It's a decent car, but not a wonder car.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Impressive gadget Environmental statement

Cons: Expensive

The Bottom Line: 
I like Prius, but it's not for everyone. Read carefully about it before you buy it!

Author's Review
We've all ready how spacious it is, and how good it is for the environment, etc. But here's an opinion of someone who's owned one and enjoys driving a car. (My other choice was Mini Cooper-S).

What other 'non-prius' owners say:
I get comments both "I want one! It's a revolution!", to "It's not worth the extra. It's just an hype.".

What I feel:
First of all, as a mid 30's guy, it's miraculous that I drive a hybrid car. I would've never imagine my self driving a car that is battery driven! (OK, a mix of both). But let's get over that 'wow, it's hybrid' soap box and get to the reality.
Update:
This car is boring, but I feel that I am doing my part to reduce polution and our dependency on oil.

Comfort:
It's an econo-box. Compared to Corolla or Civic, it's a step up, but it's a step down from Camry or Accord. It's spacious and surprisingly comfortable.
UPDATE: It's been a year since I've owned my Prius and front seats are comfortable and they are holding up well. Rear seats are OK. I don't bang my head in it. (I'm 5'10"). So it should be OK for most.

Acceleration:
The initial take-off is really nice. Above the ~24mph, you have to put the foot down to get the acceleration. But you are also talking to a guy who used to drive 300hp german v8 sedan.
Update:
Not much has changed. Still the same.

Handling:
This is a wonderful 'urban' vehicle. The turning radius is unbelievable. Highway wise, it's OK. Steering in and out of lanes, it's nice. As for other situations, I have the version with the vehicle stability option so with that in mind, this vehicle is very stable. I can't make a comment about vehicles that doesn't.
UPDATE: After driving Prius for some time and comparing with some rentals I've driven, I have to say turning radius of this car still amazes me.

Ride:
Suspension is in medium range. It's not bad at all.
Update:
Not bad. Still good. It's a good econo-box.

New: Stereo/Climate Control:
Stereo is acceptable. (Again, my previous car had 9 speakers including a subwoofer underneath the back seat). Compared to rentals I've driven since ownership, stereo is OK. Controls are easy to use. Once you get used to it, you'll just use the steering wheel controls. Same goes for climate control. I always have it on auto, and I click on the temp. up and down. One thing about controls in Prius is that climate controls are on the steering wheel as well. You can essentially drive this car without ever touching the radio/climate control panel. It's a nice feature, but I believe it's an optional item.

Fuel Economy:
Here comes the big question. If I drive in the slow lane and go below the speed limit, I can get good milage. (55mph without a head wind is probably around ~55mpg). As for the question of how much I can get for a city, I can do pulse and glide and ride all the way on the battery once the engine is warmed up. But that's unrealistic. It requires me to make sure nobody else is on the road, and hover up and down around upper 20's. Sure, I can reach 99 mpg, but that's just not practical. So, what should a 'considerate' fast lane drive expect? You should expect about 40 mpg. You say "But Corolla/Civic gets 40/41mpg!". Well, if you drive the same way on Prius to achieve 41mpg on Corolla, you'd probably get 50mpg.
Update:
Gas milage has been mixed. My fiance said "Oprah said you can only get 48mpg on it". To prove her wrong, I showed her a trip from Boston to Framingham generated a whopping 68 mpg. Also along came with was people giving me nasty looks passing me as I crawled up hills and sped up on the way down. It's not practical and it's irresponsible to do things like that. On short sub 2 mile commute in rush hour Boston, I get about mid 30's. Sounds bad but ordinary cars would be worse as their engines will run at the red light, whereas mine isn't. On long drives, I often achieve low to mid 50's.

Toys?:
Vehicle Stability Control (optional) on this vehicle is better then Lexus, according to the Japanese site's description. Side mirrors and washer fluid nosels are heated! This car has lots of amenities that are on cars that are couple of levels up.
Update:
VSC is annoying at times. Because these are 'low resistance' tires, they tend to slip easily and my Prius tends to die at take off as it's readjusting. It's not a sports car.

Cost effective?:
Yes and No. It's hard to measure when and how Prius saves $. There are times when we run the car without moving. Times like that you save $, because the engine is off. What about maintenance? I have no idea cuz I have 4 years of pre-paid maintenance along with 7 years of extended warranty. But you get Toyota quality. It's made in Japan so no need to worry.
Update:
After 1 year, I haven't had to spend any $ on it besides the usual maint. (which I prepaid for).

Should I buy or not?
Buy this car if you want to make an environment statement. Buy it if you like the way it looks. Buy it if you love gadgets. (I don't know how often people says "Please turn that screen on so I know when it's on battery!".) But if you are just looking at cost, and do mainly highway driving, you should seriously look at Corolla or Civic.
Update:
It's reliable and it drives just fine. Would I buy it again? Why not. I'm not excited about this car but it's not a kind of car that you sit in and feel "wow". It's more of "I'm doing my part in this world.".