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[shbcjb]

We'd welcome your thoughts on whether we should purchase a Prius.

Our situation: We're moving to Western Massachussets (i.e., lots of snow and ice in winter), where the our new car would be my commuter car (i.e. about 40 miles daily on a mix of highway and local roads) rather than our family car (we have two kids and a Subaru outback). We're interested in the Prius mainly because we want to reduce our fuel consumption, emissions, and cost.

Our questions:

1. What are your thoughts on safety?
-has the Prius received an IIHS safety rating yet?
-how does the Prius handle in snow and ice?
-how important is the lack of AWD/4WD?
-how important are the additions of the vehicle stability control and air bag curtain features?
-is there really a stalling problem?
-has anyone heard about increased risk of fire/explosions in collisions due to the electrical wiring throughout the car?

2. How does the overall financial cost of the Prius compare to a less expensive non-hybrid that nonetheless has decent gas mileage (say, the Corolla?).
--will the battery likely have to be replaced, and if so at what expected cost?

3. Is there any way to guarantee early delivery of the Prius to perserve the full tax credit?

Thanks for your thoughts!