History shows that Toyota made the right decision when their designers made sure that the second-generation Prius looked like nothing else on the road. Most buyers wanted the world to know that they were proudly piloting a hybrid. Unlike the Honda Civic and Accord Hybrids—which looked nearly identical to the non-hybrid models and sell in much lower numbers, so much so that the Accord version was dropped—the latest Prius silently screams, "Here I am! And I'm burning less gasoline than you."

Actually, because the car is so quiet when moving on battery power alone (except when you put it in reverse and an annoying beep reminds you to be careful backing up), it makes its biggest statement at the gas pump.

This time around we're testing a Touring model with stability control ($23,220) to see if it improves the Prius' handling. What have we learned over the past few months driving it? Is the Prius just a rolling science project or is it a real car? Read on for our test teams' initial feedback:

"First impression isn't too hot, but this car grows on you."

"Switching from electric power to gas makes the engine shudder to life; I don't remember our last Prius doing that."

"Not impressive to drive (stiff ride, poor steering feel)."

"This car was more amazing when we tested it in '04."

"Transmission selector makes you push forward for reverse and pull back to go forward? (I remember complaining about that arrangement in another vehicle with the initials 'B.M.W.')"

"One display screen for all secondary functions is ridiculous."

"I spent too much time switching from screen to screen when I should be looking at the road."

"All this software to calculate 'instant' and 'overall' fuel economy but no 'distance to empty?'"

"Sub-par driving position - plenty of room, but the [steering] wheel is too far away and the dead pedal is badly angled and too close."

"Visibility is OK, but there are lots of pillars and that odd back window."

"Great packaging for four people and lots of luggage space for what is a small car."

"Good rear-seat room for kids."

"40+ mpg is still amazing."

As you can see, while the Prius doesn't deliver an engaging driving experience, it delivers fuel economy in spades. ("A genius of a car, but too bad it's not fun to drive" said one engineer.) There's enough substance here to help you understand why this car continues to be all the rage for environmentally-focused people. And I think this line really sums up what we feel about the Prius thus far: "An impressive, ground-breaking product, but far from perfect."

—Mike Quincy