a silver car again! We have a Silver CR-V and a mist blue (almost a silvery blue) CR-V. Where ever I park there are always several identical CR-Vs! I'm thinking of getting red or blue. There are not that many cars in our area in those colors. At least 75% of the cars in our area are silver, gray, white or black.

Joanne

The small Subaru hatchback. Can't remember what it is called, "Sport" maybe?

I checked out the Sport online. It only gets 20 mpg city. I want something with better gas milage, preferably close to 30 city. I have to agree with Dedtired, trying to find something that is fuel efficient and still has personality is not easy. Why can't a car be fuel efficient and fun?!

Joanne

I drive a 2004 Prius and would buy another one in about 1 second if I needed a new car.

Once you get used to the back window, it's no problem. I use the solid piece to block headlights from the car behind me.

Doesn't the mini take premium gas? I might be wrong.

The MINI dealer said premium is reccomended in the manual but not neccesary you just should not mix gas. As long as you always fill up with the same gas the car will be fine. He said he uses premium, but one of the other sales ladies uses mid grade, and severl customers use regular. He said that the system (engine? carburator?) adjusts to the gas, somethiing about oxygen? Can you tell I know nothing about cars? LOL! My husband seemed to understand and thought it made sense. If I ever actually find a Prius I can test drive I'll try it out, but the controls are a bit much for me. I like something simple. I'm not sure what the dash looks like on a 2004, but on the 2008 there are so many lights, gauges, numbers and buttons that I wasn't sure where to look! I guess if I catch that car after it's been refurbished I can test drive it, if it isn't pre-sold. But the premium gas is a good point, I want to be able to use regular, that is sitting at around $4.25 here, I don't even want to look at the price of premium!

Joanne

Make a wise choice I drive a Yukon XL and it cost me 125.00 to fill it right now..its a nightmare but I do love the truck not the gas that goes in it!