I also wanted to make note of the Prius’ performance on construction lots, since I had the chance to try it. Some friends of my parents are building contractors building a temporary home for themselves, and Amanda and I went over to see the construction. The driveway was a wheelbarrow type where there are two thin cement strips intended to assist trucks getting up and down the hill. Cassie handled this with no problem, and also handled the offroad parking and the tight turn needed to back out of the lot. Not once did I lose confidence in my ability to get out of the lot (though a tree got a little close to the hatch in order to get out, even with the wheel cranked — didn’t get close enough to do damage, just close enough to make me wonder).

The person who showed us around was also quite impressed with the car and seemed to enjoy the ride. Bonus!